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Destination: <span>Hurghada / Red Sea</span>
HomeDestination: <span>Hurghada / Red Sea</span>

Destination: Hurghada / Red Sea

Reef diving and snorkelling on the Red Sea coast, with Luxor and Cairo both reachable as day trips.

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About this destination

What you will find on the Red Sea

Hurghada runs along about 40 kilometres of the Red Sea coast and exists because of what is offshore: a fringing reef system with visibility that regularly passes 20 metres and water warm enough to swim in year-round. Giftun Island, a protected area just out from the main bay, is the usual snorkelling and diving destination, and boats leave for it every morning.

The coast is also a base rather than only a beach. Luxor is about four hours away by road, which makes the Valley of the Kings and Karnak a long but common day trip. Cairo and the Pyramids can be done the same way, or by a short domestic flight. Inland, the Eastern Desert runs up to the coast road and is where the quad biking, jeep safaris and Bedouin dinners happen.

Wind is what separates the resorts along this coast: the same conditions that unsettle swimmers at the exposed northern end are exactly why kitesurfers go there. Hurghada itself sits in a sheltered bay.

Good to know

Hurghada / Red Sea, explained

The Red Sea coast around Hurghada has the clearest reef diving in Egypt and the most reliable year-round swimming weather in the country. Water sits around 28°C in summer and rarely drops below 21°C in winter, and the reefs start close enough to shore that snorkellers see as much as divers on many sites.

Giftun Island and the reefs around it are the main day-boat destination; further out, wreck dives such as the Thistlegorm draw divers from across the world. On land, the Eastern Desert begins just behind the coast road, which is where the quad and jeep trips go.

Hurghada has its own international airport and is about five hours from Cairo by road. Day trips to Luxor take around four hours each way, which makes them long but popular — particularly for travellers who came for the sea and want one day of ancient Egypt.

FAQ

Your questions

Yes. It is about four hours each way by road, so it is a full day — leaving very early and returning late — covering Karnak, the Valley of the Kings and usually the temple of Hatshepsut. Many people find one long day enough to decide they want to come back properly.
Yes. Sea temperature from December to February sits around 21–23°C, warmer than the Mediterranean in high summer. Air temperatures are mild and the main winter variable is wind rather than cold.
Giftun Island and the reefs around it, reached by day boat in under an hour. The island is a protected area, which is why the coral there is in better condition than at the house reefs along the main strip.
No. The reefs are shallow enough that snorkelling shows you a great deal, and dive centres along the coast run introductory dives for beginners as well as full certification courses.
Direct international flights to Hurghada airport, a short domestic flight from Cairo, or about five hours by road from Cairo.
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