“We’re no ordinary zoo,” says Alex, our guide at Marine Park Eilat, as he explains why local school children are integral to the centre’s conservation projects – each child breeds their own little coral polyp and monitors its progress, learning crucial information about the region’s ecosystem along the way.

The park is just one of the incredible attractions in the Red Sea resort of Eilat, on Israel’s southernmost tip.

You could easily spend a day among the exhibits; see pearls form in their shells, gawp at a gruesome tank of Amazonian piranhas, or watch as a diver clowns around with a huge variety of sharks, feeding them lunch and entertaining visitors in the process.

Or you could just gaze through the windows of the underwater observatory (the first of its kind when it was built in 1975), hypnotised by the shoals of tropical fish as they flit about the colourful coral reef they call home.

We only spent a couple of hours there on our whistle-stop tour. We had arrived on Monarch’s inaugural flight from London Luton to Ovda just two days before.

After a 45-minute drive from the airport and the deepest of sleeps in a king size bed, I woke up to sunrise over the rose red Eilat Mountains and a staggering 99 dishes at Dan Hotel’s five star breakfast buffet.

Besides the countless pastries, meat, cheeses, fish and salads on offer was the famous shakshuka – eggs poached in a rich tomato and herb sauce, a typical middle eastern breakfast dish and a hearty start to a day of sightseeing.

Our first activity was only a mile or so down the road – despite a diversion caused by an early morning triathlon – to Dolphin Reef, where a sandy cove is home to a family of five bottlenose dolphins.

After a short briefing we donned wetsuits and in small groups carefully flippered into the sea, waiting with excitement for the creatures to come and play.

They did, and for half an hour we were blessed with close-up encounters of our new underwater friends. Afterwards we could have watched feeding time, taken selfies from the jetty, bought dolphin souvenirs, or sunbathed on the beach.

But to top off the already delightful morning we were treated to an hour in heated relaxation pools of sweet, salty and Dead Sea water. There you can lie back as a member of the “water team” guides you through a set of freeform movements.

Unscripted and unique to each instructor, the hour long sessions are sensational and totally relaxing, so make sure you leave enough time afterwards to make the most of your newly tranquil state. Teas, coffee, freshly squeezed orange juice and wine are on offer when you’re done in the pools, or you can opt for a session that includes brunch.

Our afternoon activity was a trip from the marina on a wooden boat with Eilat Yachts, circling the bay and taking in a view of the King of Jordan’s palace, with his football pitch-sized flag blowing in the wind. Kite-surfers scattered the horizon further down the coast and our lunch on board was delicious salads and barbecued meat.

Small scale industry dots the landscape around the bay; cranes, oil tankers and the Eilat-Ashkelon pipeline are reminders of the town’s importance as a port for Israel.

Back inland the Eilat Mountains are a fertile ground for exploration despite their barren appearance.

We were taken out in an open Jeep by knowledgeable guide Danny Gamliel who pointed out horned ibex gently munching on acacia trees, Bedouin plant names, smuggling routes and the ancient route to Petra over in the Jordanian mountains, directly facing us.

Eilat is mentioned in the Bible and the name probably comes from the Hebrew for the pistachio tree. Further west of the modern town are prehistoric tombs dating from the seventh millennium BC.

You can hike around this region, travelling further north to the Timna Valley for the world’s oldest copper mines, where unearthly rock formations tell of ancient winds, rains and riverbeds.

The town’s seafront nightlife is pleasant and varied, with a good number of seafood and meat restaurants to choose from. They are sophisticated and modern, and on the weekend we were there, nicely animated. Chic shops, some of them designer, line the marina with ice cream parlours, cafes and bars and of course you can explore the rest of the town too – for cinephiles there is an IMAX cinema, and the set where Rambo III was filmed.

On our final day we headed further north and stopped at the Dead Sea for another aquatic experience. Dotted along the shore of the man-made bathing lakes are a selection of boutique hotels, where you can eat, change and buy the obligatory mud-pack, before taking a dip in the strangely bouncy pools.

World renowned for its healing properties, the water for us in early December was a little cold, but its unexpected oiliness really does work its magic. My overly sensitive skin didn’t like the mud-pack, but absolutely loved the Dead Sea.

The view across the waters to Jordan is stunning, with colours ranging from pea green to sky blue to petal pink as the light hits the mountains to the east.

And as you bob about in the pretty, salty brine, it’s the perfect place to contemplate Eilat – its ultra modernity, its ancient history, and its capacity for an eyeopening and invigorating holiday.

Factfile

Monarch operates flights to Ovda, the gateway to Eilat, from London Luton airport with fares, including taxes, starting from £99 one way (£198 return) monarch.co.uk.

More information at: monarch.co.uk/israel/eilat-ovda/eilat/dan-eilat-hotel danhotels.com/eilathotels/daneilathotel.

Tour guide: Herzl Ein-Eli: herzltourguide/?fref=ts