Hurghada Holidays - Compare Prices & Departure Dates

Hurghada, known in Arabic as Al Ghardaqah, is a tourist resort and city on the west bank of the Red Sea in Egypt. The city itself dates back to the early 20th century, with rapid expansion during the 80s into the all year round tourist destination it is today.

The Hurghada area covers a 22 mile long stretch of along the Red Sea and it’s these beaches, the sea and the warm weather which attracts holidaymakers.

Hurghada is divided into three different areas:

• Downtown (El Dahar) – which is the oldest part of the city
• City Centre (Sekalla) – which has lots of hotels
• Village Road (El Memsha) – which is the modern part of the city

The official language in Hurghada is Arabic, although in the tourist areas English is widely spoken. The currency is the Egyptian Pound and Hurghada is two hours ahead of the UK.

Hurghada International Airport (IATA code HRG) is just three miles inland south west of the El Dahar area of the city, making flying to Hurghada a straight forward option.

There are many charters flights heading to Hurghada from the UK in the summer and the winter, as well as low cost airlines such as easyJet and Viking who also fly direct to Hurghada. Flights take on average 4hrs 45 from London, 5hrs 30 from Manchester and 5hrs 45 from Scotland.

At the time of writing, a simple visa to enter Hurghad for up to 40 days is available to buy from the airport on your arrival. If you travel with a tour operator this may already be included in the price of your holiday. If arriving independently, be aware the official price is printed in the bottom right-hand corner of the visa sticker, yet someone may try and charge you more than this!

Most people holidaying in Hurghada arrive on package holidays with short onward transfers to your hotel or apartment accommodation, but if you arrive independently there are plenty of options to get into resort.

Many independent travellers opt for a hire car, otherwise there are taxis, buses and minibuses. Once in Hurghada public transport is practically non-existant, so hiring a car if you want to explore a bit is a good option.

If you do want to move around resort and don’t have a car, there are the local shared mini buses the Jalla Jallas which are a very cheap way to get around, but not often used by tourists. Otherwise, there are plenty of taxis. Make sure you agree a price in advance (usually five to 10 Egyptian Pounds for short rides in resort and around 20 for a ride downtown).

Worth noting is that there are very few road names and road signs in Hurghada, so make sure you point out where you want to go on a map to the driver, or pinpoint the name of the hotel or restaurant you want to go to.

The warm Red Sea with it’s endless opportunites for water sports, especially snorkelling and scuba diving, is what primarily attracts people to Hurghada, along with the long stretches of beach and year-round warm temperatures.

The resort and city are so new that there really aren’t any notable buildings, monuments or sightseeing to be done, it’s all about relaxing in the sun, interspersed with swimming and trying out watersports such as jet skiing, kite surfing and windsurfing.

In fact, if you’ve never dived before, just snorkelling 10 metres away from the beach can give you a fine insight into the aquatic life in the Red Sea with fish, coral reefs and plants to observe in clear blue waters.

Most hotels offer dive outings for experienced divers as well as taster sessions and ‘learn to dive’ courses. If the thought of diving is too scary, you can take a ride in a glass bottom boat to see what the Red Sea has to offer.

You can also take boat trips out to the uninhabited islands of Little and Big Gifton or even take a day trip to Cairo or Luxor, both do-able from Hurghada.

If you’re feeling active, you can head into the desert for a spot of dune buggying, a camel trek or a 4×4 off road driving experience in the hot sand landscape.

Hurghada if full of purpose-built holiday accommodation ranging from self catering apartment blocks to deluxe five star hotels.

Many visitors plump for the all inclusive resort hotels which line the beachfronts of Hurghada and offer swimming pools and terraces galore.

There is plenty of shopping to be had in Hurghada. The newly built Marina Boulevard offers boutiques with the Red Sea as your stunning backdrop for your touch of retail therapy with international brands like Nike and Puma.

You can also head to the city centre area of El Sekalla which has lots of shops selling souvenirs and goodies. You can also take a wander around the huge bazaar which sells pretty much everything in El Dahar.

When it comes to making your purchase be prepared to enter into the sport of haggling. If you’re good at the art you should be paying about 75% of the price first offered by the seller!

If you’re staying in an all inclusive hotel you won’t get much opportunity to try other eateries around Hurghada, but if you do head out you’ll find a wealth of Egyptian an international style cuisine.

Of course, there’s the usual mix of fast food, more traditional food and cuisine to make the tourist feel at home. The Marina Boulevard development offers everything from Chinese and Sushi to good old British fish and chips.

If you want to try a local tipple, order Karkaday a hibiscus-based concoction drunk hot or cold. The locals also drink enormous amounts of Chi which is a sweet tea.

Hurghada has earned a reputation as a year round sunshine destination with temperatures averaging 30 degrees and the Red Sea offering warm swimming and diving for most of the year.

If you’re a keen diver you’ll need a wetsuit if you’re heading into the waters before March and it can be windy.

If you head to Hurghada during the summer months, expect humidity to be high and temperatures in the mid to high 30s.

• Year round warm weather and sunshine
• Anyone wanting to go scuba diving or snorkelling
• Keenly-priced all inclusive holidays

• Anyone who gets quickly bored just sunbathing on the beach
• Anyone looking for a taste of the ancient history and culture of Egypt – Hurghada is purpose-built resort all the way

Hurghada Online – a website with details of activities and what’s on in Hurghada
Egypt Tourism – the official tourist office site for Egypt

Hurghada offers a great value all year round holiday destination for those looking for beach front hotels, great watersports and sunshine.