Things to Do in Port Sudan

Diving the Sanganeb Atoll

Sanganeb sits about 25 kilometres northeast of Port Sudan, a near-perfect circular reef rising from 800 metres of open water. Dropping in feels like stepping off a building into blue space. Hammerheads patrol the northern plateau in the early hours. The walls are dense with soft coral, barracuda schools, and the occasional grey reef shark cruising the thermocline. Visibility runs 30 metres or more. Pure blue silence. The kind that stays with you, broken only by your own breathing.

Wandering the old Suakin causeway

Suakin sits about 60 kilometres south. The coral-built ghost city was the main Red Sea port until Port Sudan took over in 1909, and its ruined merchants' houses still stand on the island, slowly dissolving back into the lagoon. You'll climb through doorways that frame views of dhows tied up exactly where they would have been in the 19th century. Goats wander past. The silence is broken only by them and the call to prayer drifting across from the mainland.

Snorkelling the Umbria wreck

An Italian cargo ship scuttled by its own captain in 1940 to keep its munitions from the British, the Umbria lies on its side in shallow water just outside the harbour mouth. Upper decks come within a few metres of the surface. Snorkel directly over the holds. You can see the original Fiat trucks and stacked bombs through the openings, encrusted with coral but unmistakable. Soft sunlight filters through the broken superstructure. Parrotfish graze the railings.

Souq al-Arabi at dusk

The main market comes back to life around five in the afternoon. Heat breaks. Spice traders fan their open sacks of cumin, cardamom, and dried hibiscus. The smell of charcoal-grilled lamb drifts down the lanes from the food stalls. You'll hear Beja and Arabic traders haggling over silver jewellery, frankincense, and bolts of cloth brought in from Saudi Arabia across the water. A working market, not a tourist one. That's most of its charm.

Evenings on the corniche

The seafront promenade runs south from the port. Locals turn out. They walk. They smoke shisha and watch the sun drop behind the Red Sea Hills. Families spread blankets on the low concrete walls. Kids chase each other along the rocks. Tea sellers materialise with their charcoal stoves and small glass cups of hibiscus karkadeh or sweet milk tea with cardamom. The breeze off the water tends to be the first cool thing you've felt all day.

Around the corniche: older established hotels with sea views, walkable to restaurants, where most visiting officials and aid workers tend to base themselves

Deim Arab: mid-range district near the souq, good for travelers who want to be in the thick of street life and evening market activity

Transit area near the airport: functional, quieter, useful if you're flying in late or out early but otherwise lacking atmosphere

Deim Suakin: older residential quarter with budget guesthouses, more local character, less English spoken

Port area periphery: a few business hotels catering to shipping company staff and Gulf businessmen, comfortable but soulless

Sallum Street neighbourhood: mid-range options on a busy commercial street, convenient for banks and exchange offices when those are operating