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Hurghada
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Hurghada

Reefs, Resorts and Red Sea Boat Trips

Plan this trip
3 daysIdeal stay₹2,420From / night₹970Food / dayFreeEntry

The biggest resort town on Egypt's Red Sea coast: a long strip of beach hotels, many sold all-inclusive, with coral reefs a short boat ride away. Day boats go to the Giftun Islands for snorkelling, dive boats to the wrecks and reefs further out, and quad bikes and jeeps into the Eastern Desert to Bedouin camps. Its airport has direct flights from Europe and Cairo, and Luxor is four hours away by road for a day or two among the temples.

Highlights

  • Snorkelling day boat to the Giftun Islands
  • Orange Bay and Mahmya beaches
  • Wreck and reef diving
  • Glass-bottom boat for non-swimmers
  • Quad bike and jeep safari to a Bedouin camp
  • Hurghada Marina at night
  • Fish market in El Dahar
  • Day trip to Luxor

Things to do

  • Giftun Islands snorkelling day boatMorning · 7h
  • Intro dive or a two-dive boat dayMorning · 6h
  • Desert quad bike and Bedouin dinnerAfternoon · 4h
  • Beach and pool dayAny time · 4h
  • Hurghada Marina promenadeEvening · 2h

Tours & tickets

Tours & tickets in Hurghadavia GetYourGuideTours & tickets in Hurghadavia Klook

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When to go

Best time: March – November

Heads up

Cooler Red Sea Water and Wind

From December to March the Red Sea is about 21-23 °C and the wind blows hard, especially in the evenings: snorkelling is chilly without a wetsuit (boats rent them), some boat trips are cancelled in strong wind, and nights are cool. Great kitesurfing weather; for warm water come from May to November.

Heads up

Ramadan: Shorter Hours

Ramadan falls about February to March in 2027 (the dates move about 11 days earlier each year). Museums, sites, shops and offices keep shorter hours, many local restaurants open only after sunset, traffic jams just before the evening meal, and the evenings are lively. Tourist hotels and resorts serve food and drink as usual; eat and drink discreetly in public by day.

  • Ramadan — The fasting month: many cafés and restaurants outside the tourist hotels close by day, sites and offices keep shorter hours, and the streets come alive after the sunset meal (iftar), with lanterns (fanous) and late-night crowds in Islamic Cairo. Eat and drink discreetly in public by day. It falls about February to March in 2027.
  • Eid al-Fitr — Three days of holiday at the end of Ramadan: Egyptian families head for Alexandria, the Red Sea and Sinai, so beach hotels, trains and buses fill and prices rise. Banks and offices close.
  • Eid al-Adha — The feast of the sacrifice, a four-day holiday: sheep are slaughtered in the streets on the first morning, and the beaches and trains fill with Egyptian holidaymakers. About May in 2027.
  • Christmas, New Year and the winter peak — Late December to early January is the busiest fortnight of Egypt's season: Nile cruises, Abu Simbel flights, the Watania sleeper and Grand Egyptian Museum time slots sell out, and Luxor and Aswan hotels raise their rates. Book by October.