Yachts moored on the Red Sea below the Sinai mountains at dusk, Sharm El Sheikh

Private trip · South Sinai, Egypt

Sharm
El Sheikh

17 — 21 February 2027 Twelve of us. Four days. One boat.
DepartureWed 17 Feb
ReturnSun 21 Feb
February sea≈ 23°C
Flight time≈ 5h direct
—days
—hrs
—min

Until wheels up

Briefing
01 The adjustment Filed by the groom

We considered Mexico.

Then we considered the practicalities of getting twelve people with jobs, families and varying levels of organisation to Mexico for a long weekend.

So we've made a slight adjustment.

Sharm El Sheikh. February 2027.

Proper sun, direct flights, very good hotels, sea, desert and enough distance from home for it to feel like an actual trip.

The Sinai mountains at first light
Fig. 01 — South Sinai, first light
02 The dates Wed 17 — Sun 21 Feb 2027
Wed 17 Feb Recommended
Thu 18 Feb Acceptable
Fri 19 Feb You've misunderstood the assignment.

The preferred option is to fly out on Wednesday 17th and come back on Sunday 21st.

If Wednesday is difficult, flying on Thursday 18th is completely fine. The main plans start properly from Thursday evening, so nobody travelling Thursday is going to miss the important part.

Clear turquoise water against the red cliffs of the Sinai coast
Fig. 02 — Ras Um Sid, mid-February
03 Why Sharm Four requirements

There were a
few requirements.

  • Sun in February.
  • Direct flights.
  • Somewhere we can do more than sit around drinking for four days.
  • Far enough away to make the exercise worthwhile without everyone disappearing for a week.

Sharm does the job rather well.

A boat on impossibly clear turquoise water, seen from above
01 The sea
The Sinai mountain ranges turning red at dusk
02 The desert
A five-star resort above the sea at sunset
03 The hotel
04 Getting there London → SSH · direct

There are direct flights from London.

We'll put the recommended flights here once we've locked them down. Anyone travelling from elsewhere in Europe can obviously take whatever route makes the most sense and meet us there.

Preferred 01

Wed 17 February

LONLondon
SSHSharm El Sheikh
Airline
To be confirmed
Departs
To be confirmed
Arrives
To be confirmed
Price
£ —
Shorter option 02

Thu 18 February

LONLondon
SSHSharm El Sheikh
Airline
To be confirmed
Departs
To be confirmed
Arrives
To be confirmed
Price
£ —
Return 03

Sun 21 February

SSHSharm El Sheikh
LONLondon
Airline
To be confirmed
Departs
To be confirmed
Arrives
To be confirmed
Note
Home in time for nothing in particular

I'll speak to everyone individually about flights, so there is no need to decipher a forty-message WhatsApp discussion about baggage allowances.

05 Where we're staying Five star · all together
Sun loungers on a resort terrace above the Red Sea, with the Sinai mountains behind

Current option

Hotel to be confirmed

We're looking at doing this properly.

The current plan is a very good five-star hotel in Sharm — ideally a large villa setup, or rooms together, rather than twelve people scattered around different properties.

Large suites, pools, beach access, and enough space for everyone to stay together without spending four days trying to coordinate taxis.

The cost

Accommodation & main trip costs Rohan
Your flights You
Towards hotel & group bookings £ TBC

I'll cover the majority. I'll tell everyone individually when the contribution needs paying — it's mainly there so that when we reserve something for twelve people, there are actually twelve people coming.

Two loungers with folded towels on a terrace above dry mountains at golden hour
Terrace
A pool on a terrace above the deep blue Red Sea, a speedboat passing beyond
Pool
Loungers on the sand beneath a rocky headland
Beach
An infinity pool meeting the sea at sunset
Sunset

Reference images. The actual hotel is being argued about as we speak.

06 What we're doing Broad version

Jamie and Freddie are organising the actual weekend.

Traditionally I'm not supposed to know what is going on, which I'm broadly in favour of. However, asking people to fly internationally without giving them any idea what they're signing up for seemed unnecessarily mysterious.

So — the broad version.

A quiet resort terrace and pool above the sea as the sun goes down

Day 01 Wednesday 17 February

Arrive

  • Land.
  • Check in.
  • Pool.
  • Dinner.

Nothing particularly structured. The advantage of Wednesday is mainly having an extra day where nobody is trying to squeeze an activity between an airport transfer and dinner.

Palms and thatched parasols along the Red Sea, the Sinai mountains behind Sharm

Day 02 Thursday 18 February

Everyone arrives

  • Thursday arrivals join.
  • Day by the pool.
  • Dinner.
  • First proper night.

From here onwards, Jamie and Freddie are in charge.

A yacht alone in brilliant turquoise water, seen from above

Day 03 Friday 19 February

The Red Sea

  • Boat.
  • Sea.
  • Lunch.
  • Drinks.
  • Then out.

The current thinking involves a private boat. Exactly where it goes, what happens on it, and what follows afterwards is not something I particularly need to know.

A buggy throwing up sand across the desert

Day 04 Saturday 20 February

The Desert

  • Buggies.
  • Mountains.
  • Dinner in the middle of nowhere.
  • The final night.

Something involving the desert. Probably buggies. Jamie and Freddie can amend this once they've decided what they're actually doing.

A still pool at dawn lined with palms

Day 05 Sunday 21 February

Home

  • Breakfast.
  • Pool.
  • Airport.

Home Sunday. Monday remains everyone else's problem.

07 The organisers Personnel file
Jamie Jamie, previously Fig. 1 Subject, arriving Fig. 2 Subject, previously. No further questions.

Personnel 01

Jamie

Director of Night Operations

One half of the planning committee. Appointed largely on the basis of a long and well-documented history of suggesting one more — and being right about it more often than is statistically reasonable.

  • Nightlife
  • General entertainment
  • Deciding what does not need to be shared with me
  • Preventing Freddie from making the weekend excessively sensible
Freddie Freddie, documenting himself Fig. 1 Subject, on duty Fig. 2 Subject, documenting himself

Personnel 02

Freddie

Head of Logistics & Realism

The other half. Has already demonstrated administrative value by suggesting Sharm instead of making everyone travel to Mexico for three days. Reads the flight times, the reviews and the small print entirely unprompted.

  • Logistics
  • Activities, restaurants, boats, deserts
  • Occasionally explaining to Jamie why something cannot physically be done
Rohan Rohan, less seriously Fig. 1 Subject, deliberately over-serious Fig. 2 Subject, off duty Photograph
pending

Personnel 03 · The groom

Rohan

Non-Executive Groom

My responsibilities are relatively limited, and then they stop.

  • Choose the people
  • Make sure everyone knows where they're going
  • Help get the flights booked
  • Contribute an irresponsible amount towards the trip
  • Stop interfering
08 What you need to do Four things

There isn't an RSVP system.

There are twelve of us, not four hundred. I'll speak to everyone individually.

Manifest · 12 seats

One of them has your name on it.

Downloads a calendar entry. Wednesday 17 to Sunday 21 February 2027.
  1. 01

    Tell me whether you're doing Wednesday–Sunday or Thursday–Sunday.

  2. 02

    Book the agreed flight.

  3. 03

    Send me £TBC once we lock the hotel.

  4. 04

    I'll add you to the WhatsApp group.

  5. —

    That's it.

09 Current status Updated as we go
Destination
Sharm El Sheikh, South Sinai
Confirmed
Dates
17 — 21 February 2027
Confirmed
Main trip begins
Thursday 18 February
Confirmed
Organisers
Jamie & Freddie
Confirmed
Hotel
Five star, to be confirmed
Pending
Flights
Added once selected
Pending
Your contribution
£ TBC
Pending
Group size
Twelve
Fixed
Sinai ridges glowing at sunset above the Red Sea

Final word

There will only be around twelve of us. So the objective is fairly simple.

  • Get a good group together.
  • Go somewhere properly good in the middle of February.
  • Let Jamie and Freddie organise the rest.

Sharm
El Sheikh

17 — 21 February 2027

— days out · —

Then the four things →