What’s on across the year

The region’s biggest film festival, with international premieres, a funding platform for Arab cinema, and a week of screenings and industry events across the town.

The single busiest week of El Gouna’s year. Hotels fill and rates rise well in advance, and the town is noticeably busier than a normal October week — plan around it either way.

A multi-day electronic music festival on the beach, with several stages and a large international line-up.

Draws a big crowd from Cairo and abroad. Accommodation in El Gouna sells out and prices spike for the weekend.

A PSA World Tour event for men and women, played on a glass show court built at Abu Tig Marina.

One of the few chances to watch world-class squash outdoors on the Red Sea. Entry to the early rounds is usually straightforward; finals are busier.

Egypt’s main coastal road race, starting and finishing at Abu Tig Marina, with several distances including a kids’ run.

November is when the coast is warm but no longer punishing, which is exactly why the race sits there. Roads around the marina close on race morning.

The Islamic month of fasting. Restaurants and cafés outside hotels adjust their hours, many opening after sunset; the evenings are lively.

Resorts and tourist restaurants operate normally and non-Muslim visitors are not expected to fast. Away from the resorts, expect daytime closures and much later evenings. Being discreet about eating and drinking in public during daylight is ordinary courtesy, not a rule imposed on you.

The two major Islamic holidays. Both bring a wave of domestic tourism to the Red Sea coast.

These are the busiest domestic travel periods of the year. Hotels, domestic flights and buses fill early, and banks and government offices close for several days.

An Egyptian spring festival older than either of the country’s major religions, spent outdoors with family — on the coast, that means the beach.

Public beaches and corniches are packed and in a good mood. It is one of the better days to see how the coast actually lives rather than how it hosts.