The Red Sea coast, explained
Everything the desk knows about this coast, from El Gouna to Marsa Alam, in the order you need it: where to go, when, what to do when you are there, and how not to be overcharged on the way. What we recommend is never decided by who pays us.
1. Which town?
These 8 places are genuinely different from each other in ways the brochures flatten. El Gouna and Safaga are 30km apart and have almost nothing in common.
Compare them head to head →2. When to go
The sea lags the air by about a month, which is why November is warmer in the water than May, and why August is the worst value of the year.
All twelve months →3. In the water
13 named dive sites and 8 snorkelling spots, each with the part the operators leave out: who the site is not suitable for.
4. Days out
6 trips with the door-to-door duration rather than the brochure one — Luxor is fifteen to seventeen hours, not a “full day”.
Day trips, honestly →5. On the ground
Emergency numbers and the coast’s recompression chambers, visas, SIM cards, airports, accessible travel, and every transport connection along the coast.
6. Staying safe
What actually goes wrong here, ranked by how often it happens — sun, stomach, the reef and the road all come well before sharks. Including what an Egyptian pharmacy hands you and what is actually in the box.
Staying safe on this coast →7. Where to eat, dive, stay and shop
1269 businesses from El Gouna to Marsa Alam, browsable by town and by type. Nobody pays to be listed and nobody pays for a better position.
The directory →8. Put a week together
Four day-by-day plans, each honest about who it is not for, and the questions we are actually asked — answered in full rather than teased.
Trip plans →Reading this before a trip?
The most-asked question we get is which resort to pick, and the honest answer depends on what you want — start with El Gouna or Hurghada. If something here is wrong or out of date, Tell us — every page is dated for exactly that reason.
12 comparisons · 8 town guides · 12 months · 13 dive sites · 8 snorkelling spots · 6 day trips · 5 kite spots