Top Things To Do in Hurghada (+ Day Trips Around Egypt)

Many people visit Egypt for its monuments. The Pyramids, The Sphinx, The Temple of Hatshepsut, Luxor and Karnak are only a few of the best things to see in Egypt. If this is your favorite kind of trip, check out this 7-day Egypt itinerary that takes you to the most important landmarks in this country.

Let’s see how you can do it the other way around; take a Hurghada vacation in an all inclusive resort, try all the best things to do in the city and get one or two day trips to various tourist objectives in Egypt. You’ll find below some of the top things to do in Hurghada and around. Before anything else, make sure you read these Egypt travel tips to know before you visit this country. You can thank me later.

How to Get to Hurghada

The best way to get to Hurghada is to take an international flight to Cairo, and then a local one from Cairo to Hurghada. That’s what I chose and I was pleased to see what amazing aircraft Egypt Air uses for their local flights.

If you’re in Hurghada and you want top visit the pyramids, check out my article about the best way to get to Cairo from Hurghada.

You can research your flight options on the Kiwi Flight Search Engine. I like it very much because it shows places and flight prices on the map, in order to make it easy for you to see your available connections and their prices. Also, once you’ve found your itinerary, you can book all flights directly through Kiwi. It can save you a lot of time.

The airport in Hurghada is really small, but this doesn’t make it less busy.

Diving in the Red Sea

Can a claustrophobic person dive? I’m going to find out soon. I’ve researched the best diving centers in Hurghada and I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m going to book a diving experience here to see the coral, the turtles and the colorful fish. Here are a few options for diving in Hurghada. Meanwhile, you may want to check out this diving and snorkeling guide for beginners to learn the basics of these sports.

Full-Day Diving Tour with Lunch & Two Dive Sites

This 6-hours diving trip is suitable for beginners and for more advanced divers who don’t have any certification yet. It includes two dive sites and lunch on the boat. It is the cheapest diving trip you can get in Hurghada and an excellent opportunity to see whether you enjoy diving or not.

You can find out more details and book this diving trip here.

 

3-Day PADI Open Water Diving Course

If you want to get your PADI certification, this course is exactly what you need. It includes six dives and it is a combination of recreational diving theory and applied underwater lectures. You also have the opportunity to enjoy some practice and admire marine life and colorful coral reef.

Find out more and book your Open Water diving course here.

This activity includes pick up and drop off to your hotel in El Gouna. You may want to check with the organizer whether your hotel is on their pickup list.

 

Submarine Trips

It doesn’t need to be a yellow submarine to have fun. The Red Sea is full of colorful fish and coral reef. Thanks to these submarines and semi-submarines, you can enjoy all these wonder of nature without having to dive. Here are a few submarine trips I’ve found and bookmarked to check out when I get to Hurghada.

Sea Scope Semi Submarine 2-Hour Trip with Snorkeling Break

These semi-submarines are submarines that don’t dive very deep. They feature very large windows, thus allowing great panoramic views.

Find out more about this submarine adventure, see prices and book your spot here.

Special mention: this activity is free for children up to 12 years of age.

Sindbad Submarine 3-Hour Tour

This is a great opportunity to spend 50 minutes at 22 meters deep, viewing the underwater world of the Red Sea. The submarine has generous windows and it can accommodate up to 44 people. This tour includes pickup from your hotel in Hurghada, with air-conditioned buses. In the ticket price you get an English-speaking guide, entrance fees and soft drinks. This activity doesn’t include snorkeling. If that’s what you want, check out the above tour.

Book a Sindbad submarine tour from Hughada here.

Boat Trips to Nearby Islands

Sailing boat trips are cool. I’ve always enjoyed them. When they take you to wonderful islands, boat trips get even better. Here are a few of the most interesting options of boat trips from Hurghada.

Private Speed Boat Trip to Three Islands

How would you like to have a speed boat and its captain all to yourself for four hours?

This trip is for groups of up to four people and it includes pick-up and drop-off to your hotel in Hurghada.

Magawish Island is the first stop. Here you’ll have the opportunity to swim above vividly-colored coral and vibrant fish.

Next, you’ll continue to Giftun Island and then to the mangrove-fringed Abu Mingar island.

If you want to see more details or to book your private boat trips to three islands, click here.

Giftun Island Snorkeling Trip

If you enjoy snorkeling but you’d also want to get a boat trip from Hurghada, you can check out this trip to Giftun Island. The Giftun Island National Park is the perfect place to swim with the dolphins and to snorkel on amazing coral reef.

This is a 9-hour trip and it includes lunch on the boat.

Quad or Jeep Desert Tours

With the desert only a short ride away, there’s no wonder so many people go for quad, bike or Jeep adventures on the sand dunes. Here are a few options for you to check out:

• Sunset Quad Tour along Sea and Mountains – click here for details
• Quad Safari with Bedouin Village Visit and Barbecue – click here for details (this is a 7-hour tour)
• Desert Stars Watching Jeep Tour – click here to see more details and to book

Day Trips to Cairo & Giza

This is something I wouldn’t recommend, as there’s a six-hour drive from Hurghada to Cairo and Giza. Besides, if you stop at checkpoints on the road, you may need more than six hours to cover the 500km.

Nevertheless, if this is your only opportunity to visit the Giza Pyramids and you really want to do it, well, you have your chance to get there in a day-trip from Hurghada. Your trip will probably take 20 hours, so brace yourself for that.

If you want a day trip by bus to see the pyramids, check out this one, here.

I found the trip by plane from Hurghada to Cairo to be much more comfortable. It is true that the price is almost double, but the comfort is tenfold.

Day Trips to Luxor, Hatshepsut Temple, Valley of the Kings

Luxor is much closer to Hurghada than Cairo or Giza. Besides, I found the temples of Luxor and Karnak to be way more interesting than Giza. The Valley of the Kings and the Temple of Hathsepsut are also impressive and easy to reach in a day-trip from Hurghada. Click here to see more details and to book your seat.

These are only a few ideas of things to do in Hurghada and around. As you can see, you can easily fill one week with exciting adventures and relaxing activities. I can’t wait to get there and dive into the Red Sea (provided that the pandemic gives us a break).

For now, keep an eye on the official information on the latest requirements for traveling to Egypt.