The Red Sea in December
Mild winter sun, a still-swimmable sea, and two entirely different halves separated by Christmas.
Air, daytime
22–24°C
Air, night
13–15°C
Sea
around 23–24°C
December is really two months. Up to around the 20th it is quiet, mild and cheap — one of the best-value fortnights of the year, with air in the low twenties and a sea most people will still swim in.
From then until early January the coast fills with the Christmas and New Year crowd, prices roughly double, and the good restaurants need booking. It is a genuinely festive time to be here and it is not a bargain.
For anything on land it is excellent: Luxor in December is a completely different proposition to Luxor in July.
Wind, crowds and prices
- Wind
- Winter northerlies; boat cancellations become a real possibility.
- Crowds
- Quiet until about the 20th, then extremely busy.
- Prices
- Among the year’s best value early, and among the worst over Christmas and New Year.
Good for
- Winter sun on a budget, early in the month
- Luxor and Cairo trips
- Christmas, if you book early and accept the price
In the water
Around 23–24°C and cooling, still warmer than it will be in February and March. A 3mm suit works for most people early in the month and a 5mm is the safer choice by New Year. Visibility is at its best as the water clears for winter.
How long the days are
The shortest days of the year, about ten and a quarter hours. The sun is low all day, which makes the light lovely and the afternoons cool quickly once it drops.
The catch
The evenings are properly cool and a lot of hotel rooms here are built to shed heat rather than hold it. Check that yours has heating if you are coming late in the month — an unheated room at 13°C at 6am is a memorable way to start a holiday.
Or the month either side
January is the same month with a colder sea and, outside the New Year fortnight, considerably fewer people. November is the better half of this weather — warmer water, less wind, no holiday premium. December is worth it for the light and the desert and worth avoiding for the last two weeks of the year unless the date is fixed for you.
Typical Hurghada figures, rounded. Marsa Alam runs a couple of degrees warmer. Last reviewed 26 July 2026. Something off?