The Red Sea in July
One of the two hardest months. Cheap flights, hot everything, and a sea too warm to cool you down.
Air, daytime
35–37°C
Air, night
25–27°C
Sea
around 29°C
July is when the coast is at its most demanding. Daytime temperatures sit in the mid-thirties and regularly go higher, the sea is warm enough that a swim stops being refreshing, and any activity outside the early morning is genuinely hard work.
It is not unmanageable — hundreds of thousands of people holiday here in July — but it requires planning the day around the sun rather than around the itinerary.
The compensation is the water. Diving and snorkelling in 29°C water with strong visibility is a genuine pleasure, and the wind makes the coast far more bearable than Luxor or Cairo at the same time of year.
Wind, crowds and prices
- Wind
- Strong and constant — the saving grace.
- Crowds
- European school holidays plus Egyptian summer travel. Busy.
- Prices
- High for flights and packages despite the conditions.
Good for
- Watersports and diving
- People who work around the heat
- Families tied to school holidays
The catch
Excursions. A Luxor day trip in July is a serious undertaking — the Valley of the Kings has no shade and inland temperatures run well above the coast. If you are coming in July, do the sea and leave the monuments for another trip.
Typical Hurghada figures, rounded. Marsa Alam runs a couple of degrees warmer. Last reviewed 25 July 2026. Something off?