Divers enter the infamous Blue Hole 8km north of Dahab

The Bible may have put Sinai on the map, but its Red Sea dive spots have positioned it firmly on the tourist trail.

Forming a link between Africa and Asia, the 24,000-square-mile Sinai peninsula is the site of the arduous wanderings of Exodus. It is an inhospitable expanse of wildlife-rich desert, Bedouin settlements and rugged mountains, much of it lapped by the sapphire Red Sea - home to some of the world's best dive spots.

Most underwater aficionados base themselves in the Gulf of Aqaba, home to the beach resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, the laid-back hippie hangout of Dahab and the port of Nuweiba. The Red Sea remains warm and clear year-round; snorkellers can watch shoals of tropical fish dart between technicolour coral, while adventurous divers can explore shipwrecks and shark reefs.

Sinai's most famous and dangerous dive spot is the Blue Hole. Situated 8km north of Dahab, the Blue Hole is an 80-metre reef shaft that plunges into a crater. The idea is to swim through a passage 60m beneath the deep blue sea and then (hopefully) come up the other side. Snorkellers can just skirt the rim of the hole and gape in awe.

In Sinai's southern interior, Biblical buffs can visit the supposed Burning Bush within the grounds of St Catherine's Monastery. From here you can also climb Mount Sinai where Moses received the Ten Commandments, although you might well feel closer to death than God after hiking four hours in darkness to watch the sun rise from the summit.

Visitors to Sinai usually base themselves at one of the Red Sea resort towns or otherwise undertake a multi-day jeep safari or camel trek through the desert.