Jaz Fanara Resort Snorkeling Guide - Reefs, Tips & Booking Info

The Jaz Fanara Resort is one of the best choices if you are looking for a good snorkeling hotel in Sharm el-Sheikh. This property offers a high service level, fantastic views, plus direct shore access to the area’s most beautiful coral gardens; you can enjoy premium underwater sights on its house reef and at the nearby Ras Um Sid, Ras Katy, and Temple Reef snorkel spots. If we’ve piqued your interest, and you are considering visiting this place. In that case, this article will guide you on how snorkeling at Jaz Fanara Resort is and provide some helpful information on the accommodation itself.

Jaz Fanara Resort Snorkeling Overview:

Located in the southernmost district of Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt
A 5-star, family-friendly resort
Offers direct shore access to vibrant coral reefs
Features a beginner-friendly, shallow house reef
Easy access to three top snorkeling sites: Ras Um Sid, Temple Reef, and Ras Katy

Snorkeling at Jaz Fanara Resort

Thanks to the coastline’s characteristics, Sharm El Sheikh is one of Egypt’s best destinations for snorkeling. Almost all hotels have an excellent house reef here, but there are some specific areas where marine life is denser than in other spots, and the wide bay where the Jaz Fanara Resort is located is one of them.

Bay at Jaz Fanara Resort — Beach and the Old Lighthouse

With a fringing reef stretching along the coastline, this location offers access to various snorkeling sites. The inner shallow reef flats and patch reefs create a house reef, the main snorkeling area at the Jaz Fanara resort. But, there are three additional points you can get to with a short swim: the Ras Um Sid to the left, the Temple Reef in the middle, and the Ras Katy to the right.

Have a look at our Jaz Fanara Resort snorkeling map, where we marked all snorkeling areas. We indicated with colors which one is recommended for beginners (orange), advanced (yellow), and very experienced snorkelers (red). Below, you find more details about each area.

Jaz Fanara snorkeling map — Jaz Fanara snorkeling spots

The beginner zone is relatively shallow and free of currents. The advanced area has deeper water, while the pro sections can have intense currents. Respect your limits and stay in the area that suits your snorkeling skills the most.

House Reef

The resort’s house reef is easily accessible directly from the sandy beach. The reef (sometimes referred to as Faraana Bay Reef) runs all along the bay, and you are free to snorkel anywhere, even in front of the other resorts.

shallow water reef Jaz Fanara Resort — House reef at Jaz Fanara Resort

The Jaz Fanara house reef is suitable for beginner snorkelers because the water is shallow and current-free. The reef flat has damaged corals near the shore, but it gets better as you swim towards deeper waters. You can see different reef fish species like parrotfish, rainbow wrasse, butterflyfish, moray eels, and blue-spotted and eagle rays.

Ras Um Sid

This spectacular snorkeling spot can be found on the eastern side of Faraana Bay, to the left of the beach area. Ras Um Sid consists of a thin reef- flat and a deep drop-off, which receives nutrient-rich deep-sea currents; therefore, this site is teeming with life. Ras Um Sid is considered one of the best shore-accessible snorkeling spots in Sharm el-Sheikh (along with the Ras Nasrani Reef).

While swimming over the reef flat and the edge, you can see anemonefish, parrotfish, surgeonfish, giant groupers, Napoleon wrasses, and groups of schooling bannerfish and butterflyfish. This area has a high number of giant sea clams, and if you look at the deep, you can even see Gorgonian corals.

Ras Um Sid is also accessible from El Fanar Beach through a wooden jetty. When approaching this site from the beach of Jaz Fanara, watch out for the current as it gets intense past the jetty. Therefore, this is an advanced snorkeling area.

Temple Reef

Temple Reef is situated a little further out in the bay, approximately 300 m () from the shore, in line with the Reef Oasis Beach Resort’s floating jetty. This site features one main and several smaller coral towers rising from the sea bottom, creating a temple-like structure; this is why how it got its name.

The Temple Reef is a fine example of how diverse the coral reefs of the Red Sea are: when you look at these pinnacles, you can see that the structures are built up from many different species of hard corals with soft corals growing between them. The fish life around the pinnacles is also second to none; we were amazed by the amount of golden fish (sea goldies) circling the towers and the graceful lionfish who come out to hunt in the afternoons.

This reef is also a popular dive site; it gets quickly crowded, and several boats are mooring nearby. We recommend visiting it early or late in the afternoon (before boats arrive or after they leave).

Ras Kathy

The Ras Kathy snorkel spot starts past the jetty of the Faraana Reef Resort, about 800 m (0.5 mile) from the Jaz Fanara beach. The site has a varied underwater landscape: You will swim along a wide reef flat and then arrive at some pinnacles, the most beautiful part of this reef section (this is where the boats are on the map).

group of fish at Ras Katy snorkeling spot — Group of fish around the corals

Besides an array of reef fish, you can see here vibrant corals, especially around the pinnacles. Eagle rays are often spotted here, and sometimes even Hawksbill turtles (which are, however, endangered, a common turtle species in the Red Sea) are seen.

Eagle ray swimming near the reef — Eagle ray near the reef

The Ras Katy site is not too deep (the water is ~5-7 m (16-23 ft) near the reef flat and ~15-18 m (50-60 ft) around the pinnacles), but sometimes the current is strong. Moreover, there is heavy boat traffic; therefore, we recommend coming here only for experienced snorkelers, as it is a pretty long swim from the Jaz Fanara. The best thing is to carry a signaling buoy with you.

Tour boats at Ras Kathy — Boats are coming to close

Jaz Fanara Resort and Residence Info

Jaz Fanara is one of the resorts built on the Ras Om El Sid cliffs over the Faraana Bay. This area is known to offer not only prime snorkeling but also some of the most beautiful views in Sharm el Sheikh. Just look at this photo; it is hard to beat this view, isn’t it?

Jaz Fanara Residence Beach — Jaz Fanara Beach

The complex has two sections: the Jaz Fanara Resort (bay-side buildings) and the Residence (garden-area buildings). Some sites still refer to this resort as Iberotel Fanara & Residence (the former name), but now it belongs to the Jaz Collection chain, which guarantees top-level service.

Resort Facilities

We loved that the Fanara Resort is not a huge complex but a medium-sized, family-friendly hotel. With a wide range of facilities and activity options as listed below, you will get everything here that you need for a relaxing yet adventure-filled vacation:

three swimming pools, including heated pools
two restaurants (El Medina main restaurant and the Nino’s Italian Restaurant)
three bars (lobby bar, pool bar, and beach bar)
kids club and playground
gym, games, and sports facilities
massage center
animation and entertainment

Swimming pool - Jaz Fanara — Swimming Pool Area

Moreover, guests of the Jaz Fanara Resort can also use the facilities (pools, restaurant, and bar) of the neighboring Jaz Fanara Residence.

Staying in Jaz Fanara Resort – Our Experience

We enjoyed our stay in this resort a lot and would love to be back anytime, as both the resort and the reef are among the top ones in Sharm el Sheikh. To help you decide if this resort will be a good fit for you or not, we summarized what we liked and what not about this property:

Pros and Cons of Jaz Fanara Resort

Pros

it is a “Green Hotel”; they have reusable plastic glasses and paper cups (although they still use plastic straws)
polite staff, good entertainment, and activities
fantastic views
good location, pharmacy, and shops are within walking distance
well-kept buildings and garden, most of the rooms are refurbished
clean restaurants, good food, fast service
free Wi-Fi (although it can be slow when the hotel is busy, so we bought a pre-paid SIM in the nearby Vodafone Shop)

Jaz Fanara Resort Relaxing Area — Jaz Fanara Resort Relax Area

Cons

one of the biggest problems we experienced was that the staff did not pay enough attention to keeping the tourists from damaging the corals. Since the house reef is shallow, people often stand on the reef. We think that this should be taken more strictly; otherwise, there won’t be any living coral here in a few years.
the bay sometimes gets overcrowded: these reefs are among the best snorkeling places in Sharm el Sheikh, meaning boats constantly bring divers and snorkel groups here. You can easily find yourself surrounded by 50-60 people in peak times. To avoid this, go snorkeling in the morning before the boats arrive or late in the afternoon when they leave.
since the hotel is located on cliffs, getting down to the beach takes time and effort. There are stairs and a normal walking way, which is not too steep but can be problematic for older people. Ask assistance from the hotel staff if you have difficulties getting down or up!
some rooms are facing a busy road and noisy at night (especially 1201-1233)

Where Is The Jaz Fanara Resort?

The Jaz Fanara Resort and Residence lies in the Ras Um El Sid-Hadaba suburb. It is ~21 km (13 miles) from the Sharm El Sheik International Airport. The easiest way to get to the resort is by booking a private transfer.

How to Book Your Stay at Jaz Fanara Resort

Most Sharm el-Sheik resorts are huge complexes with hundreds of (sometimes over a thousand) rooms. However, you need to know that the Jaz Fanara is a smaller resort. Thanks to its excellent location and high service level, it enjoys an excellent occupancy throughout the year (we stayed here in the off-season, but still, the hotel was nearly full). Therefore, we suggest you make a reservation well in advance.

We booked our stay through the resort’s page on Booking.com where we usually make our reservations. (This post is not sponsored and we would appreciate it if you use our link so we can make a small commission; there is no extra cost to you).

If this resort is not available on your dates, or if you would like to check other accommodation options close by, there are two further resorts in the bay with access to the same snorkel spots:

Other Hotels In The Bay

Nice Modern Resort: Reef Oasis Beach Resort
Budget Option: Club El Faraana Reef Resort

We hope you enjoyed our Jaz Fanara Resort snorkeling guide and it will help you make the most of your vacation. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us anytime!

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