Sharks Bay

Sharks Bay is the stretch between the town and the airport where the coast breaks into small bays and rocky headlands. The reef comes close to shore here, which is the whole character of the place: the swimming is over coral rather than sand, and the snorkelling starts at the jetty rather than half an hour away.

What it is like

The land steps down to the water, so a lot of what is built here looks over the sea, and access to it is by steps, a jetty or a lift depending on the property. It is quieter than Naama Bay and more built-up than Nabq — hotels and residential compounds side by side, with Soho Square and its restaurants close enough to be the evening out.

Because the shore is rock and reef rather than beach, the honest question for any building is not "how far to the sea" but "how do you get into it". The answers differ enormously between neighbours.

Buying here

Stock mixes hotel-adjacent apartments with ordinary residential compounds, and quality varies with the year of construction. Sea views are common and command a premium; the premium is real and worth checking against what the view actually is from that floor, in that direction, with the neighbouring plot built out.

Diving is the anchor of demand here, in winter as much as in summer, which makes rental seasons less sharply defined than in the pure beach districts.