Hurghada: The Ultimate Travel Guide

Hurghada City: At a Glance

This Hurghada Travel Guide tells you all you need to know about an exciting and vibrant holiday destination suitable for all ages, on Egypt’s Red Sea Riviera.

Attracting thousands of travellers each year, Hurghada is one of Egypt’s leading holiday resorts, and it’s popular with visitors from around the world.

Transformed in the modern era from a small fishing village, Hurghada City has without doubt managed to retain its natural and historic charm.

Hurghada is absolutely perfect for those seeking total relaxation with fantastic weather and warm sea temperatures throughout the year.

It’s a major holiday resort, packed full of attractions, and a growing reputation as the place to be for guaranteed sunshine.

Hurghada Travel Guide

There’s so much to understand and check before you visit a foreign country. And Egypt is no different. Don’t get caught out assuming everything is the same as at home, or other places you’ve travelled to.

We’ve put together this guide, which will be constantly updated. We hope it gives you all of the information you need to plan your trip. If you think anything is missing, then please do let us know:

Airport: Hurghada (HRG) has an international airport, which is just a few miles from downtown Hurghada. It’s the second busiest airport in Egypt and an important gateway to the Red Sea for holidaymakers from Europe.

Time Zone: Hurghada is located in the EET (Africa/Cairo) time zone. This means they are two hours ahead of UK time. For example, if it’s 6pm in the UK, this means it’s 8pm in Hurghada.

Language: The official language spoken in Hurghada is Egyptian Arabic. Try and learn a few key phrases before you travel, but because this is a tourist resort, you’ll be absolutely fine in most places with English.

Currency: The Egyptian Pound is the local currency in Hurghada. There will certainly be lots of places accepin dollars and GBP, but you’ll usually get better value for money if you use Egyptian Pounds.

Plugs: There are two types of electrical sockets used in Hurghada (and Egypt) – type C and type F. These are actually two very closely related models of the same socket – one earthed (with an earth pin) and the other unearthed. Travellers from the UK will need a UK 3 pin to type C/F plug adapted.

Visa: People travelling to Hurghada from the UK normally need a visa. The best (and only) place to find out information and apply is the official Visa2Egypt portal or your nearest Egyptian consulate. Tourist visas granted using the e-visa system are valid for a maximum of 3 months.

Where is Hurghada?

Hurghada is situated about 550 km south of Egypt’s capital city, Cairo. Luxor is close by, making it a great base for exploring more of the country.

How to get to Hurghada?

The most common way to get to Hurghada from the UK is by flying. This is because there are flights throughout the week from a number of UK airport.

Read: What is the Hurghada Airport Code?

Airlines that fly between the UK and Hurghada are currently TUI, easyJet and Wizz Air. Airports that have flights include Newcastle, Manchester, East Midlands, Cardiff, Birmingham, Gatwick and Luton.

Once you arrive, there are taxis and buses available to take you to your hotel or resort. Some of the hotels and resorts also offer shuttle services.