Where to Stay on the Red Sea: Which Resort Area Suits You?

Which part of the Red Sea should you stay in?

Decide first whether you want the mainland coast, which is a drive from Luxor, or South Sinai, which is a flight from Cairo; then pick an area within it by what you want from the sea and your evenings.

The mainland strip from El Gouna to Marsa Alam is where most Nile travellers finish, because the road from Luxor reaches Hurghada in about four hours and there is no need to return to Cairo until your flight home. South Sinai, around Sharm el-Sheikh and Dahab, has some of the most celebrated reefs in the world and the side trip to Mount Sinai, but it is reached by air and has its own travel advice and entry rules. Both have warm water all year, from about 22°C in winter to 28–29°C in late summer.

How do the Red Sea resort areas compare?

This table compares the main areas on the things that most change a beach holiday: transfers, reefs, evenings and who each area suits.

El Gouna or Hurghada: which suits a beach finish after the Nile?

El Gouna suits travellers who want to walk to dinner and have variety; Hurghada suits those who want value, a bigger choice of hotels and the shortest airport transfer.

El Gouna is a privately built lagoon town 25 km north of Hurghada, where you can stroll from your hotel to the restaurants of Abu Tig Marina or take a town shuttle, and where the steady northerly wind powers a kitesurfing scene. Resorts such as the Steigenberger Golf Resort and the Sheraton Miramar sit on the lagoons. Hurghada itself is a long, busy strip: the southern resort stretch along Village Road for beach holidays, Sakkala and the marina for restaurants within walking distance. Both are about four hours from Luxor and an hour's flight from Cairo.

The detail is in our El Gouna and Hurghada destination guides, the head-to-head El Gouna vs Hurghada comparison, and the area-by-area where to stay in Hurghada guide.

Which resort bays have the best house reefs?

If you want to snorkel straight from the beach without booking boats, choose a resort in Makadi Bay, Sahl Hasheesh or the Marsa Alam coast, and confirm before booking that your hotel has its own jetty onto a reef.

Makadi Bay, about 30 km south of Hurghada airport, is a cluster of family resorts on sheltered water. Sahl Hasheesh is the upmarket bay just south of town, with a seafront promenade and hotels such as The Oberoi Beach Resort. Soma Bay, a peninsula further south, has a handful of large resorts, including the Kempinski Hotel Soma Bay, plus a golf course and some of the coast's most reliable wind.

Not every hotel in these bays has a good reef, and some beaches are sandy and shallow for a long way out. Look at a resort's aerial photos and ask how far the jetty extends. Our Red Sea snorkelling guide names the best spots.

Is Marsa Alam worth the extra distance?

Yes, if marine life is your priority and you are happy to stay put: Marsa Alam's reefs are the healthiest on the mainland coast, with green turtles in the seagrass bays and dolphins resting on offshore reefs.

The price is distance and quiet. Resorts and eco-lodges are strung along more than 100 km of coast with no town centre to walk to, Marsa Alam's airport has mainly seasonal flights, and the drive from Hurghada takes 3.5–4 hours. From Luxor, the road via Edfu reaches the coast in about 4–5 hours. Choose your hotel by its house reef and its location in relation to the sites you want to visit, such as Abu Dabbab or Port Ghalib. Read the comparison Marsa Alam vs Hurghada.

Should you choose Sharm el-Sheikh or Dahab instead?

Choose South Sinai if diving or Mount Sinai is the point of the trip; for a simple beach finish after Luxor, the mainland coast is easier.

Sharm el-Sheikh has big resorts spread across Naama Bay, Sharks Bay and Nabq, with boat access to Ras Mohammed and the Strait of Tiran; examples include the Four Seasons Resort Sharm El Sheikh. Dahab, about 1–1.5 hours north, is a low-rise town of guesthouses, small hotels and seafront cafés, with world-class shore diving. Both mean a flight via Cairo from the Nile valley. Travel advice for Sinai differs from the rest of Egypt and varies within the peninsula, so check Smartraveller and confirm your insurance covers it. If you stay only in South Sinai, you may enter on the free Sinai-only stamp; our Sharm el-Sheikh airport guide explains it, and our Hurghada vs Sharm el-Sheikh comparison weighs up the two hubs.

What else should you check before booking a Red Sea resort?

Check four things: the reef in front of the hotel, exposure to wind, the board basis, and how far you'll be from anything else.

• Wind: the mainland coast often has a strong northerly breeze, great for kitesurfing at El Gouna and Soma Bay, less so for sunbathing on an exposed beach in winter. Sheltered bays and lagoon pools help.
• Board basis: many isolated resorts are sold all-inclusive because there is nowhere else to eat. In El Gouna, Hurghada's marina or Sharm's Naama Bay, bed and breakfast leaves room to explore.
• Season: water drops to about 22°C from December to February, so bring a rash vest or light wetsuit; summer air temperatures pass 35°C.
• Size: some resorts have hundreds of rooms and long walks to the beach. If anyone in your group has limited mobility, ask about buggies and room location.

Which Red Sea area should you choose?

Here is the short verdict by traveller type.

• Couples and honeymooners: El Gouna for evenings out, or Sahl Hasheesh for a quieter upmarket resort.
• Families: Makadi Bay or Hurghada's southern strip, for sandy beaches, kids' clubs and short transfers; see our Egypt family adventure.
• Snorkellers: a resort with a house reef in Makadi, Sahl Hasheesh or Marsa Alam.
• Divers: Marsa Alam for the southern reefs, Sharm for Ras Mohammed and the Thistlegorm, Dahab for shore diving.
• Kitesurfers and golfers: Soma Bay or El Gouna.
• Value seekers: Hurghada.
• Short beach finish after the Nile: El Gouna or Hurghada, four hours from Luxor, as on our Egypt and Red Sea tour.