Hurghada sights: what there really is to see here – and what there isn’t

Hurghada combines reefs and the Eastern Desert with its own antiquities museum. The ministry lists around 2,000 objects from several periods at Hurghada Museum. For temple complexes and royal tombs, continue to Luxor.

Travel between your hotel, the Marina, El Dahar and the departure points determines what fits into one day. This guide helps you choose.

The districts that matter for visitors

Say “Hurghada” and, depending on your hotel, you could mean quite different places. The city stretches along nearly 40 kilometres of coast. Hurghada For a visit, three areas matter most.

El Dahar is in the north. This is where the traditional bazaar, the post office and the long-distance bus stations are, and where people shop, haggle and eat. It’s dusty and loud, prices are negotiated rather than marked, and it’s the part of town where you are most likely to see everyday life rather than a resort. Early evening, once the heat eases off, is the best time to go.

Sekalla, often also spelled Sigala, is the centre and also the oldest part: this is where fishermen settled by a natural harbour. Today hotels, shops and restaurants line Sheraton Road, and the modern port is here too.

The Marina is a developed harbour promenade with yachts, cafés and bars, lit up in the evening, and a point from which many boat trips depart. South of it, newer hotels, restaurants and shops stretch along the El Mamsha promenade. By the harbour stands the El Mina Mosque, built entirely of white marble, with two minarets around 40 metres tall. It opened in 2012; a smaller predecessor had stood on the site since 1968. Go Hurghada From the outside, it’s a photo opportunity at any time of day. According to this source, visitors may go in outside prayer times; dress appropriately and ask on the spot whether it’s open.

You drive between these areas. Hurghada isn’t built for walking, and that’s not a minor detail when planning a day. How to get around without a hire car is covered in Getting around Hurghada.

The real attraction lies offshore

Off Hurghada lie the Giftun Islands: Giftun Kebir, the larger one, closer to the city, and Giftun Soraya further east. Giftun They belong to a protected area, and the offer with the most reviews in our catalogue is a boat trip in these waters: three islands with a dolphin search and snorkelling, eight hours, from €44, with 8,267 reviews. That says something about reviews, not about booking numbers.

Orange Bay on Giftun Kebir is the best-known beach. The dive centre Aquarius puts it around 17 kilometres off the coast and describes the lagoon as warm, shallow and clear. Aquarius Mahmya is a beach camp on Giftun and appears in our comparison only with a sailing trip from €90.26. There are separate trips to Paradise Island and to Magawish island – to Magawish, for example, an eight-hour yacht trip from €21.

Giftun island trips may charge protected-area and island fees separately. Check the amount, currency, child policy and any cash payment on site for the specific offer. The official fee schedule differs by area and visitor group, so there is no single amount for everyone. EEAA

How long the crossing takes depends on the harbour, the boat and the programme. The 46 island offers in our comparison last between two and nine hours in total – the differences are set out in Orange Bay & Giftun Island. Which of these boats suits children is a separate question, answered in Boat trips with kids.

The reefs off the city

Dive sites lie around the Giftun Islands, Abu Ramada and Fanadir reef, among others; the wreck of the El Mina also lies off Hurghada. Hurghada If you only snorkel, you see the reefs at the stops of a boat trip; how many stops there are and how long they last is set out in the programme. The difference often comes down to the boat: on a large ship with many guests you swim in a group, on a small boat with few people it’s quieter. Ask how many guests are on board. What each option costs is set out in Snorkelling in Hurghada; anyone wanting to go deeper will find the comparison of dive centres and courses in Diving in Hurghada.

One figure worth knowing before booking in January: from December to March the water sits at around 22–24°C. Swimmable, yes. An hour in it without a wetsuit still feels cold; whether a wetsuit in the right size is available and included in the price is something to ask when booking. Visibility depends on the reef, the wind and the conditions on the day.

In the northern Hurghada area lies the reef Sha’ab El Erg, which is also known as Dolphin House. SUBEX Wild dolphins can be seen there, but not every day, and any operator that guarantees a sighting isn’t telling the truth. Trips there last four to seven and a half hours in our comparison; better odds in the morning can’t be inferred from that. And there’s a distinction you need to understand before booking: “Dolphin House” means wild dolphins in the open sea, Dolphin World in Makadi Bay is a dolphinarium with a show of trained animals. These are two different things. The offers in detail: Dolphins in Hurghada.

The desert starts right behind the hotels

Not after an hour’s drive, but right behind the coast. The Eastern Desert is Hurghada’s second big mainstay and also the cheapest one: the 70 desert offers in our comparison start at €7.57 for a two-hour quad tour, and half of them cost €27 or less.

Many of these tours combine hotel pickup, quad or buggy riding on desert tracks, a short camel ride and, in the evening, dinner and music at a purpose-built “Bedouin village”. Such a village is made for guests – that doesn’t make the evening any worse, you just need to know it before expecting photos of nomadic life.

Two practical points: it gets very dusty, so bring a cloth for your face and your own sunglasses or goggles. And every operator sets the minimum age for riding a quad yourself differently; the figures circulating online contradict each other. Rely on what’s stated on the specific booking page, not on a blog article – not even this one. The overview of 70 offers is in Desert safari from Hurghada. What works in the desert with small children is covered in Hurghada with a toddler.

What there is on land

Sorted honestly, with the purpose behind each one:

The Hurghada Grand Aquarium displays, according to the operator, over 1,200 animals from around 100 species, including sharks, rays and sea turtles. Hurghada Grand Aquarium It is indoors and the answer to what to do with someone who can’t or doesn’t want to swim.

Mini Egypt Park in Makadi Bay recreates Egypt’s monuments as open-air models – pyramids, temples, Abu Simbel. For children it can be a preparation before they see the originals in Luxor. Sand City is a park of large sand sculptures, also out in the open.

For all three you need a taxi or transfer from the hotel, and none of them is a reason to fly to Hurghada. On a day when the wind keeps the boats in the harbour, only the aquarium is a real alternative; Mini Egypt Park and Sand City suit a calm morning better. More on this in Hurghada with kids when the boat doesn’t sail; all land excursions are listed under Things to do in Hurghada.

The two big questions Hurghada itself can’t answer

Almost everyone asks them, so here are the figures instead of a vague answer.

Luxor is the nearest of the great temple sites on the Nile: around 300 road kilometres via Safaga and Qena. The local operator HurghadaToGo reckons on four to four and a half hours by car or minibus and five to six by coach, each way. HurghadaToGo Pick-up and return times depend on the hotel and should be confirmed before booking. As a day trip it’s a very long day, and it’s tough with small children. Day trips in our comparison start at €67.50. The two-day options with a night in Luxor spread the journey over two days, but in our comparison they all include a hot-air balloon flight and start at €184.82; there is also a five-day Nile cruise in the catalogue. All the options: Luxor day trip from Hurghada.

The Pyramids of Giza lie around 450 kilometres away. HurghadaToGo gives five to six hours each way by road and picks up from the hotel between 12.30am and 1.30am for its day trip; by plane it’s about an hour in the air each way. HurghadaToGo In our comparison, the most expensive flight option (€275.07) costs five times as much as the cheapest bus option (€54.80). If the pyramids are the actual reason for your trip, it’s more honest to plan Cairo as a destination in its own right rather than a day trip from the beach: Cairo & the pyramids from Hurghada.

How to spread this over a week

One suggestion that avoids the usual mistakes – not two long-distance trips back to back, and no boat trip on your departure day.

One day for the islands and reef, half a day for the desert in the afternoon, one morning for El Dahar and the souk, one day for either Luxor or Cairo, and the rest for the beach. Put the boat day at the start of the week: if the wind cancels it, there is still time for another date.

With children, this plan shifts, based on duration rather than category – which trip suits which age is covered in Hurghada with kids. Anyone coming with an infant decides on the season first and the programme second: Hurghada with a baby.

The interval before flying depends on the dive profile. Agree it with the dive centre before booking, using the DAN recommendations.

Two more things that affect the holiday more than any sight: the German Foreign Office advises never drinking tap water in Egypt, and bottled water is cheap. German Foreign Office And many offers can be cancelled free of charge up to 24 hours in advance; what applies is stated on the booking page. Then booking early costs nothing but the decision.