Hurghada was once a fairly small and unimposing fishing village, located next to the Red Sea and boasting a number of superb beaches.
Today, the resort of Hurghada is almost unrecognizable from its past life and has grown to become the most visited tourist destination in the whole of Egypt, with more than 100 different hotels, many of which line the shoreline.
Famous for its superb diving opportunities, Hurghada is especially appealing to those with little experience of scuba diving, who come to marvel at the underwater reefs and awesome marine life.
Tourism is now a huge part of Hurghada and each year, many tourists choose to combine their holiday here with visits to other prominent locations along the Nile Valley, including the relatively nearby city of Luxor.
Holiday resorts and hotels provide aquatic sport facilities for windsurfers, kitesurfers, yachtsmen, scuba divers and snorkelers. Hurghada is known for its watersports activities, nightlife and warm weather.
Daily temperature hovers round 30 °C (86 °F) most of the year, during July and August temperatures reach over 40 °C (104 °F). Many Europeans head to Hurghada for their regular Holidays, specially during the Winter season and spend their Christmas and New Year holidays in the city.
Tourism from Russia dropped drastically after the Metrojet Flight 9268 plane crash in November 2015.
Hurghada stretches for about 36 kilometres (22 mi) along the seashore, and it does not reach far into the surrounding desert. The resort is a destination for Egyptian tourists from Cairo, the Delta and Upper Egypt, as well as package holiday tourists from Europe.
Today Hurghada counts 248,000 inhabitants and is divided into:
- El Ahia and El Helal, the northern part.
- El Dahar or Downtown is the old part.
- Sekalla is the city center.
- El Kawsar is the modern part.
- El Memsha or Village road is pedestrian road stretching over 4 km.
Along the El Mamsha you find many of Hurghada's new hotels, restaurants and shops. Most of the newest and biggest hotel resorts locates in the area between Mamsha to Sahl Hasheesh or Village road.
After Sahl Hasheesh you find Makadi Bay with it hotels. Dahar is the oldest part of the town, where the town's traditional bazaar, the post office and the long-distance bus stations, Go Bus and Upper Egypt Bus are situated.
Busiest area is it's city center known as Sakala, which is spread along Sheraton Road. There are some hotels, shops and restauants along Sheraton Road.
The city is served by the Hurghada International Airport with scheduled passenger traffic connecting to Cairo and directly with several cities in Europe. A new terminal was opened in 2015 to accommodate rising traffic.
Hurghada has a subtropical-desert climate, with mild-warm winters and hot to very hot summers. Temperatures in the period December–January–February are warm, but in the evenings temperature may drop from average 20 Celsius degrees to 10.
November, March and April are comfortably warm. May and October are hot and the period from June to September is very hot. The average annual temperature of the sea is 24 °C (75 °F), ranging from 21 °C (70 °F) in February and March to 28 °C (82 °F) in August.
The highest temperature recorded occurred on June 12, 2013 and was 46 °C (115 °F), while the lowest record temperature was recorded on February 2, 1993 and was 0 °C (32 °F).
El Qoseir is one of the Egyptian gateways, and one of the oldest cities on the western coast of the Red Sea. In the past it was known by various names, such as Thagho in the pharonic period, Leucos Limen or white port in Greek in the Hellenistic and Ptolemaic period, and Portus Albus in the Roman period.
In the Islamic period it was given the name El Qoseir, which means a small palace or fortress.
Located between Hurghada and Marsa Alam, El Quseir used to be an important port. Many people traveled from there to the land of Punt to buy ivory, leather and incense. During the Ottoman and the Islamic periods, Egyptians and Muslims from North Africa traveled from El Quseir as pilgrims to Mecca.
It was also the only port importing coffee from Yemen. During the French occupation of Egypt, El Qoseir was the arrival point for Arabs and Muslims from Hegaz coming to fight beside the Mamalic against the French army.
The most important sites in El Qoseir are the fort and the water reservoir. The water reservoir was El Qoseir's only source of drinking water 100 years ago.
El Qoseir El Adima is another important site as well. It was the old Roman port where hundreds of amphora and old pottery artifacts were found.
Even the police station is located at a historical site. There are now many bazaars here, as well as cafes, coffee shops and restaurants offering sea food. There are several 300-year-old buildings here: the Ottoman fort and the old mosques El Farran, El Qenawi and El Senousi.
Makadi Bay is a Tourist Resort located 30 km south of Hurghada dedicated only to hotels, shops and clubs. There's no settlements with locals. Place features good sandy beach. Surprisingly, the local delicacy is camel marinaded in Buckfast.
Sharm El Naga is a village, around 40 km (25 mi) south of Hurghada. Its beach contains a beautiful reef cliff.
Soma Bay is a tourist resort situated 45 km (28 mi) south of Hurghada, with various hotels including Palm Royale Soma Bay, La Residence des Cascades, Robinson Club, Sheraton,Kempinski & Caribbean World Resort Soma Bay.
El Gouna is a privately owned luxury hotel town, about 25 km north of Hurghada. Quiet and clean, the town consists of several islands separated by channels and connected by bridges.
Besides 14 hotels and 3 marinas, there are also 2200 private villas and apartments, while many more are under construction. It is promoted by some as Egypt's Venice. It is built on 10 km of beachfront and has unique and diverse architecture.
El Gouna provides diving and watersports centers, horse stables, go-karting, shopping arcades, bazaars, a wide selection of restaurants and bars, night clubs, an internet cafe, four bank branches, many automated teller machines (ATMs), two pharmacies, the El Gouna international school, El Gouna national school, a nursery, a private hospital.
There are three marinas, a library, an airport, one of several casinos on the Red Sea coast, a private radio station, a post office, a museum, real estate offices and an 18-hole golf course designed by Gene Bates with a unique aqua driving range.
El Mahmya is a tourist beachfront camp on the protected Giftun island, 45 minutes by boat from Hurghada.
Although a town in its own right, Hurgada’s current major industry is foreign and domestic tourism, owing to its dramatic landscape, year-round dry and temperate climate and long stretches of natural beaches.
Its waters are clear and calm for most of the year and have become popular for various water-sports, particularly recreational scuba diving and snorkelling.
Dive sites around Abu Ramada Island, Fanadir, Giftun Kebir, and Giftun Soraya are popular. Tourists also visit shipwrecks such as the El Mina or the Rosalie Moller.
The beach at Hurghada is not secluded, out to Sigala the beach is then followed by coastal holiday villages and then desert.
In a 2016 attack and again in a 2017 attack foreign tourists at Hurghada's beach resorts were targeted by terrorists attacks.
Most major airlines in Europe and the Middle East can fly you straight to Hurghada International Airport without having to stop in Cairo. Prices depend on the time of the booking and the airline. As you enter the airport building, you will see a big sign saying Visa 25USD.
You will be ushered towards a stand where you must buy the visa for 25 Euro (over 30USD). You can easily avoid this by going to the National Bank Of Egypt stand in the same hall and presenting your passport, along with exactly 25 US dollars, to the attendant.
He will give you the visa and you will be done in half the time, for half the price.
If you are in Cairo, you can also fly to Hurghada on Egypt Air Express a subsidiary of Egypt Air or Nile Air, which is now servicing domestic locations in Egypt. Prices vary: 400-900 Egyptian pounds depending on the season and how early you book your tickets.
From Sharm el-Sheikh you can fly with Egypt Air for about 450-550 LE, the trip takes about 1 hour.
From Cairo, trip takes about 7 hours, depending on the operator. Good operators are Super Jet and Go Bus; avoid MCV Co. Prices range from 50 to 150LE for a one way ticket and buses will leave about every hour.
From Alexandria, 2 daily buses. One is operated by Upper Egypt and leaves at 18:30, arriving in Hurghada around 4:30 the next morning. This is not ideal as you will find the city asleep and it is very hard to get a taxi this early.
The second bus, operated by Super Jet, will leave around 20:30 and arrive around 6:30 in the morning. Prices are around 90-100LE for a one way trip.
From Luxor, about 4-5h by Super Jet bus or longer by Upper Egypt. Super Jet runs twice daily and Upper Egypt has more frequent buses.
From Aswan, 2 daily buses, both operated by Upper Egypt. The first one leaves at 15:30, the second leaves at 17:30. The trip takes at least 8 hours, meaning you will arrive in Hurghada after midnight. Prices are around 50-55LE.
There is no normal public transport in Hurghada. White mini vans the Toyota Hiace locally called micro bus have established routes. Locals are the main users, but it is quite easy to use them.
It costs about 1-2 Egyptian pounds, and they stop wherever needed and go wherever you want except 1-2 neighbourhoods. Ask the driver for destination before getting in.
Microbus travel is not recommended for the young women.
Taxi drivers in Hurghada have astonishing talent for spotting tourists from far, far away; look at the approaching car and it will stop for you at a cost.
Before stepping in, find out if driver speaks any English, and show the wanted destination on the map. There are only few streets with names, so the destination is specified with nearby places, a hotel for example.
Discuss and agree the total price but not per person with the driver: remember the price varies from 10 to 25 Egyptian pounds. Do not travel with the meter on, drivers can control it. After the driver agrees on a price, jump in. Get out in front of the hotel.
The method to avoiding confrontation with the drivers is to have correct amount of money you agreed at first. Pass the money on at the destination, get out and walk away; avoid arguing with drivers.
Most taxi drivers are honest people trying to make a living by getting tourists and locals from one place to another. Very few are thieves, targeting tourists to steal money.
If you have only a 50LE or 100LE note, mention this to the driver before you get in. Ask him if he has change, then ask him again. He might have to stop somewhere at a shop to have the note changed. As you hand him the note, say for example; I give you 100 pound, you give me 80 pound.
This will prevent the taxi driver from quickly changing the note and accusing you of giving him only 10LE. If this should happen, weigh your chances.
You are unlikely to get your money back, and when surrounded by many taxi drivers, you might get yourself into more trouble. Cut your losses and take another taxi.
When you want to drive by night, you should take care, mostly as woman. You should take better an serios taxi service. There are a few very well, where the driver speak also english. And there is also a german taxi company in hurghada, MyDriver chauffeur service.
Uber and Careem both have presences in Hurghada. They are reasonably priced and convenient, sparing you the incessant haggling required for taxi rides.
However, some locations e.g. the bus station within Hurghada have been blocked on Uber. You will see a message that Uber does not operate in this location. Simply walk about 2-3 blocks/5 minutes away from the building avoiding the taxi touts along the way , and you will be able to use Uber again.
Hurghada has a variety of activities for those who enjoy the sea and the beach. Activities include scuba-diving, snorkeling, windsurfing, parasailing, and jetskis. You can also ride a glass boat which is a boat with a glass bottom where you can see the amazing coral reefs and underwater scenery.
The main reason to visit Hurghada is the Red Sea, which is excellent for diving or snorkeling. See incredible coral reefs and hundreds of varieties of tropical fish just 10 m from the beach.
Again, either your hotel will have dive escorts on site, or it can arrange a scuba diving expedition with guides. Scuba diving (2 dives) cost between 50-65 USD. The divers are locals and are excellent in handling beginners.
In late March, the water may be a bit cold, so a wetsuit might be necessary. It might also be windy in late March and just as likely may not be. You may want to check if your resort hotel provides windscreens on the beach.
For a desert adventure, you can also ride motorbikes or beach buggies into the desert.
Hurghada is an ideal point for trips by bus to Cairo and Luxor. The road between Hurghada and Luxor take around 3.5 hours. the road between Hurghada And Cairo take around 6 hours.
Hurghada offers many activities not to be found anywhere else on Earth: quad-biking hundreds of miles into the Sahara desert for tea with a Bedoin tribe, then camel-riding across Biblical plains to see remote and ancient wonders.
Diving and snorkeling around a vibrant and colourful coral reef; boat trips to the unpopulated Big and Little Gifton islands; swimming in the warm sea; good shopping; excellent and varied cuisine from across the world, etc.
If you were to choose to stay in your hotel complex for the duration of your break, you would miss out on much more than you bargained for.
Those new to Egypt will find karkaday - a drink made from an infusion of hibiscus, served hot or cold and reputed to have many health benefits and chi a local version of tea, usually served in a glass offered everywhere.
Both are delicious and will usually come replete with a smoke on a sheesha pipe, known in the West as a hookah. Sheeshas are used for smoking molasses tobacco in various flavours, with the smoke passing through water before inhalation through a long tube attached to the bowl.
Although they may resemble a device used to smoke illicit substances in the west like bang, sheesha is completely legal.
Cruise across the Red Sea to the uninhabited island of Giftun surrounded by magical coral gardens. Enjoy a lazy day on the white sand or swim amongst the coral reefs. This great day trip is hard to skip when you are in Hurghada.
In the evening, you can go for a walk in the promenade area for some traditional cafes, shopping, or dining. There is a bowling and family entertainment centre close by as well as a few malls and restaurants.
Night life usually begins quite late, and you can find some clubs in close proximity to the promenade.
Hurghada Grand Aquarium, Village Road, After Magawish Hotel. Aquarium and Mini Zoo.
Nautilus Pearl, Hurghada Marina. 8 am - 10 pm. Luxury Catamaran with underwater viewing stations, restaurant, bar with wifi, Sun Deck, Jacuzzi, Cocktail deck, snorkeling. Sailing Daily.
Tornado Marine Fleet, Hurghada Marina. 24 hrs. Luxury liveaboard fleet offering cruises for divers and non divers on board an award winning fleet. Catering for groups and individuals. Multilingual guides.
You can buy many souvenirs from the shops that are spread inside the main town at Sekalla high street and along the beach areas. Also the old down town el Dahar has a wide selection of bazaars with cheaper prices than Sekalla.
First, remember to haggle, haggle and haggle everywhere except in restaurants and drugstores. You should be able to get 75% off from the price that seller asks at first. This might vary with different products, so remember to check a few shops for appropriate prices.
There are souvenir shops that have fixed prices, mostly in the New Hurghada area. There is no reason to be happy with the fixed price, since some times it's more expensive than in other shops. At famous stores like 'Cleopatra' you can find souvenirs, shirts, woodwork, and silver.
For brand-names and higher-quality products, head down to New Marina and Sheraton Road where you can find Adidas, Timberland, Dockers and Levi's as well as a traditional bazaar or Souq in Arabic.
Often the clothes are counterfeit knockoffs; though you will notice that any shop may post famous trademarks on its banner and yet sell fake clothes.
In perfumes, most are oil-based and rarely can you find natural or organic perfumes. Be wary when the sellers attempt to entice you into the shop, for they will often invite you to drink something like tea.
Or, if they feel you are rich, they will offer Cola for while they are demonstrating perfumes. One should politely refuse the refreshments because, if you drink, you have to buy from them.
Hurghada offers a variety of cuisine, including fast food, western restaurants, oriental food, and many others.
You can find KFC, McDonald's, and the local fast food chain GAD.
Where Sherry Street branches from Sheraton Street, you can get chicken meal in Brost eldik for 14LE, popular among backpackers and young people.
Right across from Princess Palace Hotel, near Hard Rock Cafe, you will find the bar/restaurant Triple X. Though the name may sound a little strange, the atmosphere in this place is very friendly. It is a family-run place and often will you find more staff than clients.
But delicious and cheap food, cold beers served in clean, cold glasses and helpful, multilingual staff make this place the perfect hangout for many loyal customers. 50cl of Stella costs 10LE; chicken sandwich with fries costs 25LE.
Also, they have free WiFi for their customers,just ask for the password, it changes 2 or 3 times every day.
Alcoholic drinks can usually be found in bars or hotels. Hurghada has a very western atmosphere so it is much easier to drink than in other areas of Egypt.
Nonalcoholic drinks include conventional drinks like canned drinks, sodas, or juice, as well famous Egyptian drinks such as sahlab, karkadeh, mirinda, yansoon, gansabeel, irfa, and many others.
Over the years, Hurghada has developed a bubbling reputation for its cosmopolitan nightlife scene, alongside the many bars within the new Hurghada Marina, Papas Bar has two venues one inside the marina, the other next-door to the Shedwan Hotel in downtown Dahr.
The world-renown Hed Kandi Beach Bar; still the world's first and only Kandi beach bar.
There are many bars, nightclubs and discos in Hurghada. Almost every hotel comes equip with its own disco, and then you can find the only beachside Ministry of Sound venue, coupled with the world's first Hed Kandi Beach Bar.
Other nightlife leaders in the city include Hard Rock Cafe, Little Budha, Calypso Disco, the new R&B Club, and throughout the summer months you can find the popular Voodoo parties every Wednesday within the Grand Hotel Resorts.
Global leaders in dance music, Ministry of Sound Beach Club, operate a varied daily schedule ranging from disco grooves, through to R&B/hiphop and house/techno.
There are also many other discos and late-night bars dotted around the city, generally speaking ask your guest relations or tour guide to recommend you a venue suited best to you.
There's famous Czech pub PRAHA at the end of Sheraton St.
A general rule when taking a taxi at a night club is to agree on a price before you even touch the car and give the correct amount. Taxi drivers will try to steal money from you and you will not be able to retrieve it once it is in their hands.
Dana Beach Resort, Sahl Hasheesh Road, Hurghada, Egypt. This 5-star Hurghada resort offers private beachfront resort on the Red Sea. Amenities include a lagoon-style outdoor pool, dive center and piano bar. All rooms feature an outdoor balcony.
Beach Albatros Resort, Safaga Road, P.O. Box 110, Hurghada, Egypt. This property is a 5-minute walk from the beach. Located directly on the beach, this 4-star resort features an Aqua Park with 3 outdoor swimming pools and spacious rooms with a balcony. It includes a spa and a diving center.
Lillyland Beach Club Resort, KM 17 200 Hurghada - Safaga Rd, Red Sea Governorate, Hurghada, Egypt. This property is a 10-minute walk from the beach. Lillyland Beach Club Resort is on the coast of the Red Sea and 12 miles south of Hurghada International Airport. It features a spa, an outdoor pool, and a private beach area.
Giftun Azur Resort, Village Road, Hurghada, Egypt. This property is a 4-minute walk from the beach. Nestled among lush gardens with palm trees, Giftun Azur Resort features 7 restaurants and 7 bars. It has outdoor pools, and spacious rooms with sea, pool or garden views.
Amwaj Blue Beach Resort & Spa, Abu Soma Bay, Hurghada, Egypt. Amwaj Blue Beach Resort & Spa offers luxury accommodations with Red Sea views and a private beach. There are 2 pools set within gardens, as well as a spa and fitness center.
AMC Royal Hotel, El Ahyaa Area, Hurghada, Egypt. Right on the beach, AMC Royal Hotel is in Alahyaa District in Hurgahda. It features a private beach and a vast range of water activities including scuba diving and snorkeling.
Imperial Shams Abu Soma, Km 9 Safaga Road, Soma Bay, Hurghada, Egypt. This property is 2 minutes walk from the beach. In the beautiful Soma Bay, this 5-star resort features a private, sandy beach and a large, outdoor pool. A balcony and satellite TV are offered in all rooms.
Albatros Aqua Park Resort, Safaga Road, Hurghada, Egypt. This property is a 5-minute walk from the beach. This hotel is situated in Hurghada and is a 10-minute drive from Hurghada International Airport.
It features a large pool with waterslides, a heated swimming pool and a hot tub. Guests can enjoy free access to Aqua Park as well free access for children Aqua Park at Sea World Resort.
Bel Air Azur Resort for adults Only, El Cornich Road, Sekala, Hurghada, Egypt. This property is 2 minutes walk from the beach. This all-inclusive beach hotel is located along the Red Sea, just 1.9 miles from the centre of Hurghada. It features 800 m² of freshwater pools, and rooms with balcony and free minibar.
Grand Seas Resort HostMark, KM 14 - Hurghada - Safaga Road, Hurghada, Egypt. This property is 2 minutes walk from the beach. Featuring outdoor pool and a sit-down restaurant, the Grand Seas Resort HostMark is in Hurghada. Wi-Fi access is available for a fee.
Eiffel Hotel Hurghada, Sheraton Street, Beside Marina Al Yokhoot, Hurghada, Egypt. This property is 1 minute walk from the beach. Featuring a private beach, Eiffel Hotel offers air-conditioned rooms with a balcony overlooking the Red Sea.
Its outdoor pool is surrounded by sun-lounge chairs and has a pool bar. Free Wi-Fi is available in public areas.
Eagles Resort, Airport way in the Magawish area. New Resort right on Red Sea coast just 10 minutes away from Hurghada Airport. Hotel consist from just 72 suits with separate living rooms and will give you pleasant relaxing atmosphere during vocation. from 23$.
A little internet searching will throw up some private self catering accommodation that is usually owned by Europeans as a holiday home, which gives much more independence than staying in a resort hotel and is potentially much cheaper.
Hurghada Acorn is a reputable provider of self catering accommodation in Hurghada and the surrounding areas, to suit all budgets, and has been established since 2008.
They are a husband and wife team, and are regularly contacted by travelers for help, even if they are not their own guests, they try to make themselves available for assistance.
Budget hotels catering to Egyptian travellers with rooms at 50LE can be found near the Upper Egypt bus station.
Hurghada Center is a big complex, offering over 400 living spaces of different sizes. Ask the taxi for Center Libya, the complex is still property of the Libyan government and known by everyone in Hurghada by this name and ask one of the security guards to take you to the reception.
A 2 person studio will be 125LE per night. They also have special rates for long term rent. Taxi ride from the airport costs 30LE, to McDonald's on Sheraton Road 10LE and to Hard Rock Cafe 15 or 20LE.
Sonesta Pharoah Beach Resort, Safaga Road, Hurghada Egypt.
Sunrise Holidays Resort, Coronation Road, Hurghada Egypt.
Sunrise Chrystal Bay Resort, Hurghada Egypt.
Sea Star Blue Rivage, Hurghada Egypt.
Giftun Beach, Hurghada Egypt.
The Oberoi in Hurghada is 5-star deluxe hotel.
Steigenberger Makadi Hotel is nestled on the picturesque shores of Hurghada and in the heart of the magnificent Makadi Golf Course and the entire Madinat Makadi resort.
Madinat Makadi is 617 acres of new and thriving holiday Egypt destination with an impressive variety of five-star hotels, family resorts and deluxe accommodation that provides something for everyone.
The wonders of antiquity, the magnificent Red Sea with its stunning beaches, majestic desert and mountains and Souk Makadi shopping complex.
Jaz Bluemarine is situated in Hurghada, with its own private beach, outstanding natural beauty and mesmerizing marine life. The long stretching coastline, Mediterranean climate and coral reef islands provide a perfect backdrop to the perfect five-star Egypt escape.
Hurghada Clinic. Medical clinic with doctors who can speak English and Polish. International travel insurances are accepted.
El Gouna Hospital. An integrated professional medical service provider across the Red Sea since 1998. Different & professional management for multiple-trauma patients through its highly-qualified medical crew in different departments including neurosurgery, general & thoracic surgery, orthopedic & vascular surgery.
Endoscopic surgeries: gynecology, orthopedic, general surgery, urosurgery, stone removal and destruction. There are stuff who speak English, French Russian and German. Often international insurances are accepted.
Senzo Mall is a new shopping mall, about a 10 minute taxi ride from town, on the airport road. It has a large Spinneys Hypermarket and many other shops, fast-food outlets and a 5-screen cinema as well as a moderate-sized kids' play area.
You can take a bus to El Gouna which departs every 15 minutes from El Dahar Square opposite the Egypt Telecom building. A 45-minute ride costs 5LE for one way if you told him that you are living in el gouna if you are a tourist they will charge you 10LE
Buses leave for many destinations from the Old Town bus station. Eighty percent of them run on schedule; the others may face many hours' delays.
Be there at least one hour before the scheduled departure. Having a local fix your ticket might be a good way to avoid a lot of frustration, whilst saving money.
Buses leave for Quseer and Marsa Alam 3 times a day, Luxor 3 times, Cairo each 1 hour, there's no direct buses to Sharm El Sheikh you must go to Cairo or Suez that about the GOV buses.
But for most safety, reasonable price and comfortable buses go to Zahran bus station you can find more than 4 private companies you can use SuperJet it cost 80LE to Cairo and 100LE to Alexandria 45Le to Luxor.
To go Aswan you can use StarJet.
There are long-distance taxis leaving from the station in El Hegaz Street. Just contact the people standing at the entrance who ask for your destination. The taxis are used a lot by the locals and are quite cheap. One can reach most bigger cities in Egypt from this station.
To get to the station, take the bus 4 or 7 to El Hegaz Bus Station.
Be aware that shared taxi are not comfortable and if you are with a woman don't go there as you may be ripped off there by the drivers.
If you want to travel more comfortable, there are flights offered by Egyptair connecting Hurghada with Cairo and other cities.
Tourism Observer
