Beaches, and who owns them
The thing nobody tells you before arriving: almost every good beach on this coast belongs to somebody. Here is what that means in practice — day passes, the public beaches, what to wear where, and how to get a beach day without booking the hotel.
The basic situation
The Red Sea coast was developed hotel by hotel, and each property leases its stretch of frontage. The practical result is that the long sandy beaches you see in photographs are almost all private, roped at each end, and reserved for guests.
This is not a problem so much as a thing to plan around. If you are staying in a resort, your beach is included and the question does not arise. If you are staying in an apartment in Hurghada, in El Gouna outside a hotel, or anywhere self-catering, it very much does.
Your four options
A hotel day pass
The standard solution. Most resorts sell non-guests a day rate covering loungers, pools and beach, usually with lunch. It is the most reliable way to get a proper beach day.
Ask precisely what is included before paying — the gap between “with lunch” and “all inclusive” is large, and drinks are where the cost hides. Some hotels discount heavily midweek and out of season..
A beach club
Independent beaches charging entry, with a bar, loungers and usually music. Common in Hurghada and El Gouna.
Generally a younger and louder crowd than a hotel beach. Entry sometimes includes a credit towards food and drink — worth asking, because it changes the real price..
A public beach
Free or nearly free, used mostly by Egyptian families, and a completely different day out — busier, more sociable, fewer facilities, and often no shade or loungers at all.
Worth doing once for what it actually is rather than as a substitute for a resort beach. Dress more conservatively than you would on a hotel beach: you will not be stopped, but you will stand out, and covering up between the sea and your towel is an easy courtesy..
An island
Orange Bay and Mahmya on the Giftun islands are the white-sand postcard beaches, reached by boat from Hurghada.
They deliver the photograph and they are busy at midday when every boat arrives. If you care more about reef than sand, a snorkelling trip with more stops is the better use of the same day — see our write-up.
Getting in the water safely
Much of this coast has a reef flat between the beach and deeper water. Where a hotel has built a jetty, use it — walking out over coral damages the reef and is how most people here end up with a sea urchin spine in a foot.
Where there is no jetty, there is usually a marked channel. Stay in it. Beach shoes are worth the small inconvenience anywhere that is not pure sand, and the snorkelling guide says which sites have an easy entry and which do not.
Read next
Common questions
- Are there free public beaches in Hurghada?
- Yes, but fewer good ones than you would expect, and they are a different experience from a hotel beach: busier, more local, fewer facilities, and often without loungers or shade. Most of the long sandy stretches on this coast are attached to hotels or to paid beach clubs.
- What is a hotel day pass and is it worth it?
- Most resorts sell non-guests a day pass covering a lounger, the pool and the beach, usually with lunch and sometimes with drinks. It is the standard way to get a resort beach day without staying there, and for a family it is often better value than paying separately for a beach club. Prices vary enormously — ask exactly what is included, particularly whether drinks are.
- Can I wear a bikini on the beach in Egypt?
- On a hotel or resort beach, yes — that is completely normal and nobody will look twice. On a public beach used mainly by Egyptian families, swimwear is far more conservative, and many Egyptian women swim fully clothed. You will not be stopped, but you will be conspicuous. Covering up between the water and your lounger is a small courtesy that costs nothing.
- Why is the beach in front of my hotel roped off?
- Hotels lease their beach frontage, and the ropes or fences mark where one property ends and the next begins. Walking the full length of the coast along the sand is often not possible for that reason.
- Do I need beach shoes?
- On a sandy hotel beach, no. Anywhere you are entering over a reef flat — which is most shore snorkelling on this coast — yes, and they protect the coral as much as your feet. Sea urchins are the most common minor injury here.
- Are the island beaches worth the boat trip?
- Orange Bay and Mahmya on the Giftun islands are the postcard beaches and they deliver that, but they are busy and everything on them is priced for a captive market. If you want reef rather than a beach bar, a standard snorkelling boat with more stops is the better day.
Checked 24 July 2026. Rules and prices change — we link official sources so you can confirm on the day. Something out of date? Tell us.