The western tip of Mainland Saudi
The Ras Al-Sheikh Hameed is a beautiful sandy cape located in Tabuk Province, at the junction between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. The sand banks of the Ras Al-Sheikh Hameed used to be the westernmost point of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia until the cession of Tiran Islands by Egypt to Saudi Arabia in 2017. Thus it is today only the westernmost point of the Saudi Arabian mainland.
The sand banks of the Ras Al-Sheikh Hameed lie on coral reefs that are sometimes visible from the beach, especially on the western side of the sandy cape. They host an incredibly rich marine life which is not surprising as the world-famous diving town of Sharm Al-Sheikh in Egypt is just 30 kilometers away on the other side of the Strait of Tiran.
Sinai Mountains from the Ras Al-Sheikh Hameed (photo: Florent Egal)
The beaches of the Ras Al-Sheikh Hameed are not only beautiful by themselves but they also offer stunning viewpoints on the Sinai Mountains of Egypt that are just 10 kilometers to the west. From the Ras Al-Sheikh Hameed the sunsets above the edges of the Sinai that fall into the Red Sea are particularly stunning.
Sunset on the Sinai Mountains from the Ras Al-Sheikh Hameed (photo: Florent Egal)
The large bay on the south west has a peculiar sight, the wreckage of a PBY-5A Catalina, an American military seaplane from the 1930s. It has laid on the beach since 22nd March 1960, when the retired American businessman Thomas Kendall landed near the Ras Al-Sheikh Hameed for a stopover during this trip around the world with his children and his secretary. They spent the night there but the next afternoon they were attacked with machine guns and automatic firearms by Bedouins who believed it was an actual military attack! Mr Kendall tried to start the Catalina but only succeeded to move it over about a kilometer where it ran aground on a coral reef. After more than 30 minutes of intense shooting (300 shots hit the aircraft!) and about 4000 liters of fuel poured into the Red Sea, the whole crew was captured by the Bedouins.
Catalina seaplane wreck (photo: Florent Egal)
They were brought to Jeddah but the damaged seaplane was abandoned on the beach, where it still lays but more and more damaged by the weather and people who dismantle it to take a souvenir (which shouldn’t be done of course!).
How to visit the Ras Al-Sheikh Hameed
The location of the Ras Al-Sheikh Hameed is available on Google Maps.
There is a road reaching the beach but of course the last hundred meters to the shore are on sand and therefore require preferably a 4x4, even if the ground is relatively firm along the tracks.
It is allowed to swim and camp along the beach but Border Guard that patrol day and night will check ID’s and may ask people to move to a place that is visible from the post guard.
If people want to swim they must first respect the dressing rule of Saudi Arabia and do it at their own risk as they are no life guards. The first hundred meters are usually very shallow but it is not advisable to swim far away from the shore because of the currents and winds.
The location of the Catalina seaplane is also available on Google Maps under the name "wreckage".
Catalina seaplane wreck (photo: Florent Egal)