A quick guide to Hurghada

Hurghada which is 550 kilometers from Cairo is Egypts largest and most popular tourist destination. And to think that about 20 years ago it was just a little fishing village along the Red Sea. Today It's famous for its coral reefs that offer really good scuba diving and hosts about 120 hotels and aprox 60 000 citizens!

In the Red Sea you can find many beautiful fishes and sharks, dolphins, turtles, whales and many other animals. But here’s a warning to watch out for Lion Fish, Stone fish and the blue spotted stingray.

Hurghada is divided in three areas, in the north you'll find Down Town Hurghada the most genuine part of Hurghada. In Sekaila, south of down town, you'll find the night life thats offered in Hurghada and a lot of hotels. Even more south is New Hurghada with most of the largest hotels.  Many hotels offer all inclusive and that could be a good choice if you want a hassle free vacation. The members of our team that visited Hurghada stayed at Magawish Village and was very happy with their stay there. 

Private beaches are very common at the hotels and the beach and the Red Sea is never far a way and the water temperature is really nice. It never feels cold when you go into the water. Most of the hotels offers free beach umbrellas, reclining lounge chairs and beach towels to use during your stay.

To get around in the Hurghada area you could either take a taxi, or if you are looking for a cheaper opition you could take a ride with mini buses that picks up and lets off people almost everywhere.

The climate at this north east corner of Africa is very warm and hot with very few changes in the weather and almost no rain. A real desert climate and it’s much more "sun safe" (stable weather with lots of sun) here than for example The Carnarie Islands during the winter.

Of course you can taste the Egyptian kitchen while in Hurghada. It's been descipted of a mix of food from Syria, Lebanon, Turkey and Greece. There is no need to be worried about eating because if you don’t like the Egyptian cuisine you'll find international a la carte at most of the hotels and even McDonalds, KFC and Pizza Hut in Hurghada. But be careful so you don’t get a bad stomach. Our best tips are that you wash your hands regularly and especially before eating.

One thing you have to do if you go to Hurghada is take a tour to Cario. When some members of our team visited Hurghada they took a two day tour to Cairo that included a visit at the Giza Platue with the pyramids and the Sfinx. A visit at the Al-Khalili bazaar where you can make real bargins was also included and the Egyptian Museum where you even can see the Mask of Tutanhkamun (surcharge) and a lot of other old Egyptian mummies and other stuff. A visit to the Alabaster Moske’ was also included. A two day tour to Cairo with hotel, breakfast and lunch can cost around $240 if you pre order it before you go to Hurghada. You can order your tour from your travel agent but you can probably get a better offer if you order when in Hurghada from a local travel agent.

Other tours are a visit to the town  Luxor and Valley Of Kings where you can pay a visit to the tomb of the famous Tutankhamun. It’s also possible to cruise on the river Nile for a few days. A two day tour to Luxor is about $175 including hotel.

In Hurghada you can pay either with Egyptian Pounds (EGP) or most of the common credit cards such as Visa or Master Card. US Dollars are also very useful. Most of the tours are paid with credit card or US Dollars. The price level is still low and when some of our members visited they never felt that something was expensive.

According to money exchange company Forex Bank you should bring Egyptian Pounds (EGP) with you for the first days expenses. The rest of your travel money should be in Euro if you are spending your time in the southern part of Egypt. Otherwise your money should be in US Dollars. If you like to use travelers cheques the ones you take with you should be in Euro or US Dollars.

Don’t be afraid to go to Hurghada. The hotel complex where some of our members stayed was guarded and also the bus tour to Cairo felt secure with guards following. There were several buses in a convoy with guard vehicles leading and coming up from behind.

Hurghada is not the only tourist destination in Egypt along the cost of the Red Sea. Other destinations are El Gouna and Makadi Bay, both outside Hurghada. On the other side of The Red Sea on the edge of the Sinai Desert is Sharm el Sheik.

El Gouna is maybe the most exclusiv resort along the Red Sea and is situated about 25 kilometers north of Hurghada. El Gouna was created about ten years ago to be an vacation paradise!

Sharm el Sheik is maybe the most complete tourist destination in Egypt. Sharm el Sheik is actually a gathering name for a coast that’s about 20 kilometers long and hosts numerous resorts, small towns and golf courses. 

Makadi Bay is one of the newest toursist destinations and so late as in 2003 it just had ten hotels. Makadi Bay like Hurghada has really good water life with good snorkling and scuba diving. It's about 30 minutes by car from Makadi Bay to Hurghada.

Written by Johan@journeyreport.com