AlBahr AlAhmar Governorate

Hurghada City

Hurghada City stretches for about 40 kilometers along the shoreline of the Red Sea, Al-Bahr Al-Ahmar governorate. It is located 225 kilometers far from the nearest governorate (Qena) in the Nile valley, and 446 kilometers to the south of Cairo. Ras Garib borders it in the north, Safaga tourist city in south, the Red Sea coast in east and the Assiut governorate in west.

History

Hurghada is one of the cities located in Al-Bahr Al-Ahmar governorate on the Red Sea coast. The present city was founded in the early 20th century. Until recently, it was a small fishing village with small population. Since the 19th century, Egyptian and foreign investors have continually enlarged the city to become the leading coastal resort on the Red Sea. Oil was discovered in the area in 1913. Although, its actual production and export only began in 1921 under British oil magnates.

Administrative Divisions

In present time, Hurghada city has three main areas:
  • El Dahar is the old Downtown
  • Sekalla is the city center and the old part of the city
  • Also, El Qura is the modern part

Beside these three main divisions, Hurghada has a number of suburbs; but, it has no villages as it is known in the cities located in the Nile Valley.

Hurghada Attractions

Hurghada City is ideal resort to spend time in. This city has yearlong sunshine, incredible beaches and crystal-like water sea. It is located at the side of the Red Sea and vast desert surrounds it. In addition, it has countless exciting attractions to explore. For ideas, see our list of the top tourist attractions and places to visit in Hurghada:
  • Abdulmoneim Riadh Mosque
  • El-Mina Grand Mosque
  • Church of St. Mary
  • Hurghada Marina Boulevard
  • Fish Market
  • Fruit Market
  • Marine Port
  • Giftun Islands
  • Hurghada Grand Aquarium
  • Jungle Aqua Park
  • Sand City
  • Mini Egypt
  • Hard Rock Café
  • Also, Little Buddha

Sand Museum:

It includes more than 70 sculptures of sand statues and inscriptions, which were formed from water and pressed sand until they became like hard stones, and in order to protect them from wind and rain, their surface is painted with varnish, and some of these statues are about 10 meters high, and it took about 6 months to complete this museum 29 artists from different parts of the world participated in the exit of these creations.

It includes a mixture of different eras and civilizations, most notably Pharaonic figures and sculptures, in addition to sculptures of Napoleon, Zeus, Cleopatra, Posiden, Caesar, and Eros. There are also statues of modern day heroes such as “King Kong”, “Jack Sparrow”, and Spider-Man.

Dahar Mosque:

It is one of the most important landmarks of Hurghada, and one of its most beautiful mosques, and it is located in the Al-Dahar district in the city center, and is distinguished by its two distinctive high-rise minarets, as well as the decorations on the interior walls, and in the evening a wall façade is lit from it, which gives it a magnificent view, and whoever goes to this mosque will see The large number of street vendors spread over its yard, which makes it one of the main crowded areas in the city.

Hurghada resorts … a special character

Sahl Hasheesh:

The resorts of Sahl Hasheesh have a distinctive character, and are characterized by a higher level in the prices of tourist accommodation compared to hotels in Hurghada, and include 1660 hotel rooms, and it is planned to open 6 thousand hotel rooms, and also includes an open theater famous for the huge concerts held by major Arab singers and attended by thousands of their fans .

El Gouna:

El Gouna dates back to 1990, and was established by the Orascom Group company owned by the Sawiris family, about 20 km away from Hurghada International Airport, 470 km away from Cairo, and El Gouna is heading to achieve self-sufficiency in food by relying heavily on the products of the El Gouna farm built on an area 120 acres, and the area is famous for being a site for diving in the depths and various water sports such as water skiing, windsurfing, and golf, and there are two main beaches, “Zaitouna Beach” and “Mangroovy Beach”, and the resort has a large number of water channels, so it is characterized by many Islands, marinas and yachting in large numbers, and many health clubs.

There are 6 neighborhoods in El Gouna: Marina Town, the Mediterranean, the Golf District, the Nubian Quarter, the Hadaba neighborhood, and the Italian Quarter. All investments in the resort tend to rely on clean solar energy and completely dispense with government-generated electricity, by storing batteries for the energy generated from Solar cells.

 Aquarium:

In the heart of Hurghada, just 5 minutes from Hurghada International Airport, in the Magawish tourist area, Hurghada’s Grand Aquarium is located, the largest aquarium of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa, and the seventh in the world. Hurghada’s “Grand Aquarium” is home to thousands of species of marine organisms. It is also unique to the idea of ​​the rainforest with its abundant rain, intertwining trees, and the open forest similar to the African forests which contain the most beautiful animals and different birds.

Shopping Malls:

Beaches are not the only one that attracts it and visitors, but rather the shopping places and the tourist walkway of Hurghada, which is crowded with cafes, restaurants and shops, whether popular markets or malls, gives it more fun and night life, so you can wander at night alone without boredom or with your friends or family.

City tour by Hurghada

Hurghada Activities

So, here’s a comprehensive list of the activities and things to do in Hurghada, Egypt. For your convenience, I’ve grouped these entries into five basic categories:

  • History Related/Sightseeing in Hurghada
  • Snorkeling in Hurghada
  • Diving in Hurghda
  • Sea Related Activities
  • Water Sports / Water-Related Activities
  • Also, Fun and Entertainments in Hurghada

History-Related and Sightseeing Activities in Hurghada

Hurghada is situated at 456 km from Cairo, and at 306 km from Luxor. For sure, this unique location makes it possible to do a number of history-related activities and sightseeing tours. Also, it enable tourists to visit the monuments and attractions in cites of Luxor, Sohag, El-Minya, Qena, Aswan, Cairo, Giza, Alexandria … etc.

The following is a list of the activities tourists can choose from. This list provides both the destination and the means of transportation to get the place:

Snorkeling Activities in Hurghada

Snorkeling is a popular recreational activity in Egypt, particularly at the tropical resort of Hurghada. The primary appeal to this activity is the opportunity to observe underwater life in a natural setting without the complicated equipment and training required for scuba diving. It appeals to all ages because of the little effort needed.

A list of the sea activities and trips in Hurghada:

Diving Activities in Hurghada

Diving is one of Hurghada’s popular sea activities. The city offers tourists a number of interesting options to do such an activity. These options vary widely in the destination they head to, and the location they take place on. For example, diving can take place on the beach or in open sea. Diving in open sea can be done in various sea sites with colorful marine world. It lets fully explore and experience the exquisiteness of the Red Sea.

For more details about diving in open sea, you can check the following activity:

Fishing Activities in Hurghada

Fishing is one of the lovely hobbies and activities tourists practice in Hurghada. This recreational and sport activity is primarily for pleasure or competition purposes. The most common form of recreational fishing is done with a rod, reel, line, hooks and any one of a wide range of baits or lures such as artificial flies. The practice of catching or attempting to catch fish with a hook is generally known as angling.

In Hurghada, the most familiar type of angling is the one which uses line and hook. While the one which uses rod and reel is more professionally; and comes in the second place.

Here are the fishing activities you can enjoy in Hurghada:

Sea-Related Activities in Hurghada

Hurghada offers an optional to tourists who want to enjoy watching corals and fish without

To get more details on these sea-related activities, discover the following options:

Water Sports Activities in Hurghada

e concentrate, here, on the type of water sports which can be done on the water. The other types of water sports are classified under different categories in our site.

Hurghada offers a wide range of water sports to the tourists holidaying in. Usually, in all Hurghada hotels, tourists can enjoy this kind of activity. Parasailing is the most funny activity for tourists:

Desert Safari Activities in Hurghada

Desert Safari is one exciting activity you should add to your plan list if you’re going to stay in Hurghada. This safari activity combines all the fun and adventures you can enjoy in the desert. Desert safari trips range widely from being a simple camel rides to buggy driving. Hurghada offers a number of safari activities e.g. camel riding, horse riding, quad biking, jeep riding, and buggy, too.

The desert safari activities in Hurghada are as follows:

Horse Riding Activities in Hurghada

Horse riding is a favorite sport and activity in Hurghada. For pleasure, the city offers you two options for horse riding depending on the location where they can be done on. It offers this recreational activity in two environments: seaside and desert. Some tourists prefer to practice this sport by the sea; and, to ride horse in the sea itself. Other tourists like to enjoy that sport in a land environment _ desert.

If you like to enjoy horse riding in hurghada, you can check the following activity:

City Touring Activities in Hurghada

City tour is an activity of discovering the attractions and the place around you. Certainly, tourists can do such a lovely activity in Hurghada. This resort offers you a number of attractions and places to visit. These attractions are all of modern style.

Usually, city tours in Hurghada head to the most famous attractions of this city. Among these attractions, there are the marine platforms, the old marine port, the Coptic Church, and Muslim mosques.  Also, these city tours get to the fruit and the fish markets.

The following are the city touring activities you can do in Hurghada:

Beauty and Wellness Activities in Hurghada

Hurghada offers excellent solutions to all those who want to take care about their health. Fortunately, a number of spa centers are found in this city where tourist can enjoy a number of body care procedures.

The following is one of the best solutions Hurghada offers:

Entertainment and Fun Activities in Hurghada

Hurghada is a city of fun. Certainly, this city has lot entertainment activities to offer for you. Luckily, in Hurghada, you can find a number of aqua parks, aquariums, dolphinariums, and other places to visit.

The following is a sample of the activities you can enjoy while holidaying in Hurghada:

General information about the Hurghada International Airport

Airport Location

Hurghada International Airport is located inland, 5 km (3 miles) southwest of the downtown of the city of Hurghada (El Dahar district). It serves Hurghada, the center of Red Sea Governorate of Egypt, seaport city Safaga and a lot of amazing Red Sea beech and aquatic sports resorts: Al Quseir, Sharm El Naga, El Gouna, Al-Mahmya, Soma Bay and Makadi Bay.

Route Network

Route network of Hurghada consists of scheduled passenger services to the Egypt capital city of Cairo and direct connections to several European destinations. More than 40 airlines perform seasonable charter flights to the cities in Western and Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Russia and the CIS countries. Nowadays the airport has undergone massive renovations to accommodate dramatically rising leisure traffic.

Passenger Services

There is only one terminal in the Hurghada airport and car parking is located just outside the terminal. It is possible to get to the city or to the hotels by taxi or piblic transport (minibuses).

More about getting to the airport

In the terminal there is the various infrastructure necessary for satisfaction of requirements of taking off and arriving passengers: restaurants and cafe, changes, phones and post office, shops of souvenirs and essential commodities, a left-luggage office, the VIP-lounge, car rental office.

More about passenger services

There are no business facilities at the airport but it’s possible to use conference and meeting facilities at the resort hotels which are located only in 5 minutes by car from the airport.

Airport Shopping

Hurghada airport suggests wide range of shopping possibilities before flight. A lot of souvenir shops are located at the terminal. There are also duty free shops at the departure zone selling perfumes, alcohol and confectionery products with great discount.

Hurghada Time Zone

Time zone in Hurghada GMT + 2 (daylight saving time GMT + 3 from the last Friday in April to the last Thursday in September). Hurghada Airport phone number: +20 65 443 976, fax number: +20 65 443 976