Hurghada

Since the 1980s, Hurghada has become the principal bathing resort on the Red Sea, visited by American, European and Arabs. Holiday villages and first class hotels provide excellent aquatic sport facilities.

What used to be a small fishing village is now a fully developed resort that stretches for about 40 km along the Red Sea shore, attracting package holiday tourists mostly from Europe, notably Russians, Czechs and Germans. Many restaurants, bars and shops, small pubs and internet cafes are available all over Hurghada. Mobile internet in Egypt (covered perfectly in Hurghada and all around Red Sea) is available for low rates from the three major mobile networks; Vodafone, Mobinil and Etisalat. You may need to check the coverage in your current stay.

Known as a party town, with its many clubs, life in Hurghada begins at night. Nearly every hotel has its own disco. The most famous ones at the moment are "Calypso" and "Papas Beach". Renowned for belly dancing, Arabic and Nubian folklore, is "Alf Leila Wa Leila" ("One thousand and one nights"). It is a big open-air area, which offers a bit of everything.

Hurghada has become an international center for aquatic sports like windsurfing, sailing, deep-sea fishing, swimming and, above all, snorkeling and diving. The unique underwater gardens offshore are some of the finest in the world, justifiably famous among divers. The warm waters here are ideal for many varieties of rare fish and coral reefs, which may also be observed through glass bottom boats.

The city provides a gateway to prime diving sites throughout the Red Sea. Its central location provides favorable access to very famous dive sites. In addition, Hurghada is known for providing access to many uninhabited offshore reefs and islands. The waters around the islands are popular with divers from all over the world because of the chance to spot several kinds of sharks, including hammerheads and oceanic whitetips.

TOUR ATTRACTIONS: The main reason to visit Hurghada is for the beautiful Red Sea, excellent for diving or snorkeling. If you aren`t licensed to dive, it is often possible to snorkel and see incredible coral reefs and hundreds of varieties of tropical fish just 10 meters from the beach. Again, either your hotel will have dive escorts on site, or they can arrange a scuba diving expedition with guides. In late March, the water is still quite cold (21 Celsius), so a wet suit is necessary, and even snorkeling in a bathing suit is too cold after about 10 minutes. It is also windy in late March; sustained 20 MPH are common.