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Shallow reef and low islets off the coast at Hurghada.

The Red Sea · mainland coast

Hurghada

A marina, an island reef and the road to Luxor.

Hurghada is the mainland base of Egypt's Red Sea coast. Boats leave its marina for the Giftun Islands and the Dolphin House reef, the desert begins behind the town, and Luxor is just under four hours away by road.

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Give it
3–5 nights recommended
Come for
Giftun Island, the Dolphin House reef and Luxor by road
Kindest months
November to April
From Cairo
About 1 hour by air to Hurghada or Sharm El Sheikh
Continue to
Luxor

The story here

Hurghada, before you arrive.

Most people come to Hurghada for the sea: the reefs of the northern Red Sea and Giftun Island offshore. The Egyptian Tourism Authority describes a resort coast of beaches and coral reefs, with the Giftun Islands, dolphins around them and the Dolphin House reef among its suggestions, and a marina, markets and desert dunes on land. The mountains behind the town tell an older story, and in our judgement it is one of the least known in Egypt.

About 70 km north-west of Hurghada lies Mons Porphyrites, Gebel Dokhan, the centre of Rome's quarrying in the Eastern Desert. An inscription records that its stone was found by a certain Gaius Cominius Leugas, a Roman field geologist in all but name, on 23 July AD 18. What he found was purple rock. Purple had long been worn as a mark of nobility around the Mediterranean, and David Peacock suggests that the find would have interested the emperor personally. Quarrying began under Tiberius and seems to have lasted into the late fourth century, possibly the early fifth. It needed food supplies, wells, forts for the soldiers and villages for the workers, and Peacock reports that the operation has been called, with some justification, the most remarkable manifestation of Roman activity anywhere in the empire. About 50 km further south, Mons Claudianus supplied a grey granodiorite used mainly for columns, loaded onto carts for the 120 km journey across the desert to the Nile.

Closer to town, about 20 km north of Hurghada, stand the remains of a late Roman fort at Abu Sha'ar, whose walls were built of gypsum and anhydrite from outcrops along the coast.

Best months to go

Hurghada, month by month.

Kindest for a full day outNovember to April

  1. Jan22.2° average high,11.6° average low.Mild.
  2. Feb23.5° average high,12.4° average low.Mild.
  3. Mar26.2° average high,15.1° average low.Warm.
  4. Apr29.9° average high,18.7° average low.Warm.
  5. May33.7° average high,23.1° average low.Hot: sightsee early.
  6. Jun36.3° average high,26.1° average low.Hot: sightsee early.
  7. Jul37.4° average high,27.8° average low.Very hot: dawn and late afternoon.
  8. Aug37.5° average high,28.0° average low.Very hot: dawn and late afternoon.
  9. Sep35.3° average high,25.6° average low.Hot: sightsee early.
  10. Oct32.1° average high,22.2° average low.Hot: sightsee early.
  11. Nov27.8° average high,17.7° average low.Warm.
  12. Dec23.8° average high,13.4° average low.Mild.
  • Mild (up to 26 °C)
  • Warm (27–32 °C)
  • Hot: sightsee early (33–37 °C)
  • Very hot: dawn and late afternoon (above 37 °C)

Average daily high and low, °C, 1991–2020, at Hurghada (Red Sea): WMO climate normals published by NOAA. The shading is our judgement of what that heat means for a day of sightseeing, read from the average high; the best time to visit Egypt compares every place, month by month.

Make the time count

How many nights in Hurghada?

Our planning view: three nights give you two full days, one at sea and one either at rest or in Luxor. With five, add a dive day and an evening in the desert.

  1. If you have one day

    Spend it on the reef

    A boat day to Giftun Island takes about eight hours door to door, most of it on the water and the island, and suits beginners and families.

  2. The minimum that works

    Stay three nights

    One full day at sea, and a second for rest or for Luxor by road: about 14 hours door to door, with about six hours at the sites.

  3. For divers and families

    Stay five nights

    Add a first dive with an instructor, a boat of your own for the day, and an evening in the Eastern Desert away from the resort lights.

Before you decide

The questions people ask first.

Answered from the same record as the rest of this page. Routing, timings and everything included are confirmed in your written quote.

What are the best things to do in Hurghada?
The sea first: a boat day to Giftun Island, or to the Dolphin House reef for confident swimmers, each about eight hours door to door, or a first dive with an instructor. On land, an afternoon and supper in the Eastern Desert behind the town. The long days are Luxor by road and Cairo and the pyramids by air.
Can I visit Luxor from Hurghada in a day?
Yes, but it is a long day: just under four hours by road each way and about six hours in Luxor, around 14 hours door to door. In our judgement a night in Luxor turns it from a race into a visit; the planner can add one.
How do I get to Hurghada from Cairo?
By air it is about an hour from Cairo to Hurghada; the road takes five to six hours. Our Cairo day trip from Hurghada flies both ways and spends most of its roughly 12 hours in Cairo.
Do I need a visa for Hurghada?
According to the UK government's entry advice, read 17 October 2026, the free Sinai entry stamp applies to the South Sinai resorts only. Hurghada is on the mainland coast, so British travellers need a visa, on arrival or online. Rules differ by passport.
How many nights should I spend in Hurghada?
Three nights is the shortest stay that feels like rest rather than another transfer, giving two full days. Four or five nights leave room for reef days, a dive and Luxor without rushing any of them.

Tours

Tours in Hurghada.

4 tours visit Hurghada, those based here first. Each states the time on the road and at the sites before you ask.
All tours

Experiences

At Hurghada

A few hours of something different, arranged around the route rather than bolted on afterwards. Each says what it asks of you and what we confirm first.
All experiences
Photography credits (4)

Igorgalli, CC BY-SA 4.0; cattan2011, CC BY 2.0; Norhan Elmaghrabi, CC BY-SA 4.0; Fadyhesham0, CC BY-SA 3.0. Resized and cropped for display.

Trip ideas

Trips through Hurghada

Routes that include Hurghada: who each one suits, and how the days run.
All trip ideas

Good to know

The practical part, in one place.

Getting here and on

Cairo & Giza
About 1 hour by air to Hurghada or Sharm El SheikhThe road to Hurghada takes 5–6 hours
Luxor
Just under 4 hours by road to Hurghada
Nile & Aswan
A flight via CairoThe road to Hurghada takes most of a day

Typical door-to-door ranges, checked : advice rather than timetables. Your written quote confirms the actual flights, trains and transfers.

Before you plan Hurghada

You might also love

Where the route goes next.

Plan it

Put Hurghada into your trip.

The planner gives it the nights it needs and suggests the days; we confirm everything in a written quote.

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Photography credits (9)

Jerome Bon, CC BY 2.0; Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0; Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0; Hesham Farouk Ragab, CC BY-SA 4.0; Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0; Marc Ryckaert, CC BY 3.0; Hamerani, CC BY-SA 4.0; KennyOMG, CC BY-SA 4.0; Marc Ryckaert (MJJR), CC BY 3.0. Resized and cropped for display.