Hurghada, Egypt: Off the Resort

When we were planning our trip to Egypt, we were set on pyramids, temples, and camels. Hurghada wasn’t even on our radar. However, when we were looking up the cheapest flights on Skyscanner it was MUCH cheaper to fly to Hurghada than it was to Cairo. All we knew about Hurghada was that it was a resort town. As we were just backpacking and trying to spend the least amount of money possible, we knew we weren’t going to stay on a resort. We did find multiple cheap options on Airbnb. So was it still worth it to go to Hurghada and not stay on a resort?!

We tried hard to find the answer to this, but before we went we honestly couldn’t find much to do outside of resorts and excursions. This is because Hurghada only dates back to 1905 when it was a small fishing village. It does not have any of the ancient temples or history that is normally associated with Egypt. However don’t rule out Hurghada yet!

Top Things to do in Hurghada Off Resort

As I said before, Hurghada is one of the most popular resort towns in Egypt. It has its own international airport which makes it easy to access. We also found this airport to be less busy than Cairo airport. We landed and got our visa on arrivals SO quickly and easily, even during these covid times! While I don’t want to focus on resort related activities, I do need to mention some excursions as they are really good things to do!

1. Diving/Snorkeling/Boat Excursions

This is obviously the number one thing to do in Hurghada off resort or on. Without a doubt. Most people flock to Hurghada specifically for its crystal clear waters full of colorful reefs and fish! There are some great diving tours you can do even as a beginner.

If you’re not into full on scuba diving or you want a slightly cheaper option, Hurghada has tons of snorkeling tours that also allow you to access what’s under the Red Sea! This one is particularly popular as it takes you to the amazing Giftun Island National Park! Giftun Island is home to the famous Orange Bay which is known for its coral reefs. Definitely try to make it here if you have the time!

If you can’t fit in diving or snorkeling, you at least need to get on a boat! There are many cheap boat tours that you can buy in the Hurghada Marina. They range in time from just two hours to full day trips! Many of these boats also have submarine like lower levels so you can still see dozens of fish without even getting wet! You can also book your tour ahead of time. You simply can’t visit Hurghada without seeing what lives in the Red Sea!

2. Beaches

While Hurghada is famous for what lives in the water, the beaches themselves are also amazing! With year round hot weather and white sand beaches it’s hard to avoid relaxing here. If you’re on a resort it should be very easy to access the beach. However, as we stayed in an airbnb we found it a bit harder! Most beaches are closed off so the public cannot access them! If you have your own vehicle it’s easy to drive either north or south of the resort area to access public beaches. If you don’t have a car, you can use Uber to take you to a beach. Old Vic Beach is one of the more popular ones. For a small fee you can access the beach and swim in the sea.

3. Other Excursions

I need to mention this as many of these excursions are extremely popular in Hurghada. You can do an ATV tour along the Red Sea, a desert ATV tour that includes a camel ride, or even explore the desert on a horse! While these types of excursions aren’t for everyone, they can be a great addition to your trip!

4. Hurghada Marina

When you’re in Hurghada, make sure you stop by the Hurghada Marina. It’s a very touristy area lined with (not so cheap) restaurants, souvenir stores, and lots of boats! Even though the restaurants aren’t the cheapest (think European prices), it is a great place to have dinner at least once. We had many people trying to get us to try the camel steak…..although we did not. It’s also nice to see the sunset behind all the boats!

5. Hurghada Fish Market

The fish market is actually right next to the marina! It is a huge outdoor market with tons of stands full of many different fish and other seafood. There are a couple other stores which sell other products such as different Egyptian teas. It’s even possible to buy fish at the market and find a stall to cook the fish for you for a small fee!

6. Al Mina Mosque

Al Mina Mosque (or El Mina Mosque) is the largest mosque in Hurghada. You can actually go inside the mosque during the daytime for free! Although it also looks amazing at night when all the lights are on. If you are planning on going inside the mosque make sure you dress appropriately! For women this means your knees, shoulders, and hair must be covered. Men should be wearing long pants, not shorts, and everyone needs to take off their shoes before entering the mosque.

7. El Dahar Old Town

El Dahar is the local city center of Hurghada. Don’t confuse it with the mall which is actually named ‘City Center’ and about halfway between El Dahar and the marina! If you want to experience the real Egypt while in Hurghada, as opposed to lots of tourists and resorts, take an Uber to El Dahar! It’s full of markets and local restaurants/cafes. Remember if you buy something in the market that haggling here is expected! In markets, the first price you are given is often double what something actually costs. It can be quite awkward at first, however trust me, after a couple weeks in Egypt you learn to haggle like a pro!

8. The Hurghada Museum

The Hurghada Museum only opened in 2020 and it is the first ancient Egyptian museum in the Red Sea Governorate (province)! The museum is open from 10am-1pm and from 5pm-10pm. Yes, it is closed in the afternoon. You can buy a ticket on their website for 250 pounds (~$10 usd) or you can buy a ticket in person. However, when we tried to buy tickets in person they only accepted cash.

If you have been to other Egyptian museums in Luxor or Cairo, the Hurghada Museum isn’t anything special. If you don’t have the chance to go to any other museums, or if you’re only staying in Hurghada, then this is a cool place to check out! They have lots of artifacts and multiple exhibitions starting back in Ancient Egypt and going the whole way up to Modern Egypt. They also have multiple coffins and real mummies!

Egyptian History in Hurghada

Like I said, Hurghada is a relatively new city so there isn’t much there in terms of Ancient Egyptian history besides the Hurghada Museum (see above). Luckily if you are staying in Hurghada there are many tours/day trips you can take to easily visit other cities in Egypt!

There is a day trip you can do from Hurghada to Cairo. And when I say full day trip, I mean full day trip! This trip is 20-24 hours for less than $150 per person. You will be spending A LOT of time on the bus, but it is much cheaper than buying flights and trying to plan a pyramid tour on your own. Plus it’s a chance to see the pyramids – one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World!

There is also a tour you can do from Hurghada to Luxor. Luxor is much closer to Hurghada than Cairo is and also has some amazing historical sites such as Luxor Temple, Karnak Temple, and the Valley of the Kings. If you don’t have time to visit on your own, a guided day trip would be a very cool experience!

What to Wear in Hurghada

I’m sure on the resorts you can wear whatever you want. As Hurghada is a touristy resort town, we saw countless tourists walking around outside the resorts in short shorts and tank tops! While this was a lot more common at the marina and other very touristy areas, it is not as common in more local places such as El Dahar or around the town. If you’re planning to spend the day off the resort (and not on an excursion), I would try to cover up a little more. I felt comfortable in a T-shirt and leggings. Longer dresses that aren’t too skimpy on top are also okay. While you will probably see tourists dressed for the beach all over Hurghada, it’s a lot more comfortable and respectful to the locals to try to cover at least a little.

How to Get Around Hurghada

So you’ve decided to leave the resort. Now how do you get around on your own? Once we were in town, we felt very safe walking around Hurghada alone! Many locals and children even tried to say hello to us in English as we walked around many little alleys and backstreets.

There are plenty of taxis in Hurghada that you can take (as we did ourselves a couple times). If you plan to take a taxi in Hurghada, make sure you decide on a price ahead of time! Tell the driver where you are going, ask how much, and MAKE SURE YOU HAVE CHANGE!! Throughout our month in Egypt, we occasionally didn’t have exact change….which sometimes the driver also doesn’t have exact change…which ends up in you losing money.

We found the best way to get around Egypt is to use Uber, specifically Uber attached to a credit card so you don’t need to worry about cash or having exact change. Uber worked great in both Hurghada and Cairo! The only issue we had was the license plates. Numbers in Egypt are different!! Some Ubers will have a mini license plate in the window showing ‘normal’ (for English speakers) western numbers. However, a lot of cars are missing this. Luckily we found this picture online and took a screenshot of it so we could compare the western numbers from the Uber app with the Egyptian numbers on the license plates to make sure we had the right car!

Onward Travel from Hurghada

If you’re like us and find yourself in Hurghada but still want to travel the rest of Egypt, there are many budget friendly ways to do that!

How to Get From Hurghada to Cairo

By Plane: There are many cheap, direct flights between Hurghada and Cairo. Most one way flights we saw were around $50-80 and roundtrip around $150. You can check directly on Skyscanner to find the best prices! And even better – the flight is only an hour!

By Bus: If you have enough time and want to save money, there are many buses you can take from Hurghada to Cairo! GoBus is a huge, reliable bus company in Egypt. You can get from Hurghada to Cairo on GoBus in 7-8 hours for less than $15! You can book tickets at one of their offices or here on their website.

How to Get From Hurghada to Luxor

By Plane: Unfortunately there are no direct flights from Hurghada to Luxor. If you want to fly to Luxor, you’ll have a layover in Cairo first. While this is doable, we wouldn’t recommend it.

By Bus: This is the option we chose! We booked a GoBus online the day before our trip. It was a comfy bus with chargers and TVs. The bus took about 4 hours to get to Luxor and cost less than $10!