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Home / Best Places to Visit / Hurghada & El Gouna
The Red Sea's resort capital and its chic, lagoon-laced sister town — a coast of beach resorts, island reefs, and superb dive sites stretching along the mainland shore.عاصمة منتجعات البحر الأحمر وشقيقتها الأنيقة المنسوجة بالبحيرات — ساحلٌ من المنتجعات الشاطئية وشعاب الجزر ومواقع الغوص الرائعة يمتدّ على طول الشاطئ.
On the Red Sea's mainland coast lie two of Egypt's most popular seaside destinations: bustling Hurghada, the "capital of the Red Sea," and its stylish, purpose-built neighbour El Gouna. Once a small fishing town, Hurghada has grown into a sprawling resort city stretching dozens of kilometres along the shore, packed with hotels, dive centres, and family attractions. Just to the north, El Gouna offers a calmer, upscale alternative — an elegant town of lagoons and marinas. Together they form the heart of Egypt's Red Sea Riviera.
على الساحل البرّي للبحر الأحمر تقع اثنتان من أشهر وجهات مصر الشاطئية: مدينة الغردقة النابضة، «عاصمة البحر الأحمر»، وجارتها الأنيقة المُخطّطة الجونة. كانت الغردقة بلدة صيدٍ صغيرة، فصارت مدينة منتجعاتٍ ممتدّة عشرات الكيلومترات على الشاطئ، تعجّ بالفنادق ومراكز الغوص ومرافق العائلات. وإلى الشمال مباشرة، تقدّم الجونة بديلًا أهدأ وأرقى — بلدةً أنيقة من البحيرات والمراسي. وتشكّلان معًا قلب «ريفييرا البحر الأحمر» المصرية.
The Capital of the Red Sea · عاصمة البحر الأحمر
Resorts, markets, and easy value.منتجعاتٌ وأسواقٌ وقيمةٌ في المتناول.
Hurghada stretches for more than forty kilometres along the coast, taking in resort areas such as Sahl Hasheesh and Makadi Bay and offering year-round sunshine at excellent value. Beyond the beaches, visitors can wander the lively Marina and old town, haggle in traditional markets, visit the Hurghada Museum and Grand Aquarium, or take the kids to Mini Egypt Park. Thanks to its airport and central location, Hurghada also makes an easy base for day trips to the ancient wonders of Luxor and even Cairo.
Reefs, Islands & Diving · الشعاب والجزر والغوص
Egypt’s first marine park lies just offshore.أول محمية بحرية في مصر تقع قبالة الشاطئ.
The coast's great treasure is the Red Sea itself. Just offshore lie the Giftun Islands, established in 1986 as Egypt's first marine national park, whose protected reefs and white-sand beaches — including famous Mahmya and Orange Bay — are reached on popular day boats. The warm, clear water offers superb diving and snorkelling year-round, over coral gardens alive with colour, plus wreck dives, a tourist submarine, and countless reefs for every level of experience.
El Gouna · الجونة
A chic, purpose-built resort of canals and marinas.منتجعٌ أنيق مُخطّط من القنوات والمراسي.
A short drive north, El Gouna is a world apart — an elegant, purpose-built town threaded with lagoons and canals, often called the "Venice of the Red Sea." Built around the lively Abu Tig Marina and a stylish downtown, it draws an international crowd with its boutique hotels, fine restaurants, golf courses, and cultural events such as the celebrated El Gouna Film Festival. Designed with sustainability in mind and blessed with steady winds, it is also one of the world's premier kitesurfing destinations — calmer, greener, and more exclusive than its big neighbour.
Adventure on Land & Sea · مغامرةٌ برًّا وبحرًا
From kite beaches to desert and temples.من شواطئ الطائرات الورقية إلى الصحراء والمعابد.
The whole coast is a playground for the active traveller. Beyond diving, the bays here are superb for kitesurfing, windsurfing, parasailing, and deep-sea fishing, while the desert behind the resorts invites jeep and quad-bike safaris that end with Bedouin dinners under starlit skies. And because the Nile Valley is within reach, many visitors break from the beach for an unforgettable excursion to the temples and tombs of Luxor — pairing Red Sea leisure with the grandeur of ancient Egypt.
Quick Facts · حقائق سريعة
Sources include various Egyptian and Red Sea travel guides. Travel details are approximate.