The Red Sea has some of the richest coral reef ecosystems. If you wish to spend few days snorkelling or diving in the Red Sea, Egypt provides several options. The two larger towns are Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh but there are plenty of resorts away from the towns as well.
Hurghada is a nice town located on the shores of Red Sea. It is more western than Egyptian. It has some nice beaches, trendy bars and restaurant and is famous for diving and snorkelling in the Red Sea. The presence of few islands off Hurghada make it even more attractive.
How to reach Hurghada
Hurghada is located ~500kms from Cairo and ~300kms from Luxor. If travelling from Cairo, best to fly as the road journey will about 10 hours. I disembarked after breakfast at Luxor cruise terminal and drove in a rented private car to Hurghada, a journey time of under 5 hours. I only carried some short eats as I did not expect to find vegetarian food on the way.
There are certain restrictions on driving in the night so make sure you get to Hurghada before sunset.
Buses too run between Luxor and Hurghada.
What to do in Hurghada?
Diving and snorkelling –
There are plenty of spots, including couple of shipwrecked sites and a number of operators. I chose a full day snorkelling trip with dolphin watch. I was taken to 3 different spots for snorkelling. We were allowed to jump off the boat into the sea(at our own risk!). While a bit apprehensive in the beginning, I realised I actually enjoyed it. The water was a bit cold and that dampened my enthusiasm. I was not carrying a wetsuit.
The views of the reefs and marine life were just magical. We were also also taken to a place in the open sea where dolphins abound. And there were plenty of them, not just one or two. But dolphins are not seen through the year.
The lunch was basic, with vegetarian choice being available. Soft drinks and water was also available onboard. But my biggest concern related to safety aspects.
Non swimmers and ‘pool’ swimmers need to be careful
If you are not a swimmer, or not used to swimming in the open sea, you need to be careful. We were all taken to spots near the snorkelling points and after a briefing, we are asked to explore on our own! So we would have to jump into the sea, swim to the snorkelling point, enjoy the underwater scenery, and then get back to the boat. You can imagine the stress it would cause non-swimmers and those who only swim in swimming pools! The crew was not inclined to assist non swimmers and would always be ahead, leading the group.
On one occasion, the briefing happened in water, amidst few other boats that had anchored and then we were on our way!
Another difficulty was that the places were a bit crowded, with plenty of small and medium sized boats around. This made identifying our group a bit hard, unless all stayed together. But that did not happen.
For the above reasons, and the cold water, my son and my wife preferred to stay in the boat most of the time, even though they knew swimming. Whenever they got into water, they made sure they did not go far from the boat
Life jackets were optional and many Europeans were not wearing life jackets. In open sea, even if close to the islands, I feel more comfortable with a life jacket on, though that slowed me down a bit. I was always the last to get back to the boat!
Sindbad, the submarine –
The submarine is a good option for those who are uncomfortable swimming in the open sea. It goes down about 20m and the views are quite nice. In fact, a staff dives in with the submarine and attracts various kinds to fish. The trip takes about an hour.
Relax
at the beach. Only early mornings or late evenings though. I find an early morning jog on the beach very refreshing.
Stroll
in the marina area after sunset. There are plenty of bars and restaurants in the area and the area is quite colourful.
Other attractions and activities
You can visit the aquarium, Dolphin world, and Sand city. You can also opt for desert expeditions. The resort I stayed at also had few activities in-house.
How many days in Hurghada?
3-4 days is good.
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