The Red Sea in May
Properly hot, with the sea finally warm. The last comfortable month before summer stops being a description and becomes a problem.
Air, daytime
32–34°C
Air, night
21–23°C
Sea
around 26°C
May is where the coast tips from warm to hot. Midday becomes something to plan around rather than ignore, and the sea at 26°C is warm enough that nobody hesitates on the way in.
For watersports it is close to the best month of the year: consistent wind, warm water, long days. Sandbox festival in El Gouna falls in early May and fills the town.
For sightseeing it is the last month where a full day at Luxor is merely hard rather than genuinely punishing.
Wind, crowds and prices
- Wind
- Strong and reliable — peak kitesurf conditions.
- Crowds
- Steady, with a lull between Easter and the summer holidays.
- Prices
- Reasonable in the gaps between holidays.
Good for
- Kitesurfing and windsurfing
- Warm-water diving
- Late-season value between holidays
The catch
The afternoons. From May onwards the middle of the day belongs indoors or in the water, and any plan involving standing in the sun between noon and four needs rethinking.
Typical Hurghada figures, rounded. Marsa Alam runs a couple of degrees warmer. Last reviewed 25 July 2026. Something off?