Sharm el-Sheikh is malaria-free. Dengue reached its visitors in 2024.

Yes. Mosquitoes in hotel rooms and gardens are a recurring complaint in Sharm el-Sheikh reviews, and in 2024 travelers brought home the first dengue ever reported from the resort. There's no malaria, since WHO certified Egypt malaria-free in October 2024, and we found no dengue reports for 2025 or 2026.

Dengue in 2024

Sharm el-Sheikh had no dengue reports before 2024. Then four unrelated travelers who returned to Israel after visits between April and June 2024 were confirmed with dengue virus type 2 (DENV-2). Their dates didn't overlap, they stayed about 2 to 15 miles (3 to 25 km) apart, all four were hospitalized and recovered, and their virus genomes clustered as a single outbreak, according to a report in the CDC's Emerging Infectious Diseases journal published in November 2025. The authors read four cases over three months in different parts of the city as suggesting "sustained DENV-2 transmission." They note that "no entomologic data exist for Sinai," and say the daily ferries from Hurghada "might be especially relevant."

Across the gulf, the Hurghada coast had dengue outbreaks in 2017 and 2023, and the mosquito that spreads it is established there. We found no dengue reports for Sharm el-Sheikh, Dahab or South Sinai from 2025 or 2026, so whether transmission continued after mid-2024 isn't known. Egypt has no CDC travel notice and isn't on CDC's global dengue list.

Malaria is off the list. WHO's certification on October 20, 2024, followed at least three consecutive years without local transmission, and the CDC's Egypt page recommends no malaria medicine. CDC does list leishmaniasis for Egypt, spread by sand flies that bite from dusk to dawn, and the evening routine below covers it.

Rooms, gardens and the reef

In a desert town, mosquitoes breed in man-made water such as irrigated hotel gardens, flowerpots and tanks. The dengue mosquito bites by day, with peaks after sunrise and in the late afternoon, which puts hotel gardens, pool decks and terrace dinners on the Naama Bay promenade in its hours. Put repellent on over sunscreen in the morning, again after diving or snorkeling and before dinner. Keep balcony doors shut, run the air-conditioning, plug in a vaporizer if mosquitoes get into the room and ask the hotel to spray. Our dengue & Zika routine has the full schedule.

Boat days to Ras Mohammed National Park and the Tiran reefs spend hours at sea with few biters. Up the coast in Dahab, mosquitoes tend to come out on some nights and not others, so cover ankles at dinner by the water.

When to go

Keep the daytime routine in every month. Sharm's own cases came from spring visits, April to June 2024. On the Hurghada side, most 2023 traveler infections began between September and December and the virus in local mosquitoes peaked in December, so autumn and early winter call for care too. Winter is mild and summer very hot.

Where you're going

Adding the mainland? The Hurghada briefing covers the Red Sea coast across the gulf, the Luxor briefing covers the Nile cruise, and the Egypt briefing covers Cairo.

What travelers report

Paraphrased from hotel reviews and a Dahab forum thread, newest first where a date is given, and linked so you can read them in full. Your room and whether the balcony door stays shut change the picture.

• Naama Bay Promenade Beach Resort, Sharm el-Sheikh · 2021

  In a review headlined 'Very poor food quality', the guest also called the hotel a home of mosquitoes. TripAdvisor ↗

• Sierra Sharm El Sheikh · 2010

  A guest headlined the review 'Mosquito ridden' and described the resort as full of mosquitoes. TripAdvisor ↗

• Nile dahabiya cruise · October and spring

  Planning an October dahabiya trip, a traveler asked about insects. One reply said the only mildly annoying insects were mosquitoes in the mid-to-late evening on spring visits, another named black flies as the bigger nuisance, and a third said there are very few mosquitoes most of the year. TripAdvisor ↗

• Sharm Holiday Resort, Sharm el-Sheikh

  In a review titled 'It's ok', a guest said they got bitten by mosquitoes a lot. TripAdvisor ↗

• Dahab

  A poster said mosquitoes were not out every night, but on the couple of nights they were, their ankles were covered in bites; another reply said malaria is not a concern there. TripAdvisor ↗

One rule outlasts the trip. Any fever during the trip or in the two weeks after it means a doctor visit, and you tell the doctor you were in Sinai, especially with a rash, headache or joint pain. Doctors at home may not expect dengue from Egypt. Bitten and worried? Our bitten in a dengue zone guide has the 14-day calendar.

Traveler questions