5 Days in Hurghada

Almost every reef trip starts at the marina in Sakkala, the oldest and busiest part of town. The Giftun Islands are two islands a short way offshore: Giftun Kebir, the big one, lies closer to town, and Giftun Soraya, the little one, further east. Orange Bay, Mahmya and Paradise Island, which you'll meet on day three, are all stops on the same island strip.

Prices on operator listings run from about 35 USD for a crowded budget boat to well over 150 USD for a small one, and they change with what's included. Check three things: whether lunch and snorkeling gear are in the price, whether the national park fee (reported at around 5 USD, sometimes more) is paid on top, and how many people are on the boat. Smaller boats cost more and are usually worth it.

This is what you came for. Hurghada's reefs sit several miles offshore, unlike Sinai where they hug the coast, so you reach them by boat and slip in from the stern. The water in November is around 25°C, warm enough that most people manage in a swimsuit and a rash vest, and the guides will point out what's below you.

Be honest with yourself about your swimming. Boats often stop where the reef drops into deep water, and a life vest is the sensible default for weak swimmers. The reefs here are under real pressure: one study found they declined by around half in three decades, with tourism a major cause. Don't stand on coral, don't touch anything, and use reef-safe sun cream.

This is the alternative to snorkeling on the same boat, not an add-on. If you've never dived, it's a good place to start. A discovery dive with an instructor needs no certificate, only a medical questionnaire, a briefing and some practice breathing in shallow water. Dive centers run from the marinas and from many hotels, so ask whether yours has one before you book a boat.

Which reefs suit beginners? Operators describe Giftun and Orange Bay as the standard first-timer area, with shallow reef and sheltered water, and list Erg Somaya as a beginner site, though it also has a deep wall that the group should stay away from. The Small Giftun wall is a drift dive and Carless Reef is exposed, so treat both as for people with some dives behind them. The safety record of Red Sea dive boats is uneven: the British government's advice mentions recent incidents, some fatal, so pick a boat that gives a proper safety briefing, never dive below your insurance depth limit, and check that your insurance covers rescue.

Lunch on a day boat is usually included in the price, served on deck after the first swim. Expect a simple spread of grilled chicken or fish, rice and salads. It's plain, and after two hours in the water it tastes better than it should.

If you're vegetarian, say so when you book, not on board. The honest verdict is that lunch is fine and the real reasons to pick a boat are the reef stops and the number of passengers. Check whether drinks are included.

The cheapest reef time of the trip is the one you don't pay for. It's a swap for the boat afternoon, or a rest-day plan if you're based in the south, since the jetties are 20 km or more from the marina. Many resorts south of town, around Sahl Hasheesh, Makadi Bay and Soma Bay, have a jetty that carries you over the sand to the reef edge. Sahl Hasheesh Bay has islands and reefs of its own, and the nearby Abou Hasheesh Island is a protected area. Look for a jetty with a buoyed lane, a briefing at check-in and a guard on the pontoon, and ask about the current.

For beginners, the easiest house reef is a lagoon with a shallow reef edge reached from a jetty, so you never climb in from a boat. Some are a 150-300 m swim to the best coral, so the first swim is a test. In November the wind is the main thing to check: choppy water makes the jetty entry harder.

Come back to town for the coast's best-known dish: grilled fish. The marina and the streets around it are lined with restaurants, mostly tourist places with picture menus. You choose the fish on ice and say how you want it cooked. It's the easy, pricier option; on day three you'll eat where locals do.

Sakkala is the liveliest part of Hurghada at night, with bars, shisha cafés and Sheraton Road close by. If the day has tired you out, a walk along the quay is all you need. Alcohol is served in hotels, bars and licensed restaurants, but not everywhere.

El Gouna means "the lagoon" in Arabic, and it was built from about 1990 around the old village of Kafr el-Gouna by the developer Orascom, on a flat piece of desert coast, with canals, islands and bridges. Abu Tig Marina is its showpiece, a harbor of yachts with 224 berths and rows of cafés, boutiques and restaurants around it.

It's pleasant rather than Egyptian, and it knows it. Come for the morning coffee, the sea light and the people-watching, not for sightseeing. The quays are free to walk, and it's a good place to get your bearings before you head into the center.

The heart of the town is Downtown, built in a traditional Egyptian style with courtyards, winding alleys and brick domes, and El Balad and Kafr El Gouna on its edge, where the old village stood. Shopping arcades, boutiques and galleries are set around courtyard cafés.

Is it real? Not quite, but it's well done, and the lanes are pleasant to walk. Look for the work of Egyptian designers rather than the usual pharaoh souvenirs. If you want to haggle properly, the Dahar market on day five is the better place.

El Gouna has more than a hundred restaurants and bars, and most of them serve international food: Italian, Greek, Thai, burgers, steak. That makes the Egyptian places in Downtown worth seeking out. A plate of koshari (rice, lentils, pasta and chickpeas under spicy tomato sauce and crisp onions), a shawarma wrap or a plate of grilled meat and mezze is the right lunch, and cheaper than a pasta by the water.

Pick a place where the menu is short and the room is busy at one o'clock.

The town is built on islands joined by bridges, and the canals are its streets. So-called water taxis ply the canals, and a short ride is the easiest way to see how El Gouna fits together, with its lagoons, a mangrove island and the islands behind the marinas.

Ask at the marina for the current fare and schedule. If you'd rather stay on land, take a tuk-tuk round the lagoon roads. They are quiet and have proper pavements, which is unusual on this coast.

Zeytouna Beach sits on its own island surrounded by lagoons, and it's one of five El Gouna beaches not tied to a hotel. It's set up for the day: towels, drinks and food, showers, volleyball, snorkeling, and a pier about 350 m long across the lagoon and reef to the open sea.

The wider El Gouna story is wind. The flat, shallow lagoons make it one of the best places on the Red Sea to learn kitesurfing, and in winter strong winds are common. Mangroovy Beach, near the New Marina, is the kitesurf spot, with schools that rent equipment and teach beginners. For a lesson, book a morning slot.

Back at Abu Tig for the evening. Sunset is around 5 pm in November, and you can eat fish, Italian or whatever you like with a view of the yachts. It costs more than in Hurghada, and the setting is half the price. If you've had enough of resort Egypt, ask for a table at a place serving Egyptian food.

Plan your way back. For rides to Hurghada, agree the fare before you get in, or book through your hotel or an app.

The three beach islands sell the same format: a boat from the marina, a snorkel stop on the way, a few hours on a beach with a lunch buffet, and a boat back. Operators put the crossing at 45 to 60 minutes. The differences are the crowd and the price, so book the one that suits your group rather than the cheapest.

Operator guides describe Orange Bay as the one with the long sandbar and heavy tour traffic, Paradise Island as the social and loud one with water sports and a smaller beach, and Mahmya as the quiet, pricier one with the best reputation for snorkeling off the beach. The quality of any of them depends on the operator, so read recent reviews rather than trusting the island's name.

Mahmya is the one to pick if you want to swim, not party. It's on the same Giftun island strip as the others, but it spreads its guests out and has the best reputation for snorkeling off the beach, with the reef a short swim from the shore.

It's also the priciest of the three. The upside is that the price tends to be clearer: read what's included, and bring a mask and snorkel you trust if you have one. Walk to the edge of the reef early, before the other boats arrive.

Choose Orange Bay if the family is young, or if you just want a beach and a long, shallow sandbar to wade along. It's one of the Giftun islands and the best known of the three, with built photo spots and beach beds, and it's busy because of that.

Be realistic: this is a beach club, not a nature stop. If the reef matters most, pick Mahmya. On a day with several boats in, expect it to be crowded around midday.

Lunch on the island trips is a buffet in the shade, included on most tours, with drinks extra. On a budget boat the food can be basic. If you want a proper sit-down meal with wine, save it for the evening in town.

Back in Sakkala, the original fishing harbor of the town, eat where the Egyptians eat. Small fish restaurants a few streets back from the front sell fish by weight, grilled or fried, usually for less than the tourist places. Ask for sayadeya, the fisherman's dish of fish and rice with cumin and fried onions, if it's on the menu.

The simplest check is to see who is eating. A busy room full of locals and a short menu are a better sign than a picture menu. Karkadeh, the hibiscus drink, goes with everything.

Sheraton Road is the main strip, and a good way to end an island day is on a café terrace with a glass of shai (tea) and, if you like, a shisha pipe, the water pipe for flavored tobacco. Cafés also serve hibiscus, ginger and aniseed teas, and soft drinks.

The strip is loud, with shops, bars and clubs going late. For a quieter end to the day, walk a block back from the road.

The route runs from Hurghada via Safaga across the Eastern Desert to Qena, where a paved road of about 164 km joins the coast to the Nile Valley, then on to Luxor: roughly 295 km, close to four hours of driving each way without stops. The road is described as having dangerous curves that the government is working to improve, and the UK government's advice notes that road accidents are common in Egypt.

Choose your operator carefully. A very cheap tour tends to mean a crowded minibus, a long stop at a shop and a rushed visit to the temples. Ask how many hours you get at the sites, which vehicle you travel in, and whether tickets and lunch are included. A private car and driver costs more but lets you start at opening time and skip the shop.

For nearly 500 years the pharaohs of the New Kingdom were buried in the cliffs behind Thebes instead of in pyramids, and the Valley of the Kings is where they went. Almost every tomb was robbed in antiquity, and what's left are painted corridors and a hot, dry silence. The standard ticket lets you enter three of the open tombs, and the list rotates. Tutankhamun's tomb is a separate ticket, around 11 EUR (700 EGP).

Pick your tombs by what's painted, not by the name; the ticket office posts which are open. Camera rules differ from tomb to tomb, so ask. The valley is hot and shadeless by midday, another reason to arrive early. For the rest of the west bank, see our 3 Days in Luxor guide, which covers Hatshepsut, the Colossi and Medinet Habu.

Tour lunches are usually at a restaurant picked by the operator, so if lunch is included, expect a set buffet. Traveling privately, ask your driver for somewhere local, where grilled meat, molokhia (the green jute-leaf soup) and bread cost a few euros.

Ask the price before you order. Local restaurants in Luxor are often cash only, so carry small notes.

Karnak isn't a temple, it's a city of them. Pharaohs added to it from the Middle Kingdom to the Ptolemies, and the result is the largest religious complex in Egypt, sacred to Amun, the god of Thebes. Walk the central axis through the pylons to the Great Hypostyle Hall, 134 columns in 16 rows.

In two hours you'll see the main axis and the hall, but not the Temple of Mut or much else. That's the trade-off of a day trip. If Karnak grabs you, a night in Luxor gives you a quiet morning, the evening show and Luxor Temple at dusk.

El Dahar is the most Egyptian part of Hurghada, about 4 km north of Sakkala, with the traditional bazaar and the long-distance bus stations. It has limited tourist facilities and a lot of ordinary shops, which is the point.

Go to haggle, to buy a scarf or a bag of spices, and to eat something cheap. The bazaar prices are lower than on Sheraton Road, and the first price quoted is meant to fall a long way. Be careful in shops that pull you in for tea, especially perfume sellers: if you accept, you're expected to buy. Clothes with famous brand names are often fake.

Al Mina Mosque, near the old harbor, has two 40-metre minarets and is the largest mosque in the Red Sea Governorate. It's the one big building in Hurghada that belongs to the town rather than the resorts.

Treat it as a photo stop and a look at where the town's own life happens. Dress modestly, with covered shoulders and knees, and ask at the door whether visitors can go in when you arrive. Prayer times change through the year, so avoid the hour around the call to prayer.

Egypt's national dish is koshari: rice, lentils and pasta, topped with chickpeas, fried onions and a spicy tomato sauce. It's cheap, vegetarian and filling, and a plate in a simple shop is a better meal than most hotel lunches.

Look for a shop that does one thing, with a counter and a queue at noon. Mix everything and eat it with a spoon. The same streets have places selling ful medames and ta'ameya, so you can try the other staples there.

The Hurghada Grand Aquarium opened in 2015 in the Magawish area, south of the center, and is the largest aquarium in Egypt. It has an underwater tunnel, a rainforest section and a small zoo. It's open daily from 9 am to 8 pm, with the last entry at 6 pm, and feeding is scheduled around midday and mid-afternoon.

Is it worth it? For children, yes, and for adults who want to see what they might have missed on the reef, maybe. It makes a good early-afternoon stop when the sun is strongest, but don't expect it to compare with the real thing.

Now the honest part. Desert trips are sold at every hotel, usually as a package of a quad-bike ride, a camel ride, a stop at a Bedouin camp, dinner and a show. The quad ride is the part to think twice about: the UK government's advice says there have been several serious quad bike accidents involving British nationals in resort areas, and that safety standards vary considerably. If you ride, wear a helmet, and book through your hotel or an approved agent.

What's worth it? The desert itself. The light on the hills at sunset, the silence and the sky are what you came for. A jeep out to a viewpoint in the afternoon, a short walk and a quiet sunset beats a quad convoy in a cloud of dust. The camel ride is mostly a photo, and the "Bedouin" camp is, in our view, a staged evening for tourists rather than a village. Pick the tour that is shortest on stunts and longest on watching the sky.

The desert dinner is the other half of the package: usually a camp with low tables and carpets, a buffet of grilled meat, rice and salads, tea, and often a show. It's staged, and a bit kitsch, but the setting is lovely once the sun has gone and the sky is dark.

Dress in layers, because the desert cools quickly after sunset. If you want a quiet evening, look for a smaller operator that takes few guests. Then lie back and look up: away from the town lights, the sky is the best part of the night.