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Two weeks, north to south

Fourteen nights, two bases

A fortnight that actually moves: a week in the north for the wrecks and the town, a week in the south for the reef and the quiet. One transfer in the middle.

Suits:
A second or third visit, divers and snorkellers, anyone who has done a week here and found it too short.
Not for:
A first trip, and anyone who wants to unpack once. The middle transfer is four hours and it is a real cost.
When it works:
Best in the shoulder months, when both halves are comfortable. In high summer the south is hotter and emptier; in midwinter the north is windier.

Day by day

  1. Days 1–3

    North: settle and dive

    Base in Hurghada or El Gouna. Short boat runs, the widest choice of centres, and the Giftun reefs to get your buoyancy back.

  2. Days 4–5

    North: the wrecks

    Thistlegorm and Abu Nuhas. This is why you are in the north — the ships are all here, and no amount of southern reef replaces them.

  3. Day 6

    North: inland

    Luxor from the north is a long day but a shorter one than from Marsa Alam. Do it from this half of the trip.

  4. Day 7

    Move south

    Four hours by road. Leave early, arrive for lunch, do nothing with the afternoon. Do not book a dive for the day you transfer.

  5. Days 8–11

    South: the reef, and the animals

    Marsa Alam is where the house reefs are good enough to dive without a boat and where the dugongs and turtles actually are. Slower days, better water, fewer boats.

  6. Days 12–13

    South: the big one

    Elphinstone if the conditions and your certification allow, and if they do not, a second day on the house reef is not a consolation prize.

  7. Day 14

    Dry, and out

    No diving. Marsa Alam airport is nearer than people expect from the resorts north of it and further than expected from the ones south. Confirm which you are.

The catch

You will spend most of a day in a car, and the south has very little to do in the evenings. That is the trade: better water, less everything else.

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The other plans

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