10 Best Things to Do in Hurghada Egypt 2026

Hurghada: Egypt’s Red Sea Playground

Hurghada sits on Egypt’s Red Sea coast, roughly 500 kilometers south of Cairo, and it has spent the last four decades quietly becoming one of Africa’s most visited beach destinations. What started as a small fishing village is now a sprawling resort city with world-class diving, a surprisingly gritty and authentic old quarter, and a desert stretching straight to the horizon behind it. The sea in front is impossibly blue-green, warm year-round, and teeming with coral and marine life that rivals anything in the Indo-Pacific. Whether you’re chasing underwater adventure, ancient history within day-trip distance, or simply a sun-soaked escape that doesn’t break the bank, Hurghada in 2026 delivers. This guide walks you through the ten best things to do here – and gives you the honest, practical details to make the most of your time.

1. Dive and Snorkel the Red Sea Reefs

If there is one single reason Hurghada holds its reputation, it’s the reefs. The Red Sea is among the top five diving destinations on the planet, and Hurghada acts as the northern gateway to some of its finest underwater terrain. Water visibility regularly hits 20 to 30 meters, temperatures hover between 22°C and 28°C depending on the season, and the marine biodiversity is staggering – lionfish, moray eels, Napoleon wrasse, vast schools of glassfish, and if you time it right, whale sharks and hammerheads further offshore.

Sites like Abu Nuhas (a graveyard of four shipwrecks), Shaab Abu Ramada (nicknamed “the Aquarium”), and the Careless Reef are accessible within 30 to 60 minutes by boat from Hurghada’s marinas. Beginners need not worry – the city has dozens of PADI-certified dive centers offering everything from a two-hour beginner Discover Scuba session to full open-water certification courses over three to four days.

Snorkelers aren’t left out either. Many of the shallower fringing reefs close to shore are accessible by glass-bottom boat or with just a mask and fins. Sharm El Naga, about 30 kilometers south of town, is a protected bay that snorkelers absolutely should not skip – the reef starts in knee-deep water and the fish come so close you’ll feel like you’re in a nature documentary.

• Best dive centers: Subex, Jasmin Diving Center, Emperor Divers
• Best season for diving: March through May and September through November for calmest seas and best visibility
• Typical cost: USD 35-60 for a two-dive boat trip including equipment

2. Explore Giftun Island National Park

About 10 kilometers offshore from Hurghada, the Giftun Islands form a protected national park that is simply one of the most beautiful spots in Egypt – and most visitors see it only from a day-boat, which means you’ll rarely feel truly crowded if you pick your excursion carefully. The larger island, Giftun Kebir, has stretches of powdery white sand backed by low desert scrub, with a turquoise lagoon shallow enough to wade across in places.

The park is managed by the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency, and entry fees go toward protecting the reef system that wraps around both islands. The snorkeling here is exceptional – the coral formations are healthier than those closer to Hurghada’s shore, and the fish life is more abundant precisely because the area has been protected for decades.

Most organized day trips combine a stop at Giftun with a snorkeling break over a nearby reef and lunch on board. If you want something quieter and more private, a few operators run smaller group charters to the island – worth the slight premium. Avoid the mega-boats carrying 100 or more people; they tend to be more about onboard entertainment than the actual island experience.

• How to get there: Speed boats depart from Hurghada Marina, trip takes 20-30 minutes
• Typical cost: USD 25-55 per person for a full-day group excursion
• Tip: Bring reef-safe sunscreen – conventional sunscreen is harmful to the coral and frowned upon by boat crews

3. Discover El Dahar – Hurghada’s Authentic Old Town

Most tourists never leave their resort stretch, which means El Dahar – the original Hurghada, the old fishing town at the northern end of the city – remains wonderfully unpolished and genuinely Egyptian. Walking through El Dahar is like stepping into a different city entirely. The streets narrow, the Arabic signage takes over, motorbike taxis weave through the traffic, and the smell of grilled fish and spiced flatbread drifts out from the small restaurants lining the market alleyways.

The central square around Sharm Souq is the heartbeat of the old town – a proper Egyptian market selling everything from gold jewelry and spices to plastic toys and live chickens. It gets busy in the evenings when locals come out to shop and socialize. The El Mina Mosque nearby is a calm counterpoint to the chaos outside, and non-Muslim visitors are generally welcome at appropriate times if dressed respectfully.

For architecture enthusiasts, El Dahar still has clusters of older Egyptian houses with wooden latticework balconies and faded paint that tell the story of the town before the tourist boom. It’s not a polished heritage district – it’s a living, breathing neighborhood – and that’s exactly what makes it worth a few hours of wandering. Come in the late afternoon when the light is golden and the heat has softened.

4. Take a Desert Safari into the Eastern Sahara

The Red Mountains and the Eastern Desert begin almost immediately behind Hurghada, and the contrast between the deep blue sea and the rust-red, boulder-strewn landscape is one of Egypt’s great visual surprises. A desert safari here is nothing like the Western Desert experiences around Siwa or the White Desert – this is a harder, more dramatic terrain of jagged ridges, dry wadis, and Bedouin settlements that have existed for centuries.

The most popular format is a quad bike or 4×4 jeep excursion at sunset, which takes you into the desert, stops at a Bedouin village for tea and flatbread, and often ends with stargazing before returning to town. The stars out here are extraordinary – zero light pollution means the Milky Way is visible to the naked eye most nights from September through April.

More adventurous options include camel treks across the desert floor, overnight camping in the wadis, and longer jeep expeditions toward the ancient Mons Claudianus quarry – a Roman granite quarry site in the desert that supplied stone for the Pantheon in Rome and various buildings along the Nile. It’s rarely visited and eerily atmospheric.

• Best providers: Look for licensed operators with modern vehicles and knowledgeable Bedouin guides
• Typical cost: USD 20-40 for a basic quad-bike sunset trip; USD 60-100 for a full-day jeep and Bedouin experience
• What to bring: Sunglasses, a light scarf for dust, and a warm layer for evening trips in winter months

5. Swim with Dolphins at Dolphin World

Hurghada has one of the very few facilities in the Middle East and Africa where you can interact with dolphins in a semi-structured lagoon environment: Dolphin World, located about 10 kilometers south of the city center near Sahl Hasheesh. The facility houses a group of bottlenose dolphins and offers three tiers of experience – watching a show, wading in shallow water while dolphins swim past, and a deeper-water swim where the dolphins interact directly with participants.

It’s worth knowing the context before you go. Dolphin World does draw ethical debate, and it’s fair to weigh that. The facility operates under Egyptian regulatory oversight and has been in operation long enough to have established routines that minimize stress for the animals – but it is still a captive environment. If you’ve already decided this kind of experience aligns with your values, it’s professionally run and the handlers are clearly attentive to the animals’ wellbeing. If you prefer to see dolphins in the wild, local dive operators occasionally spot spinner dolphins on the outer reef route to Giftun, and trips specifically targeting wild dolphin encounters in open water are available through a handful of companies.

• Location: Sahl Hasheesh, south of Hurghada
• Cost: USD 30-80 depending on interaction level
• Booking: Advance reservation recommended, especially in peak season (December-January and July-August)

6. Sail on a Sunset Cruise

An evening on the water off Hurghada is one of those experiences that feels almost too easy and yet somehow always delivers. The sun sets over the Eastern Desert mountains behind the city while the sea turns copper and rose, and if you’re on a boat a kilometer or two offshore, the whole scene is uninterrupted by buildings or resort noise. Sunset cruises depart nightly from Hurghada Marina between 4 PM and 5 PM depending on the season, and most include snorkeling at a shallow reef stop before the sun goes down.

Boat choices range from traditional wooden feluccas – the lateen-sailed boats you’ll see all over Egypt – to modern catamarans with sundecks, and even pirate-themed party boats that are popular with families. The felucca option is the most authentic and peaceful, typically carrying no more than eight to twelve passengers, with a crew member who’ll make tea and serve fruit as the light fades.

If you’re visiting with a partner or want a more private arrangement, several operators offer private charter boats for the evening – a worthwhile splurge that gives you control over the route, timing, and atmosphere without a crowd of strangers.

• Departure point: Hurghada Marina (the main hub for most cruises)
• Typical cost: USD 20-35 per person for a group cruise; USD 100-200 for a private charter
• Best months: October through April when evenings are warm without being oppressively hot

7. Explore Hurghada Marina and Sahl Hasheesh

Hurghada’s modern waterfront identity is split between two distinct areas: the compact, café-lined Hurghada Marina in the Sekalla district, and the ambitious planned resort town of Sahl Hasheesh about 18 kilometers to the south. Together, they represent the cosmopolitan face of the city – the version that has attracted significant Gulf investment and European expat presence over the past decade.

The Marina is the more accessible of the two – a horseshoe of water lined with restaurants, dive boats, ice cream kiosks, and souvenir shops, with a promenade where people walk well into the night. It’s the social hub of tourist Hurghada, and while it can feel a little theme-park-ish in high season, it’s genuinely pleasant in the evenings when the heat drops and the boats light up. Good restaurants here serve fresh Red Sea catch – the grilled sea bream and red mullet prepared with cumin and lemon are not to be missed.

Sahl Hasheesh is a different proposition – a master-planned community built on a crescent-shaped bay about 40 minutes south of the city center. It has a striking Italian-style piazza at its heart, a lagoon beach, and a collection of upscale hotels that feel genuinely luxurious. If you’re staying in Hurghada proper, Sahl Hasheesh makes a worthwhile half-day trip just to see the contrast and have a long lunch by the water.

8. Eat Your Way Through Hurghada’s Food Scene

Hurghada’s food scene is more layered than its resort reputation suggests. Yes, there are pizza buffets and international breakfast spreads in every hotel corridor – but step outside the all-inclusive bubble and you’ll find food worth writing home about. Egyptian cuisine here has strong coastal influences: fish is central, bread is exceptional, and the street food is both cheap and genuinely satisfying.

Ful medames – slow-cooked fava beans with olive oil, garlic, and lemon – is the Egyptian breakfast staple and you’ll find it served from street carts near El Dahar from as early as 6 AM, eaten wrapped in warm baladi bread. For lunch, grilled fish restaurants near the marina and in El Dahar serve whole fish by weight – typically USD 5-12 per person – with tahini, salad, and rice on the side.

In the evenings, the koshary shops deserve a visit. Koshary – Egypt’s beloved mix of rice, lentils, pasta, and crispy onions drenched in tomato and vinegar sauce – is the kind of dish that shouldn’t work on paper but absolutely does. A large bowl costs less than USD 2. It’s vegetarian, filling, and deeply Egyptian.

Seafood lovers should seek out the fish markets near the port where boats unload fresh catch in the early morning. Some of the small restaurants adjacent to the market will cook your purchase to order – this is as fresh as it gets anywhere in Egypt.

• Must-eat dishes: Grilled sea bream, koshary, ful medames, feteer (Egyptian layered pastry with honey or cheese)
• Best areas to eat locally: El Dahar market streets, the area around Sharm Souq
• Tipping culture: 10-15% is standard in restaurants; rounding up at street food stalls is appreciated

9. Take a Day Trip to Luxor

One of Hurghada’s most underused geographic advantages is its proximity to Luxor – the ancient city on the Nile that holds more pharaonic monuments per square kilometer than anywhere else on earth. The drive across the Eastern Desert takes about three hours each way, passing through a moon-like landscape of bare mountains and desert plains before the Nile Valley opens up in front of you like a green miracle.

A full-day excursion from Hurghada to Luxor gives you enough time to visit the Valley of the Kings – the royal necropolis where Tutankhamun and dozens of pharaohs were buried – along with the breathtaking Temple of Hatshepsut on the West Bank, and either Karnak Temple or Luxor Temple on the East Bank. These are not just impressive ruins – they are among the most significant archaeological sites on the planet, and standing inside the hypostyle hall at Karnak, surrounded by columns the height of ten-story buildings covered in painted hieroglyphs, is genuinely awe-inspiring.

Alternatively, Egypt Air operates short flights between Hurghada and Luxor (approximately 45 minutes) which makes it possible to fit more sightseeing into the day without the long road journey. This option is worth considering in summer when the desert crossing in daylight hours is brutal.

• How to go: Organized day tours from Hurghada hotels; private car hire; or flight with Egypt Air
• Typical cost: USD 50-90 per person for a guided day trip by road including entry fees; flights from USD 60-100 one way



• Best start time: Leave by 5:30-6 AM to maximize time and avoid midday heat at the open-air sites

10. Glass-Bottom Boat Tours and Submarine Rides

Not everyone wants to get wet to see the Red Sea’s underwater world, and Hurghada has a well-developed infrastructure for exactly that situation. Glass-bottom boat tours are the most accessible option – flat-bottomed boats with transparent panels in the hull that let you watch the reef passing beneath you while staying completely dry. These tours depart multiple times daily from the marina and from various hotel jetties, typically lasting 90 minutes to two hours.

For a more immersive non-diving experience, the Sindbad Submarine is one of Hurghada’s most unusual attractions – a genuine semi-submersible vessel that descends to around 22 meters, giving passengers a window-seat view of reef life that rivals anything you’d see while snorkeling. The submarine has been operating for years and is popular with families and older travelers who want the visual experience of the deep reef without any physical demands. The journey lasts about 90 minutes total including the tender boat transfer to the submarine itself.

For something even more hands-on, Seabob underwater scooter rentals have become increasingly popular along the Hurghada coast – these handheld propulsion devices let you glide just below the surface at speed while snorkeling, covering far more reef ground than you’d manage by swimming alone.

• Glass-bottom boat cost: USD 10-20 per person
• Sindbad Submarine cost: USD 45-60 per person including transfers
• Best for: Non-swimmers, families with young children, travelers with mobility limitations

Practical Tips for Visiting Hurghada in 2026

Getting There

Hurghada International Airport receives direct flights from across Europe, Russia, the Gulf states, and several African cities. In 2026, capacity has expanded with new routes from Germany, Poland, and the UK continuing strong demand. From Cairo, the options are a 45-minute Egypt Air flight or a five-to-six-hour drive down the Cairo-Ain Sokhna highway and coastal road – manageable but long. Most visitors arriving at the airport pre-arrange hotel transfers, which are efficient and inexpensive through your accommodation.

Getting Around the City

Hurghada stretches along the coast for roughly 40 kilometers, which means getting around requires some planning. Tuk-tuks (auto-rickshaws) are the cheapest and most entertaining option for short hops within El Dahar and Sekalla – agree on the price before you get in (typically USD 1-3 for short distances). Taxis are widely available and reasonably priced; use the inDriver or Careem apps for price transparency. Minibuses run the length of the coastal road for almost nothing but routes can be confusing for first-time visitors.

Visa and Entry

Most nationalities can obtain an Egyptian visa on arrival at Hurghada airport for USD 25, or in advance via the Egypt e-Visa portal. The e-Visa is recommended to avoid queues, particularly during peak season arrivals. South Africans, Jordanians, and GCC nationals have specific arrangements – check your country’s current status before traveling.

Money and Costs

Egypt’s currency is the Egyptian Pound (EGP). ATMs are widely available at the airport, along the marina, and in El Dahar. In 2026, after several years of currency fluctuation, the exchange rate has stabilized – check current rates before travel. USD and EUR are accepted at many hotels and larger tour operators, but having local currency is essential for markets, street food, and smaller restaurants. Hurghada remains excellent value: a full day of activities, meals, and transport can be managed comfortably for USD 40-80 per person outside of diving excursions.

When to Visit

October through April is peak season with reason – temperatures are comfortable (20°C-28°C), the sea is calm, and visibility underwater is at its best. July and August are oppressively hot (regularly 40°C+) but the sea is warm and flat, and hotel prices drop significantly. Ramadan timing shifts annually; during Ramadan, some local restaurants keep reduced daytime hours, but resort areas operate normally and the evening atmosphere in El Dahar during Iftar is something worth experiencing rather than avoiding.

Safety and Etiquette

Hurghada is one of Egypt’s safest destinations for international visitors, with a significant tourist police presence along the main resort areas. The usual urban awareness applies in El Dahar – keep an eye on bags in the market, ignore persistent touts with a polite but firm “la shukran” (no thank you), and don’t flash expensive equipment unnecessarily. Women visiting the old town should dress modestly – a light linen shirt and trousers or a long skirt shows respect and will be appreciated. On the beach and in resort areas, normal Western beach attire is completely fine.

Explore more
Best Snorkeling Boat Trips in Hurghada
Hurghada Scuba Diving: Top Reefs for 2026
Desert Safari Hurghada: Quad Biking & Bedouin Dinner

📷 Featured image by Filip Crantz on Unsplash.