Soak up the sunshine in the Red Sea resort town of Eilat

Israelis and Europeans alike flock to this Red Sea resort town to soak up the sunshine and dive the coral reefs.

Israel's southernmost city, Eilat lies at the end of the Gulf of Aqaba, 326 kilometres from Jerusalem and separated from the rest of Israel by the Negev desert. At night, you can see the lights twinkling in the neighbouring nations of Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

While Egypt's Sinai peninsula is regarded as a better scuba diving spot, the transparency of the water, the diversity of marine life and the technicoloured coral on offer in Eilat is nonetheless extraordinary.

Even if you're not a diver, you can still appreciate Eilat's underwater world from a glass-bottomed boat or from the "Yellow Submarine" which descends 60 metres beneath to view the reef. You could also watch or even play with semi-wild dolphins at the Dolphin Reef.

Eilat's 5km stretch of sandy coast has been developed to the max, with enough high-rise hotels, restaurants, nightclubs and cocktail lounges to keep every visitor fed and bed.

Eilat remained blissfully untouched by terrorism until January 2007 when a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up in a bakery.

Eilat has an airport located in the middle of the city. Charter flights also service Ovda International Airport, located about 60km north of Eilat.