Egypt · Red Sea
Hurghada
The mainland Red Sea. Cheaper than Sharm, better placed for Luxor, and home to some of the best reef diving in the world — with one caveat about the wind that nobody mentions until you arrive.
The short version
It is not Sharm, and the difference matters
Both are Egyptian Red Sea all-inclusive at similar prices, so people treat them as interchangeable. They aren't. Sharm sits in Sinai with calm water and reef straight off the shore. Hurghada is on the mainland — windier, with the reefs mostly a boat ride out, but four hours from Luxor rather than a flight away.
You want to dive properly, you kitesurf, you want to see Luxor and the Valley of the Kings, or you want the lowest price we can find. The boat diving is world class and the wind is an asset rather than a problem.
You want to snorkel from the beach every day, you have young children, or you'd rather lie still than do things. Sharm's bays are sheltered and the reef starts a few metres out. See Sharm el Sheikh.
The caveat
It is genuinely windy
Hurghada sits on an exposed stretch of mainland coast and the prevailing northerly blows most afternoons. That's exactly why El Gouna, Soma Bay and Safaga are among the best kitesurfing spots on earth — and exactly why some people spend a week wondering why their beach umbrella keeps folding. If lying flat in still air is the goal, we'd point you at a sheltered bay like Makadi or send you to Sharm instead.
Pick your bay
Six resorts, one coastline
The original strip. Cheapest hotels, walkable marina and restaurants, and the boats to Giftun Island leave from here.
A purpose-built lagoon town 25km north. Smarter, quieter, more expensive, and the best kitesurfing water in the region.
Family territory. Big all-inclusive resorts around a sheltered bay, waterparks, and the calmest swimming on this coast.
The upmarket end. Low-rise five-stars, golf at Soma, and a proper house reef at Sahl Hasheesh — rare for the mainland.
When to go
Autumn and spring, not midsummer
Hurghada works most of the year but the edges are sharp. July and August pass 40°C and the sea stops cooling you down. December and January are pleasant on land at 22°C, but the water drops to around 21° and the wind has a bite — bring a shortie if you plan to be in it.
April, May, October and November are the four months worth targeting — hot enough, warm water, and the wind at its most manageable. Grey marks the months we'd talk you out of.
Worth leaving the hotel for
What we'd actually book
A national park island half an hour out by boat. Marine park fee applies. Take the early boat and the small one.
Four cargo ships on one reef. The best wreck diving in Egypt that doesn't need a liveaboard.
Four hours by road each way. Doable in a day, far better as an overnight — we'd book the overnight.
Pair it with Luxor. Tutankhamun's tomb is a separate ticket and worth the extra.
Before you book
Three things worth knowing
Luxor is worth an overnight. The day trip means leaving at four in the morning and returning at ten at night, in a convoy, in the heat. One night in Luxor turns the worst day of the holiday into the best two.
The house reef varies enormously. On this coast some hotels have a jetty out to living reef and others have a sandy shelf and nothing to see. It's the single biggest difference between two hotels at the same price — ask us, because the brochures won't tell you.
Check FCDO advice before booking. UK government guidance on Egypt is worth reading before you commit, and it affects your travel insurance as well as your plans. We'll point you at the current version and talk it through.
Next step
Tell us your dates and we'll match the reef
The hotel matters more here than almost anywhere, because the house reef and the wind exposure decide the week. Send your dates and we'll match you to the right bay, with the payment plan written out in full.
Hurghada packages
Flights, accommodation and transfers as one package. Every one can be reshaped — different dates, different board, a different airport, or a stopover on the way.
7 nights in Hurghada
- Return flights and private transfers
- All inclusive throughout
- Financial protection confirmed in writing before you pay
10 nights in Hurghada
- Return flights and private transfers
- All inclusive throughout
- The extra nights cost proportionally less — fixed costs don't change
14 nights in Hurghada
- Return flights and private transfers
- Half board throughout
- Best value per night, and worth it on a longer flight
Guide prices, per person, based on two sharing, including return flights, accommodation and transfers. They indicate what a holiday of this type has typically cost and are not an offer or a quotation. Your price depends on dates, party, board basis, departure airport and availability, and is confirmed in writing before any payment is taken.
Packages that include Hurghada
Ready-built itineraries with flights, transfers and internal hops booked as one package, ATOL protected. Every one can be reshaped around your dates.
10 Night Rome, Pompeii & the Amalfi Coast
10 nights · May–Jun, Sep–Oct · from £1,449pp
11 Night Athens, Paros & Santorini
11 nights · May–Jun, Sep · from £1,149pp
10 Night Marrakech, Atlas & Essaouira
10 nights · Mar–May, Sep–Nov · from £849pp
11 Night Cape Town, Winelands & Kruger
11 nights · Apr, Oct · from £2,699pp
12 Night Serengeti & Zanzibar
12 nights · Jun–Oct, Jan–Feb · from £3,399pp
12 Night Masai Mara & Zanzibar
12 nights · Jul–Oct · from £3,099pp
11 Night Doha & Zanzibar
11 nights · Jun–Oct, Dec–Feb · from £1,799pp
11 Night Dubai & Maldives
11 nights · Nov–Apr · from £2,199pp
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