Holiday in Hurghada - how to get there, what to see, where to stay

This article has been translated from Russian language using an artificial intelligence-based translation algorithm. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by the quality of the translation. You can read the original of this article in Russian here, and ask questions on the topic of our travel forum in English here.

General information about Hurghada, holidays

Holidays in Hurghada

Hurghada (Rgkprfvf) is a kurpny resort town on the shores of the Red Sea in Egypt, 500 kilometers from Cairo (Hurghada on the map). This is one of the most popular and developed resorts in the country, and it shares this palm only with another resort Sharm el-Sheikh.

Hurghada is a completely resort city, most of its territory today is occupied by hotels and consists of separate resort areas or districts. Moreover, the resort is constantly expanding and being built up, new hotels are appearing, and the distances between distant areas are decreasing.

You can find something to do in Huragda at any time of the year and at any time of the day. There is a lot of entertainment and excellent sandy beaches, characterized by the cleanliness of the bottom and a gentle descent, which is ideal for relaxing even with the youngest children. The beaches here, unlike Sharm el-Sheikh, are more sandy and more suitable for a traditional beach holiday than for snorkeling and diving. Rest takes place mainly in hotels operating on an All-inclusive system.

✔ Advantages of a holiday in Hurghada

There are many sandy beaches with a bottom clean of stones and corals, great for relaxing with children.
Hurghada has its own international airport, where direct charter flights from Russia and other countries are operated. The airport is conveniently located in the city center just 10-20 minutes drive from the resort areas.
It is convenient to visit Luxor and Cairo (to the Pyramids) from Hurghada with excursions, there are no inexpensive excursions from Charm to Luxor.
A large selection of tourist attractions and excursions.

❌ Disadvantages of holidays in Hurghada

For a holiday in Hurghada, you will definitely have to apply for a paid visa in advance or upon arrival for $ 25, get a free one The Sinai Stamp as in Sharmel-Sheikh It won't work.
There is not a very diverse underwater life on the beaches in the center of the resort, so for snorkeling or diving you need to go on excursions to the islands or to distant beaches outside the city.
There are not a lot of traditional historical and cultural attractions, everything can be seen in one day.
Hurghada is not very suitable for independent recreation not according to the "All inclusive" system. With such a holiday, it will be too boring and expensive here: there is nowhere to go for a walk in the evenings, all the beaches are paid, and there are few interesting places and attractions.

What are the beaches in Hurghada

Hurghada is one of the most popular beach resorts in Egypt, rivaled only by another Egyptian resort - Sharm el-Sheikh. But unlike Charm, where the beaches are mostly reef, with a rocky bottom and a lot of underwater life, Hurghada is distinguished by more sandy beaches with a flat bottom and a gentle approach. Therefore, this resort is just perfect for a holiday with children, and if you are more interested in relaxing on the beach and swimming than snorkeling or diving.

Hurghada Beach

All beaches in Hurghada, as well as in other Egyptian resorts, are divided into three types:

Hotel beaches. These are private beaches that belong to hotels and are completely closed to visitors from the outside. That is, you will not get to them even for money, and if you get there in some cunning way, then you will be escorted out of it when they discover that you do not have a bracelet of this hotel. Hotel beaches are fully equipped, and all this is available to hotel guests for free: umbrellas and deck chairs, showers and toilets, the work of animators (charging, shows for children, concerts), restaurants and beach bars, beach sports games. For an additional fee, only water activities and rental of equipment for snorkeling or diving.
Public beaches (Public). Anyone can get to such beaches, but only for money. Usually the fee is $ 2-5 (depending on the beach), and it includes the use of a local shower, toilet, chaise longue, chaise longue mattress, sometimes a beach towel. Beaches with an inexpensive entrance may not include the use of a chaise longue, i.e. you still have to pay extra for it, or relax on the sand on your mattress or towel.
Free beaches. There are no equipped free beaches in Hurghada, the last free one was closed in 2022. Moreover, there are no free beaches even for locals, they also pay like tourists. But this does not mean that there are no free beaches in Hurghada at all. They are there, they are just wild and unequipped, we will tell you about them below.

Infrastructure in Hurghada

Hurghada is a developed city with excellent tourist and urban infrastructure by local standards. True, its development varies greatly from district to district, and if you do not settle in the central areas, you will be far away from any civilization outside the hotel. If you find yourself in the city center in the Sakala or El Mamsha area, you will have access to a large number of tourist shops, markets, supermarkets, shopping centers, pharmacies and travel agencies selling excursions. There is also urban transport here, although it is very poorly developed, but more about it below.

Considering that holidays in Egypt are mostly organized according to the all-inclusive system, you hardly need to urgently look for a cafe or a grocery store. But if you suddenly need it, then there is no problem with this in Hurghada. There are plenty of cafes, restaurants and street fast food in the center, especially in pedestrian zones (we wrote about pedestrian zones and where to walk in Hurghada here). Products, fresh fruits, semi-finished products can be bought at markets or in civilized supermarkets. The most popular places for shopping in the city center are a large economy supermarket Gomla Market, Metro Market, a chain of small supermarkets Abu Ashara Supermarket. Well, for global shopping, you can go to the largest shopping center in the city, Senzo Mall, although it is located far to the south, almost 20 kilometers from the center.

The popular Gomla Market supermarket in Hurghada

Popular Gomla Supermarket

However, not all stores that operate under the Supermarket banner are actually such. Most of them are the most ordinary private shops, where not only will they not accept a bank card, but there are no price tags on the goods, and the seller calls such a price as he pleases. And you will probably be surprised by local fakes for well-known Russian chain stores, for example, Pyaterochka or Sportmaster. Of course, these stores have nothing to do with these chains. By the way, in almost all stores and pharmacies, the staff speaks Russian, and even price tags and product names can be duplicated in Russian. All about shopping in Hurghada and where it's better to buy souvenirs, we'll tell you in a separate article.

Fake Sportmaster in Hurghada

You can pay for purchases in Hurghada in foreign or local currency, rubles are not in use here. For small purchases and payment for transport, it is better to use local money, they can be exchanged at exchange offices on the streets, in banks and ATMs. There are a lot of ATMs here, where you can withdraw money from a bank card in local currency or exchange cash dollars and euros. Many shops and even souvenir shops accept bank cards, but Russian Visa, Mastercard and Mir cards are not working now (in 2025).

Hotels and accommodation in Hurghada, where to stay

As in all other beach resorts in Egypt, hotels in Hurghada mainly operate on an All-inclusive system. Ai can be booked independently through the tour search and booking systems, but it is more profitable to buy them as part of a travel package, which already includes an inexpensive charter flight, insurance, transfer and accommodation. But if you categorically prefer independent travel, then you can book a hotel or accommodation separately.

Hotel in Hurghada

Unfortunately, due to sanctions for tourists from Russia, online payment for reservations in the world's popular hotel booking systems has become impossible, but you can search and book accommodation in Hurghada on Russian search engines, or book options in international search engines without online payment:

If you want to spend the winter in Hurghada for several months, then it may be more profitable to rent a house or apartment, but not everything is so clear. Sometimes you can hear from tourists on vacation that one of the acquaintances of other acquaintances rents housing here for less than $ 100 a month and lives here all winter happily. But in fact, foreigners cannot find housing for such money, and they will have to pay from $ 250 / month + utility bills for monthly (not long-term) rent. These are basically good prices, at least there are more economy options here than in Sharm el-Sheikh. But it is not a fact that it will turn out to be an apartment in good condition and not somewhere on the outskirts and far from the sea.

You can search for accommodation monthly through booking systems, including the well-known AirBnB will help you. But in order to find something cheaper and without a search engine commission, it is best to look for accommodation on the spot, turning to merchants on the street and in souvenir shops, to the hotel staff. But to do this anyway, you will first have to arrive in Hurghada and stay a few days at the hotel while you look for a suitable option.

Well, we offer another option for a long or short stay in Hurghada – this is booking tours without a flight, i.e. only a hotel and insurance. Now most tour operators offer such options, and it is possible to "catch" hot prices for accommodation cheaper than through hotel search engines, even using the all-inclusive system. This can be done on trusted tour search engine sites:

Since Hurghada is a big city consisting of several districts that differ greatly in terms of facilities and infrastructure, it will be very important to choose a particular wound of the city for recreation. We have visited and toured all the districts in Hurghada, lived in some of them, and therefore can give advice on the reasons for choosing the right area, depending on your wishes for rest:

If you want to be in the center of tourist life, walk along the embankment and pedestrian streets in the evenings, do shopping, and just for the same reason relax on the beaches, then it's best to choose Central Sakala district, there is no better option in Hurghada.
If you want to have a place to walk in the evenings and at the same time relax on nice sandy beaches, then choose accommodation in the main tourist El-Kauser district, aka El-Mamsha.
If you most want to get to know the local life or rent cheap accommodation for a month or more, then you can go to the old town of El Dahar.
If the main thing for you is to have a comfortable hotel with a large territory and all services, a private beach, and what is there outside the walls of the hotel is completely unimportant, then El Achaea or South Hurghada.
If you need to rent comfortable and expensive apartments in a modern area and close to the beach, you can search for them in the area El Helal.

Weather and tourist seasons in Hurghada, when is the best time to go

Hurghada is a year-round resort, and by and large you can go here for a rest at any time of the year. There is very little precipitation in Hurghada throughout the year, the sky is almost always clear, and the temperature even in winter stays above 20 degrees during the day, and only night can drop to 15 degrees. The water temperature is also always above 20 degrees, so you can also swim all year round, although in winter, although, of course, not everyone may find it comfortable. However, the tourist seasons in Hurghada have their own characteristics, which you should know more about:

🌞 It is best to go to Hurghada in April and May, October and November. This is the most comfortable time to relax: not too hot compared to summer, and at the same time very warm compared to winter. There are many sunny days, clouds rarely appear in the sky. But even if rare clouds appear in the sky, they are not a hindrance to rest at all, because under the clouds you can also sunbathe and swim.
⛅ You can go June-September. Summer is a very hot period in Hurghada, which not everyone tolerates with ease. For example, the average temperature in summer is 36 degrees, and the temperature record is 46! If you have no problems with the transfer of such intense heat, then you can safely go, but still be careful at this time with your health.
⛅ You can go in December-March. It is the time of winter in Egypt. Well, like the winters... Winter here is about the same as in Russia the first month of summer or May. It's warm here, sometimes even hot, and only in the evenings you may need to wear a hoodie or jacket. You can also swim, although getting out of the water will not be as comfortable as in other seasons. But the greatest discomfort in the winter months is caused by winds, especially northern ones, so winter is also called the season of winds. They can blow strongly and constantly, which is why even in warm weather it gets cool, and when you get out of the water in the wind you will simply be "pounding" from the cold. But if you have a swimming pool in your hotel, and even heated, then you won't even notice any trouble with the winds.
🌨 When not to go. There is no such time in Hurghada, so if you have the opportunity to go here on vacation, you should not deny yourself this.

Rare shots - cloud cover in Hurghada in winter

Seasons in Hurghada by month, when is the best time to go
Jan	Feb	March	Apr	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec

* the best time to visit;
acceptable time to visit;
not recommended time to visit

Средняя температура in Hurghada по месяцам

Осадки in Hurghada по месяцам

Current weather in Hurghada and forecast

17 Мар
18:00
+28°C
3м/с
Влаж. 34%
18 Мар
3:00
+23°C
3м/с
Влаж. 33%
18 Мар
12:00
+30°C
4м/с
Влаж. 26%
18 Мар
21:00
+25°C
6м/с
Влаж. 34%
19 Мар
6:00
+20°C
8м/с
Влаж. 53%
19 Мар
15:00
+27°C
13м/с
Влаж. 32%
20 Мар
0:00
+22°C
8м/с
Влаж. 37%
20 Мар
9:00
+17°C
12м/с
Влаж. 59%
20 Мар
18:00
+20°C
12м/с
Влаж. 34%
21 Мар
3:00
+15°C
11м/с
Влаж. 55%
21 Мар
12:00
+20°C
11м/с
Влаж. 33%
21 Мар
21:00
+16°C
11м/с
Влаж. 41%

* - прогноз указан по местному времени. Данные получены с https://openweathermap.org. Если отображаются устаревшие даты, обновите страницу с помощью F5+Ctrl.

График приливов и отливов в Хургаде

График приливов и отливов в Хургаде подробно ⧉

Time in Hurghada

The time in Hurghada differs from Moscow by -1 hour.

Current time in Hurghada *

Разница по времени с городами:

Москва: -1	Самара: -2
Казань: -1	Нижний Новгород: -1
Екатеринбург: -3	Новосибирск: -5
Иркутск: -6	Владивосток: -8

* - если время неверно, обновите страницу Ctrl+F5:

How to get to Hurghada

Hurghada is located on the Red Sea coast at the entrance to the Gulf of Suez (Hurghada on the map of Egypt). From the capital of Egypt here is a little less than 500 kilometers by road, and from Moscow the resort is located at a distance of about 3100 kilometers or about 5-6 hours of flight. You can get here in the following ways:

✈ From the cities of the Russian Federation and other countries by plane to the local international airport of Hurghada, and from there to the hotel by taxi from 3 USD, and if you are resting on a ticket, you will be taken to the place by tourist bus.
🚆 From Cairo by plane (1 hour flight) or intercity buses (from 7 hours).
🚌 From Sharm el-Sheikh by bus or plane with a transfer via Cairo, or by direct ferry, but the ferry service is still suspended.
🛌 Buy a ready-made package tour with flight and transfer directly to the hotel in Hurghada without any worries.

For more information about each of the ways, how and how to get to Hurghada with the schedule and cost of transport in 2025, read here...

But where is the best place to search and buy tours online at prices from tour operators without extra charges from travel agencies:

Transportation in Hurghada, what to use to move around the resort

Hurghada is a fairly large city in size, and with all the distant tourist areas stretches along the coast for more than 40 kilometers. And if you plan not only to relax at the hotel and on the beach, you will have to get to know a little about local transport. And it's also good if your hotel is located in one of the central tourist areas, then you can use local minibuses or at least pay inexpensively for taxi rides. If you are going to rest very far from the center, then in order to get to the walking streets or attractions in the center of Hurghada, you will have to fork out for a taxi every time.

Unlike Sharm el-Sheikh, where taxi rides can be said to represent the "wild west", everything is much better in Khuragad with these. Uber and Careem apps work here. Payment for a trip via Uber or Careem can be made in a non-cash way if you have a working bank card of an international payment system, or in cash at the end of the trip. A short trip within the city center for 1-2 kilometers will cost less than $ 1, and you can get to the airport from the center for only $ 3. The prices in the applications are charged in Egyptian pounds, but given the unstable exchange rate of the local currency, we indicated them approximately in terms of dollars.

Taxi in Hurghada

Urban transport in Hurghada is very poorly developed, stable and only private fixed-route taxis run regularly. There are also branded buses of the largest shopping center in the city, Senzo Mall, which run from the area of the old city of El-Dahar through the city, make stops at several stops and end up at the shopping center. But these flights then go, then don't go, and when they go, it's very rare, about once every two hours. So the only inexpensive public transport that you can count on is minibuses.

Minibuses often run from early morning until late evening. Stop at any place at your request: raise your hand to stop the minibus, and say "stop" to the driver to get out. There are no equipped stops for them, but there are well-known stopping places and end stops where minibuses stay longer to collect passengers.

The fare costs from 2.5 to 10 Egyptian pounds (approximately 0.05 - 0.2 rubles) depending on the distance and route. But, despite such low official rates, drivers are trying to charge tourists at least $ 1 per person for any trip. It's expensive, even more expensive than a taxi, so even here you need to bargain.

There are several routes here, and it's not easy to figure them out. In general, they go through the whole city along the main roads along the coast, but not all the way. This means that in some cases you will have to make a transfer in order to get, for example, from the south side of the city to the north or back.

Minibus in Hurghada

You can rent a bike, motorcycle or car in Hurghada, but the rental prices are high.

Bike rental costs from $ 5 per hour or $ 20 per day. There are very few rentals, you'll have to look.
A scooter or motorcycle can be rented from $ 40 per day. You will need a passport and international rights. There are very few rentals, you can't find them via the Internet, you'll have to search on the spot.
Car rental in Hurghada is quite developed, there are world and local rental offices. You can get a car at the airport upon arrival or already on vacation in the city. In any case, it is better to book online, and cheaper and more reliable. To rent, you will need a passport and international rights issued in addition to the usual national rights. In Russia, they can be obtained through the website of the State Services, in the MFC or local branches of the REO traffic police, by paying the state duty. It is not required to take an additional exam.

In detail we told you about all types of transport and how to get around in Hurghada here...

Attractions and entertainment in Hurghada, what to see and what to do

There are almost no significant attractions in Hurghada, and everything that travel agencies and excursion sellers give out as local attractions, in our opinion, is more likely to be entertainment. There are many mosques in the city, but we will single out two – the largest and the closest to the tourist area. Two Christian churches or Coptic churches. Undoubtedly, shopping in the Old Town area and a walk around it will be interesting and unforgettable. Informative, from the point of view of local customs and mores, will be a walk along the main city street Sheraton, and its complete opposite is a pleasure Marina. In addition, be sure to take a walk along the local Walking Street and the longest pedestrian street Affifi. Read more about all these places in our guide to the sights of Hurghada here ...

Excursions in Hurghada

Things are much better in Hurghada with the sights that can be visited during excursions. The most popular and obligatory for guests of the resort are, of course, a trip to Cairo and the Pyramids, as well as Luxor. There is also an interesting trip to Alexandria, but it will last at least two days.

All other options for excursions that are offered at the resort are, by and large, more tourist entertainment. For example, these are walks in the desert with riding ATVs or camels and visiting fake Bedouin villages; sea cruises to islands with swimming, snorkeling or diving; acquaintance with the underwater world on a boat with a transparent bottom or on a bathyscaphe, etc.

Where to buy excursions in Hurghada

If you are vacationing in Hurghada on a ticket, then the next day after arrival you will have an organizational meeting with a hotel guide, where you will be offered to buy excursions from a tour operator. We do not dissuade you from shopping with a hotel guide, but we inform you that the same excursions can be bought much cheaper at street travel agencies or online. In our practice, the difference in price for some tours reached up to two times. So you decide for yourself what is better for you: to buy more reliably and conveniently from a hotel guide, or with minor inconveniences on the street, but cheaper.

Well, if you want it to be both convenient and inexpensive, you can buy excursions online on trusted search engine sites with reviews. In this case, you can read reviews about the tour from other tourists, and book your favorite tour with a small prepayment by credit card or even without it. Payment of the main part of the cost is carried out directly to the guide already during the excursion, so everything is safe and reliable:

Entertainment in Hurghada

Entertainment in Hurghada includes water parks that are aimed at any age group, have large territories and a large amount of entertainment. They offer excursions to the desert or to the islands, go snorkeling or diving, ride a banana or parachute, watch the underwater world from a glass-bottomed boat or dive to the depths on a bathyscaphe. In the evenings, nightclubs with popular music are open in the center. Evening walks in the walking areas, of which there are at least 4 in Hurghada, can be combined with shopping.

The main city mosque of El Mina

Coptic Church
Snorkeling in Hurghada

🕒 13 March, 2025