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Travel guide
The Egyptian Red Sea
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: March to May, and October to November
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Welcome
The Egyptian Red Sea, in a few days
Egypt's Red Sea coast runs south from Hurghada towards Sudan, with the Sinai across the water, reefs that start a few metres from the shore and sea temperatures around 22°C even in January. It is above all a diving and snorkelling destination, with sites such as the Thistlegorm wreck and Ras Mohammed.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Ras Mohammed National Park · a full daySinai's southern tip, protected since 1983 and largely marine, where the walls of Shark and Yolanda Reefs draw jacks, barracuda and Napoleon wrasse.
- Afternoon · SS Thistlegorm wreck · a full dayA British cargo ship sunk by German bombers in October 1941, upright at 30 metres, its holds full of BSA motorbikes, Bedford lorries and rifles.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Jaz Aquamarine Resort€110 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · El Gouna free · a full dayA resort town built from 1990 around artificial lagoons north of Hurghada, with marinas, a golf course, an October film festival and a kitesurfing beach.
- Afternoon · Giftun Island · a full dayTwo protected desert islands off Hurghada, the most common boat trip from the hotels, with shallow coral gardens to snorkel and a beach at Mahmya.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hurghada Marriott Beach Resort€110 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · St Catherine's Monastery and Mount Sinai free · a full dayFounded by Justinian around 550 below Mount Sinai, home to Greek Orthodox monks ever since, the traditional Burning Bush and a great manuscript library.
- Afternoon · Dahab Blue Hole · half a dayA circular sinkhole about 100 metres deep north of Dahab, usually dived from the Bells entrance along the reef wall to the shallow saddle.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Le Meridien Dahab Resort€90 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Abu Dabbab Bay · 2 to 3 hA sandy bay north of Marsa Alam whose seagrass draws green turtles within snorkelling reach of the beach and, now rarely, a dugong.
- Afternoon · Elphinstone Reef · a full dayAn isolated offshore reef near Marsa Alam with sheer walls, known for oceanic whitetip sharks from October to December and hammerheads in summer.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Sheraton Soma Bay Resort€130 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Koshari: rice, pasta, lentils and a spiced tomato sauce, sold on every corner.
- Ful medames: stewed fava beans, the breakfast of the country.
- Taameya: the Egyptian falafel, made with fava beans rather than chickpeas.
- Molokheya: a thick green soup of jute leaves, heavy on the garlic.
- Sugar cane juice, and karkade, the cold hibiscus drink.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Agree the price first, every time: taxi, carriage, camel.
- Turn down the touts at the pyramids clearly, and keep walking.
- Sealed bottled water, and skip washed salad outside good restaurants.
- Carry small notes: baksheesh runs through daily life here.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ Arabic
| English | Arabic |
|---|---|
| Hello | مرحبا (marhaba) |
| Thank you | شكرا (choukran) |
| Please | من فضلك (min fadlik) |
| Yes | نعم (na'am) |
| No | لا (la) |
| Excuse me | عفوا (afwan) |
| Goodbye | مع السلامة (ma'a salama) |
| Do you speak English? | هل تتكلم الإنجليزية؟ (tatakallam injliziya?) |
| I don't understand | لا أفهم (la afham) |
| How much is it? | بكم هذا؟ (bikam hadha?) |
| Where are the toilets? | أين الحمام؟ (ayna al-hammam?) |
| The bill, please | الحساب من فضلك (al-hisab min fadlik) |
| Help! | النجدة! (an-najda!) |
| Cheers! | في صحتك! (fi sahtak!) |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyEgyptian pound (EGP)
BudgetAbout €80 a day, mid-range
Best seasonMarch to May, and October to November
PlugC/F · 220V
Tap waterBottled and sealed only
TippingBaksheesh is expected, in small notes
Emergency122 / 123
EntryVisa on arrival or an e-visa, needed by EU, UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports: buying the e-visa online before you fly saves the airport queue.
HealthHepatitis A and typhoid are recommended. No malaria. The heat is the real risk: drink more than you think and cover up.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/red-sea
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.