[The Place][When to Go][How to Go][Activities & Nightlife]

The Red Sea Coast of Egypt runs for more than a thousand miles, with the granite mountains and golden sands of the Eastern Desert on one side, and the wonders of the Red Sea on the other. Starting at Suez and ending at Sudan, are golden beaches, clear blue seas and some of the best diving spots in the world. These are but some of the reasons why the Red Sea attracts more than 300,000 tourists each year. At the northern tip of the Red Sea, is the Suez Canal, probably the world's most vital sea traffic artery in the world. It witnessed 5 wars since W.W.I to 1973 when the Sinai peninsula was regained by Egypt. It is now a major source of income to Egypt. There are three major cities on the canal: Port Said, Ismailia and Suez. All were newly established after the digging of the canal. There isn't anything interesting to see in either of them so we won't go into details.

The first location were you can enjoy a one day trip to the Red Sea is Ein El-Sukhna, only an hour and a half away from Cairo. There are plenty of hotels and resorts on the shore where you can have a day-use of the beach and pools. There are also some spots where you can just park and jump into the water. 80 km to the south, you can take a right turn into the desert at Za'farana to visit the two monasteries of St. Paul and St. Anthony. These are the oldest monasteries in Egypt, built in the 4th century AD. You will be welcomed by the monks, who can arrange for you to stay the night if you wish.

Next is Hurghada which is the tourist capital of the Red Sea. The resort has a beautiful curved bay, granite mountains, and what used to be a great coral reef. It offers excellent snorkeling, diving, and fishing. Over the past ten years Hurghada has been booming in construction, and today it has no less than 100 resorts, ranging from good to excellent. If you’re looking for relaxation and luxury, than Hurghada is the place for you. South of Hurghada are Safaga, Quseir, Marsa Allam, Berenice and Halayeb all of which were very busy ports in the past, and today they are among the best diving spots in the world. Of course the further south you go, the better the diving. At some spots you will be the fish's first human encounter, which is quite an experience. Safaga and Quseir offer beautiful diving sites which are best accessed by boat. Two diving camps are located at Marsa Allam where you can spend a day or two. Marsa Allam has the best diving spots in all of Egypt, unlike Hurghada, they are virtually untouched and there’s a large possibility of spotting a shark or two. The entire coast at Marsa is suitable for diving, so you can just park the car, gear up and dive. As for you “desert-lovers”, well the Eastern Desert has a lot to offer. Oases, Coptic monasteries, camel rides, jeep safaris etc. Most of the five-star hotels at Hurghada organize one or two-day desert trips. Probably all of them organize boat trips for one,two,three or even six days. These boat safaris are intended for diving, snorkeling or fishing and are highly recommended.

Like Sinai, the climate of the Red Sea is your typical desert climate, it gets really hot during the day and it can get extremely cold by night. Temperatures can reach 48'C during a summer day, and 4'C during a winter night. The summer months of June, July and August bring really hot days with cooler nights. Summer is considered the low season, so prices are cheaper than in the winter. Desert Safaris during the day aren't advisable, and do drink a lot of water. As for divers, the water is warmer during the summer, the visibility is great and there's a lot more fish. Naturally, a trade off exists. During the winter months of December, January and February the weather is a lot cooler, with extremely cold nights. The water is also cooler, but still warm enough to swim and dive. Desert trips and boat safaris can be quite cold, but nothing you can’t handle. You should always wear sunscreen while snorkeling or on the beach (the Red Sea sun can be merciless both in summer and winter). Now that we've covered Summer and Winter, it's clear that the ideal time to visit the Red Sea is in between, during Spring or Fall. March, April, October and November. The weather is great, the water is clear, the desert is beautiful, but the prices are naturally higher.