Hurghada Holidays

Hurghada will have you spoilt for choice - overspilling with sun-drenched days, stylish evenings out, and some seriously jaw-dropping scenes waiting to be captured. Consider your paradise found.

✨ Highlights of your Holidays to Hurghada 2026/2027

• Red Sea diving and snorkelling: Hurghada's reefs are the reason this stretch of coast became a holiday destination. Coral starts in waist-deep water, the visibility is regularly 30 metres plus, and Giftun Island is a full day out by boat.

• Year-round sunshine: around 3,500 hours of it a year, winter highs of 22°C to 24°C and summer at 37°C. Hurghada doesn't really do an off-season. January and February are the coolest it gets and they are still shorts weather.

• Family-friendly all-inclusives: the Egyptian Red Sea is built around mega-resorts that genuinely earn their family-friendly billing, pools and waterparks, kids' clubs, multiple restaurants, the lot, mostly for the price you'd pay for a much smaller hotel in the Med.

• The desert on your doorstep: the Eastern Desert starts at the back of the resort strip, and the Bedouin camps are a 20 to 40 minute drive out. Quad-bike sunsets, dinners under the stars, camel rides, the desert side of an Egypt holiday without a long transfer.

• Four very different bases in one destination: central Hurghada for buzz and value, El Gouna for lagoons and marina dining, Makadi Bay for family resorts, Soma Bay for the polished end. Pick your character, the rest of the coast is a 30-minute taxi away.

💡 Good to know for your Hurghada Holiday

• ☀️ Weather - Around 3,500 hours of sunshine a year and no bad times to come. Summer runs 36°C to 38°C, winter 22°C to 24°C, and the sea sits between 21°C in February and 28°C in August. There is no off season here.

• 💰 Money - A great value destination. A meal with a drink at a marina restaurant is around £10 to £25 / €12 to €29, a snorkelling boat day trip about £15 to £22 / €17 to €25, and street food is pennies rather than pounds.

• 🐠 Fun fact - The Red Sea has around 1,150 species of fish and roughly one in seven of them are found nowhere else on Earth. Hurghada sits on the most biodiverse stretch of the red sea, which is why it's so loved for diving and snorkelling (even if you've never done it before, you must try it!)

Been there, done that

"I've done a lot of holidays but Hurghada still surprised me. The Red Sea is extraordinary, the snorkelling is the kind of thing you'll be talking about for years, the fish come in colours you simply don't expect. The desert excursions are unmissable too: quad biking out to a Bedouin camp as the sun drops, sitting around a fire eating kofta cooked over charcoal, is a completely different side to the holiday. One thing worth knowing before you go: tipping - baksheesh - is woven into daily life here, so keep small notes on you at all times. And if you get the chance to wander into El Dahar, the old town, do it, you'll see a different side to the place."

- Rob Brooks, OtB Holiday Expert

Hurghada is perfect for you if...

• You want to snorkel off the beach in front of your hotel and see an incredible range of fish

• You want winter sun in December that is still hot enough to be T-Shirt weather

• You want an all-inclusive that includes the à la carte restaurants, and the waterpark, at a price the Med stopped doing years ago

• You want the desert and the sea in the same week, because the dunes start behind the hotel and the Bedouin camps are just half an hour out

🗣️ Master the Lingo, Egyptian Style

Throw in some Arabic phrases to impress the locals and your travel buddies:

• "Sabah el-kheir!" – Good morning!

• "Ma'a salama" – Goodbye!

• "Shukran" – Thanks!

• "Fanta Lemon fein?" – Because your holibobs deserve the ultimate beach bevvy.

• "El-hesab law samaht" – The bill, please—'cause sharing hummus is not an option.

🏖️ Best Beaches for your Hurghada holidays 2026/2027

Hurghada is mega for beach lovers - from buzzing hotspots to chill-out havens, here’s the lowdown on where to sink your toes into the sand:

• Old Vic Beach - The pick of the public beaches in town, down on Sheraton Road south of the Marina. Calm shallow water, plenty of room, sunbeds and somewhere to get a drink. The easy one if you are staying in central Hurghada and just want sand for an afternoon.

• Giftun Island - A marine national park a boat ride offshore, and the reason people come to Hurghada in the first place. Coral in clear shallow water, turtles if you are lucky, and some of the best snorkelling on the Egyptian coast. It is a full day out, around eight hours, and there is a park fee that is not always in the trip price.

• Mahmya - The beach club on Giftun, white sand and turquoise water with a restaurant behind it. The comfortable version of the island day: someone else does the boat, the lunch and the sunbeds.

• Sahl Hasheesh Bay - Twenty-five minutes south of the airport, a long sweep of imported golden sand with a promenade behind it and reef straight off the shore. The bay is calm and the water is clear, which is why the five-stars ended up here.

• Makadi Bay - Half an hour south, a protected bay with reef inside it and shallow, still water almost the whole way across. The best of the bays if you are in the water with small children.

• Soma Bay - Forty-five minutes south on its own peninsula, with reef running directly off the beach and enough wind across the bay to have made it a kitesurfing address. Quietest of the lot.

🗺️ Where to Stay in Hurghada

Hurghada stretches along Egypt’s Red Sea coast, and where you stay can completely shape your trip. From lively resort hubs to peaceful, upscale enclaves, here’s how to pick your perfect base.

💑 Best for Couples

El Gouna is the standout couples base. A planned resort town built around lagoons and a working marina, often called the Venice of the Red Sea. Walk-to-dinner restaurants, sunset cocktails on the marina, kitesurfing on the lagoons, and a more polished, grown-up feel than central Hurghada. The kind of place where you don't need to leave for a week and you can still feel like you've had a proper break.

✨ Best for Luxury

Soma Bay is the high-end peninsula further south, five-star resorts with pristine reef directly off the beach, an 18-hole golf course, and a quieter, more refined feel. The closest the Red Sea gets to a true luxury enclave at this price point. Sahl Hasheesh sits in similar territory and houses several of the strongest five-star resorts on the coast.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Best for Families

Makadi Bay is the family base, full stop. A single sweeping bay south of central Hurghada lined with all-inclusive resorts, most of them built around proper waterparks. Self-contained, easy, low-friction, the area that does the package family holiday best on the whole Egyptian Red Sea coast.

🎉 Best for Groups

Central Hurghada is the natural group base. The marina is the social heart of the coast, bars, restaurants, yacht charters and the only proper nightlife strip outside hotel grounds, all walkable along one promenade. Big all-inclusive resorts with high room counts mean groups of 10-plus can co-locate without splitting across hotels, and the central position makes excursions (Giftun Islands, Luxor day-trips, desert safaris) easier to organise than from the bays further south.

💰 Best for Value

Makadi Bay and central Hurghada are where the value picks cluster. Makadi Bay's mid-tier all-inclusives (Pickalbatros Jungle Aqua Park, Serenity Alma, Lemon & Soul Makadi Garden) deliver five-star feel at three-to-four-star pricing thanks to the bay's scale and competition. Central Hurghada goes a step cheaper still, the original resort town with the largest hotel pool and the lowest entry-level prices on the coast. Either base puts you in striking distance of the polished bays without the polished-bay price tag.

All Inclusive Holidays in Hurghada

Do you wanna go all-inclusive to Hurghada with your family? Imagine a holiday where your biggest worry is whether to go for the piña colada or the strawberry daiquiri while the kiddos are off building the next leaning tower of Pisa in sandcastle-form. All-inclusive? More like all incredible! With stacked-to-the-brim buffets, beaches with swagger and watersports that’ll make you feel like a professional splasher, all-inclusive family holidays in Egypt have it all.

Picture this: you're chilling in the café sipping something exotic, zero worries about the bill sneaking up on you. Or maybe you're both playing ‘Finding Nemo’ with the actual fish, surrounded by flippers and snorkels instead of spreadsheets. With an all-inclusive twist, you can forget about the dread of checking your bank balance, and focus on the important stuff - like whether to have that third helping of dessert (answer: always yes).

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 What are the best all-inclusive hotels in Hurghada for families?

• Pickalbatros Jungle Aqua Park - Neverland - Eighty-one water slides across forty-five pools, a kids' club, VR games and skating, and a free shuttle to the beach. Very well reviewed, and the waterpark genuinely is the holiday here.

• Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel - Built around its own aqua park with a 400-metre lazy river running through it, ten minutes from the airport so the holiday starts before the kids have asked how long is left. Very well reviewed across more than ten thousand ratings.

💑 What are the best adults-only all-inclusive hotels in Hurghada?

• Steigenberger Pure Lifestyle - Adults-only in central Hurghada and one of the highest-rated hotels anywhere on this coast. Contemporary, calm and very well reviewed, with the marina walkable when you want a night out.

• KaiSol Romance Resort - Adults-only on the Sahl Hasheesh bay with five à la carte restaurants running from Lebanese to Italian to Indian, plus a serious spa. Very well reviewed, and the one to book if the point is to be looked after.

💰 What are the best value all-inclusive hotels in Hurghada?

• Desert Rose Resort - Four restaurants, nine bars, three pools, an aqua park and a private beach, at a price that makes the five-star label look generous. One of the most consistently booked family resorts on the Red Sea.

• Titanic Beach & Spa - Seven restaurants and a sixteen-slide waterpark, with kids staying free on selected dates. The easy answer if you want the big-resort week without the five-star price.

🏨 What are the top hotels in Hurghada?

You get a lot of bang for your buck in this resort town. Even five-star, All Inclusive holidays to Hurghada come with a reasonable price tag, and don't worry - we've got some great deals for all you last-minute Larries out there too. See all hotels in Hurghada or have a look through our lovingly hand-picked top options below...

💑 What are the best hotels in Hurghada for couples?

• KaiSol Romance Resort - Adults Only is the standout adults-only pick on the whole coast, a five-star Sahl Hasheesh resort with elegant rooms, five à la carte restaurants running from Lebanese to Indian to Italian alongside the main buffet, and a serious spa. Strongly reviewed across the board, a guest favourite for romantic Red Sea breaks.

• Steigenberger Pure Lifestyle - Adults Only is the central-Hurghada adults-only counterpart, a contemporary five-star with one of the most consistent review records of any hotel on this coast. Polished, calm, well-run.

• Caves Beach Resort - Adults Only (16+) does something different, cave-inspired rooms cut into the resort's structural concept, three à la carte restaurants and a proper private beach. The vibe is theatrical without being naff, and it lands well with couples after something with personality.

✨ What are the best luxury hotels in Hurghada?

• Rixos Premium Magawish Suites and Villas is the premium end of the coast, ultra all-inclusive with six à la carte restaurants, ten bars, the Rixy Kids Club, the Anjana Spa, a horse ranch for rides along the beach and private cabanas on the sand. Almost everything is in the price, with only a handful of extras charged separately.

• Gravity Hotel Sahl Hasheesh is a five-star beachfront with seven swimming pools, four à la carte restaurants spanning Italian, Oriental, Mexican and Asian, and a kids' club for the family-luxury crossover. It takes families and couples only, which is worth knowing before you book. A guest favourite at this price point.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 What are the best family hotels in Hurghada?

• Pickalbatros Jungle Aqua Park - Neverland is the headline family pick on the coast, an absurd 81 waterslides across 45 pools, a kids' club, VR games, skating, multiple restaurants and a free shuttle to the beach. Strongly reviewed by families, the waterpark genuinely is the holiday.

• JAZ Elite Asteria is the newest resort on this list, five-star with an on-site aqua park, five à la carte restaurants, kids stay free on selected dates, and the kind of polished modern feel that families with older children go for.

• DoubleTree by Hilton Mangroovy El Gouna Resort is the El Gouna family option, brand-name reliability, a private beach area, kids' facilities and the El Gouna lagoon-walking-restaurant scene a few minutes away. Excellent recent reviews.

🎉 What are the best hotels in Hurghada for groups?

• Hilton Hurghada Plaza is the standout group pick. Self-contained apartments separate from the main hotel building (genuinely useful for groups of 6-plus who want their own space) plus standard Twin and King rooms in the main resort, three pools including an adults-only one and a kids' slide pool, a Turkish bath spa, multiple restaurants and the Anaconda Bar with live DJs running into the early hours. Walkable to the marina nightlife strip.

• Meraki Resort - Adults Only is the boho-clubbing-scene pick on Hurghada's Red Sea Riviera, private beach, multi-bed room categories (Triple Trouble Rooms work for groups of three), a sports bar, a pub, plus a clubbing scene built into the resort itself. Yoga-to-DJing classes for the daytime version of the same energy.

• Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel handles bigger groups well, Family Suites and Junior Suites for multi-room bookings, an on-site aqua park with a 400m lazy river, multiple restaurants including late-night dining until midnight, and a 24-hour lounge bar. Ten minutes from the airport.

💰 What are the best value hotels in Hurghada?

• SRNTY Sun Ray, formerly Serenity Alma, is the all-rounder family-value pick in Makadi Bay, a big aquapark, theme-park access, spa and sauna, five-star at four-star money. Strong recent reviews.

• Serry Beach pairs day-and-night entertainment and surprisingly polished room amenities (spa products, welcome gift) with free access to the 15-slide Sindbad Aqua Park and its wave pool, a few minutes' walk away at the sister hotel. A guest favourite at the value end.

👉 All hotels in Hurghada

Hurghada Holidays 2026/2027 Travel Guide

🥳 Things to do in Hurghada for groups

Hurghada is popping off for group holidays - here's why:

• Quad Biking - Zoom across the desert dunes on a high-speed ATV for some serious adrenaline pumping.

• Yacht Parties - Rent a private boat for the day and enjoy a boujee afternoon of music, snorkelling, and sunbathing.

• Hurghada Marina - Head to the marina for trendy bars and restaurants that are a guaranteed hit for your Insta-stories.

• Snorkelling Excursions - Grab the gang and head out to the Giftun Islands to explore the coral reefs together, ultimate friend-group goals.

• Desert Safari - Take a 4x4 jeep trek into the Eastern Desert for a traditional Bedouin dinner under the starry night sky.

❤️ Things to do in Hurghada for couples

Romantic vibes? We've got you sorted.

• Sunset Cruises - Set sail on the Red Sea for a sunset cruise that'll make you fall in love with life, the dolphins usually come and say hello too.

• Private Beach Dining - Many swanky resorts offer candlelit dinners on the sand, the holy grail of intimate date nights.

• Desert Star Trekking - Head out into the desert for a worldie dinner under a sky that's absolutely beaming with bright stars.

• Couples' Spa Retreats - Treat yourselves to a dreamy Egyptian massage or a traditional hammam session for the ultimate relaxation vibes.

• Hot-Air Balloon Rides - Take a short trip to nearby Luxor for a sunrise flight to make some guaranteed memories-for-life.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Things to do in Hurghada for families

Keep everyone smiling on your family holiday with activities for all ages to sink their teeth into - win-win!

• Jungle Aqua Park - Spend the day at this whopping waterpark, eighty-one slides across forty-five pools, for non-stop family fun.

• Sand City - Visit this one-of-a-kind open-air museum to see mahoosive sand sculptures of pharaohs and famous cartoon characters.

• Giftun Island - A full day out to the marine park, with snorkelling stops over the reef, lunch on the beach at Mahmya and enough time in the water for everyone to get confident. The best day out from Hurghada and the one children remember.

• Glass-Bottom Boat - Perfect for little ones who aren't quite ready to snorkel but still want to see the mega colourful fishies.

🍽️ Things to do in Hurghada for foodies

Dive mouth-first into Egyptian cuisine on your Hurghada jollies.

• Fresh Seafood - Head to the marina for the always-amaze catch of the day, served with insane views and a side of salty breeze.

• Street Food Crawl - Grab some falafel or a shawarma wrap from a local vendor for a quick and easy taste of Egypt.

• Koshari Tasting - Try Egypt's national dish - a delish mix of rice, pasta, lentils, and chickpeas topped with a spicy tomato sauce.

• Traditional Mealtimes - Pull up a chair for some kofta and feteer, a buttery, flaky pastry that is a national treasure and very filling.

• Egyptian Tea - Kick back in a local café with a mint tea or a strong coffee for the ultimate chilled-out foodie mood.

🗺️ More Places to Visit

Settled on Egypt but not sure on Hurghada? There are a couple of standout alternatives along the Red Sea that are well worth a look.

🌴 Sharm el Sheikh - One of Egypt’s most popular resort destinations, known for its lively atmosphere, luxury hotels and incredible coral reefs. Think beach clubs, boat trips and some of the best snorkelling and diving in the Red Sea.

🐠 Marsa Alam - Quieter, more untouched and perfect if you’re after pure relaxation. Expect pristine beaches, crystal-clear waters and world-class diving spots, with a chance to see turtles and even dugongs in their natural habitat.