Room Only£199pp
Hurghada Holidays
Room Only£199pp
Room Only£229pp
Bed And Breakfast£229pp
Bed And BreakfastHurghada, EgyptClose to the beach
£239pp
Beach HotelHalf BoardHurghada, EgyptClose to the beach
£249pp
Bed And BreakfastSahl Hasheesh, Hurghada
£249pp
Room OnlyHurghada, Egypt
£249pp
Room Only£249pp
Hurghada gets reliable sunshine year-round with very little rain, and the Red Sea stays swimmable through winter, sitting at around 22°C in January and rising to roughly 29°C by late summer.
The fringing coral reefs sit just offshore — many resorts have their own house reef reached straight from a jetty — and Giftun Islands National Park, Egypt's first marine reserve, lies about 45 minutes out by boat.
The coast runs from simple three-star hotels in central Hurghada to large five-star all-inclusive complexes in Sahl Hasheesh and Soma Bay.
Behind the resorts the Eastern Desert and Red Sea Mountains open up within minutes, with quad-bike, jeep and camel safaris running into the wadis and out to Bedouin camps most afternoons and evenings.
Luxor's Valley of the Kings and Karnak Temple sit around three and a half to four hours away by road, and Cairo with the Giza pyramids is reachable on a long day trip, so genuine history is never far off.
Big resort waterparks such as Makadi Water World and Jungle Aqua Park, shallow house beaches, the Hurghada Grand Aquarium and the Sindbad submarine give younger children plenty to do beyond the pool.
The resort areas spread along the coast each have a distinct character, and choosing the right stretch matters far more here than the individual hotel.
El Gouna: About 25 km north of the airport, this purpose-built resort town is laced with saltwater lagoons and centred on Abu Tig Marina — smart, walkable and well stocked with bars, restaurants and an 18-hole golf course designed by Gene Bates. It is the natural pick for couples and for anyone after the more polished end of Hurghada Egypt holidays.
Sahl Hasheesh: Around 18 km south of Hurghada, this is a long curve of five-star resorts set around a calm, swimmable bay, with a sunken "old city" snorkel trail just offshore. Quiet, spacious and good for families and couples who want resort comfort rather than street life.
Makadi Bay: Further south again, Makadi is made up almost entirely of self-contained all-inclusive resorts, anchored by Makadi Water World and its fifty-odd slides. Some of the better-value cheap holidays to Hurghada turn up here, since the bay is built for families rather than independent exploring.
Central Hurghada & El Mamsha: The original resort strip, running along the El Mamsha promenade, is the liveliest and most walkable part of the coast, with the marina, shops, beach bars and the widest spread of budget and mid-range hotels.
El Dahar (Old Town): North of the main hotel strip, El Dahar is the traditional quarter — a working souk selling spices, leather and copper, plus the twin-minaret Al Mina Mosque on the seafront. It is the one corner that still feels like a real Egyptian town rather than a resort backdrop, and an easy first taste of an Egypt holiday beyond the resort gates.
Hurghada earns its reputation in the water, but there is far more to fill a week than the house reef alone.
Giftun Islands & Orange Bay: The reefs around Giftun, protected as Egypt's first marine national park back in 1986, are the classic day out — a 45-minute boat ride to white-sand beaches at Mahmya and Orange Bay, with snorkel and dive stops on reefs holding more than a thousand fish species. Boats leave Hurghada Marina each morning and typically include lunch, snorkel gear and a couple of hours of free time on the beach before the return crossing.
Diving the Red Sea: Hurghada has more than 40 dive sites within reach, from shallow coral gardens that suit complete beginners to the wrecks and walls of the Straits of Gubal, including the well-known Abu Nuhas wreck graveyard. PADI centres in nearly every resort run taster dives and full certification courses, often within the week, and visibility regularly exceeds 20 metres outside the winter months.
Desert safari: Quad bikes, jeeps and dune buggies head into the Eastern Desert most afternoons, weaving through acacia-studded wadis and red-tinged mountains before ending at a Bedouin camp for tea, a barbecue and some of the clearest stargazing you will find anywhere on a beach holiday.
Grand Aquarium & the Old Town: The 2015-built Hurghada Grand Aquarium is the largest in Egypt, home to over a thousand sea creatures from sharks to turtles, and a half-day there pairs neatly with the El Dahar souk and the seafront Al Mina Mosque for a change of pace away from the sand.
Day trips to Luxor and Cairo: Luxor's Valley of the Kings and Karnak Temple are a three-and-a-half-hour drive south, while a long day to Cairo brings the Giza pyramids within reach — an easy and tempting alternative to the usual European city breaks.
The shoulder months are the sweet spot — March to May and October bring comfortable heat in the high twenties, warm sea and noticeably thinner crowds. For anyone planning Hurghada holidays 2026 around the cooler diving season, those windows give the best mix of conditions and value, while midsummer stays reliably hot and is better suited to beach-and-pool families.
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