Which one should you book?
The questions people actually ask before booking this coast, answered by the desk. Almost every comparison online is written by someone selling one of the two options — we sell neither, so each of these ends with a straight answer for each kind of traveller instead of a balanced shrug.
El Gouna or Hurghada?
Twenty-five kilometres apart and almost opposite propositions: a built resort town where everything works and costs more, or a real Egyptian city that is cheaper, louder and far more itself.
Hurghada or Marsa Alam?
North or south: convenience, choice and a city, against better reefs, clearer water and considerably more driving.
Hurghada or Sharm El Sheikh?
Two different coasts with two different characters — and one practical difference at the border that catches people out.
Sahl Hasheesh or Makadi Bay?
The two quiet bays south of Hurghada, ten minutes apart, pulling in different directions: couples and calm against families and water slides.
El Gouna or Soma Bay?
The coast’s two upmarket options, priced similarly for entirely different reasons: a town with a social life, or a peninsula with almost nobody on it.
Liveaboard or land-based diving?
The real question for anyone booking a diving week in Egypt: four dives a day and the sites nobody else can reach, or a hotel, a bed that does not move, and the ability to change your mind.
Safaga or Soma Bay?
Fifteen kilometres apart, sharing the same water and the same reefs, in completely different price brackets. This is the clearest value question on the coast.
Marsa Alam or Sharm El Sheikh?
The two names that come up when the trip is really about diving. One is a quiet southern coastline with wildlife; the other is a developed resort city next to a legendary national park.
Hurghada or Dahab?
A resort coast against a Sinai backpacker town. Both are Egyptian Red Sea diving, and almost nothing else about them is alike.
Should I learn to dive, or just snorkel?
The Red Sea is one of the few places where snorkelling is genuinely world-class, which makes this a real question rather than an obvious one.
All-inclusive or half board on the Red Sea?
All-inclusive genuinely works here and is the default for good reasons. It also quietly decides how much of Egypt you will actually see.
Package holiday or book it yourself?
On most coasts this is a close call. On this one the charter flights tilt it — and the honest answer for divers is a hybrid almost nobody suggests.
Or read the towns themselves
Elsewhere in the guide
Last reviewed 26 July 2026. No destination here is ranked by what it pays us — how we make money.