Conquering the depths

I waved goodbye to my bemused toddler and his father on the beach and padded down the 145-metre floating jetty in my wetsuit, my 5ft frame loaded under the weight of my oxygen tank, to face

my fear.

After stepping down the rungs of a small ladder, I descended eight metres down to an underwater garden wonderland of coral reef, where my grip on my instructor's arm was beginning to loosen. Within minutes, I was having close-up, life-affirming encounters with fish in colours and sizes I couldn't have imagined – clownfish, angelfish, a lionfish, blue-spotted stingray and even a Great Barracuda swam my way.

The Red Sea, between North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, is one of the best places in the world to dive or snorkel, with an abundance of coral and more than 1,000 types of fish thought to exist in its warm, salty waters.

We were staying in Sharm el-Sheikh, a Bedouin fishing village turned resort town on the southern tip of Egypt's Sinai peninsula which began to develop as a tourist spot in the late 1970s, when divers discovered its plethora of tantalising offshore reefs.

Having married only four days before leaving, we were on honeymoon and enjoying our first family holiday together. Our luxury five-star hotel, Baron Resort, had its own 600-metre length of private sandy beach, three pools and a spa offering everything from Egyptian massages and coconut or Red Sea scrubs to Cleopatra milk body wraps.

When Isaac, our son, had his daytime nap, we lay under the shade of a basket-woven umbrella and did nothing more strenuous than turn the pages of our books or order a freshly-squeezed watermelon, mango or strawberry drink or ice-cold beer from the beach bar. You can easily spend a week here without feeling the need to explore anywhere else. But for those with itchy feet, optional excursions include adventure safaris, camel rides, star-gazing in the Sinai desert and guided snorkelling at the world-famous national marine park of Ras Mohammed.

The historic St Catherine's Monastery, on the site where Moses is said to have seen the burning bush, is a drive away, while further afield you can arrange visits to the Pyramids or Jerusalem.

We managed a trip on a glass-bottomed boat, where our toddler loved the Finding Nemo-like scene underneath us, and a visit to the old market. Here, against a backdrop of mountains, the Muslim call to prayer rings out over stalls selling fruit, vegetables, spices and dried goods like green tea, lotus flowers and mint, as

well as fake designer bags and souvenirs for tourists.

The Baron Resort offers a choice of restaurants, serving everything from Egyptian to Italian food. One evening we sat outside to enjoy lobster, langoustines and crab barbecued on an outside grill at the seafood restaurant. Another night we ventured into the Egyptian restaurant, which had the feel of a traditional caf in an ancient souk, where the food was delicious, and followed with a hubba bubba pipe at the caf next door.

On our last night, we began our evening with cocktails at the Niche Bar, a relatively new tucked-away space in the hotel with plush leather armchairs and a dark wood floor. Outside, I was in for a surprise – candles on the beach created the illusion of a pathway.

To my amazement, a waiter was expecting us, with a bottle of champagne on ice and a candle-lit table on an Egyptian carpet decorated with fresh flowers. An evening like this, where you effectively have the beach to yourself, can be arranged as a surprise for your other half. We enjoyed a magical, romantic dinner of smoked salmon shaped to resemble delicate little roses, followed by barbecued prawns and a speciality Egyptian cake while everything was dark around us except for the lights coming from a few night-diving boats.

My diving instructor had told me about night diving – predatory fish stalk their prey, corals bloom as they come out to feed, causing an explosion of underwater colour, and critters that hide in the day, like octopus and crabs, are seen along

the reef.

Night time is dinner time in the sea. One day, I thought while eating mine, I'll be brave enough to try it, but not yet.

WHAT YOU GET AT SHARM EL-SHEIKH

Sherna Noah was a guest of Thomas Cook Holidays, which offers seven nights' all-inclusive at five-star Baron Resort in Sharm el-Sheikh from August 30 from Mancheste starting at 1,117, including return flights and priority transfers in new MyStyle programme.

Reservations: 0844 412 5970 and www.thomascookstyle.com

Thomas Cook Publishing travel guides including Egypt from 4.99. Details: 01733 416477 and www.thomascookpublishing.com