Hurghada or Sharm El Sheikh, which Red Sea resort should you choose

Two coasts, two different Egypts

Hurghada sits on the mainland coast of the Red Sea, with the Eastern Desert mountains behind it and the road to Luxor running west through the hills. Sharm El Sheikh sits at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, where the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba meet. On a map they look close. In practice they are separated by open water, and the drive between them is a full day that almost nobody makes. They are two destinations that happen to share a sea.

That geography explains almost everything else in this guide. Hurghada is plugged into the rest of Egypt by road. Sharm is an island in all but name, reachable from the rest of the country mainly by air.

Sinai itself is a mountain desert with a Bedouin culture and a coastline that drops into some of the clearest water anywhere. Our Sinai Peninsula travel guide covers the whole peninsula; here we only care about the resort at its tip.

Airports, and how each resort connects with Cairo and Luxor

Both resorts have their own airport and frequent domestic flights from Cairo, about an hour in the air either way. That part is a tie.

The difference is the road. From Hurghada you can drive to Luxor in roughly four hours through the desert, which means a Luxor day trip, a two-day Valley of the Kings run, or a transfer to a Nile cruise boat are everyday things our drivers do. Many of our itineraries end that way: Cairo, then Luxor, then the cruise to Aswan, then a drive from Luxor to the Red Sea for the beach days.

From Sharm the only sensible way to reach Luxor, Aswan or the pyramids is to fly, usually through Cairo. There is no practical road link to the Nile Valley. Decide on day three that you want to see Karnak and you are looking at a flight, a night away and a flight back.

The practical shape of the trip:

• Cairo, Luxor, Nile cruise, then beach: Hurghada, every time. The cruise ends in Luxor, our driver meets you at the dock, and you are on a sun lounger by late afternoon.
• Cairo and beach only, no Nile: either works.
• Beach plus Sinai: Sharm. Beach plus one big monument day: Hurghada.

The sea: reef off the jetty versus reef by boat

This is where Sharm earns its reputation. The Sinai coast drops straight down. Many hotels sit on a low coral shelf, and the house reef begins where the jetty ends. You walk out along the pier, climb down a ladder, and you are floating over a wall with fish beneath you before breakfast has settled. Ras Mohammed National Park, at the southern tip, and the Straits of Tiran are both short boat rides from the marina. The reefs are steep, the visibility is famous, and the current brings in the big fish.

Hurghada's coast is shallower and sandier. The good reefs sit offshore: Giftun Island, the sandbar and turquoise shallows at Orange Bay, and the coral gardens the boats call Dolphin House because of the pods that rest there. You board a day boat in the morning, motor out for an hour or so, and snorkel from the boat with lunch on deck. The reefs are lovely, but you do not walk into them from your room.

In one sentence: in Sharm the reef comes to you; in Hurghada you go to the reef.

Diving and snorkeling character

Divers already know the names. Sharm has Shark and Yolanda Reef inside Ras Mohammed, the Thistlegorm wreck as a long day out, the Tiran reefs, and drift dives along walls that keep going past recreational limits. It is a place for people with a logbook. Dahab, up the road, adds the Blue Hole and the Canyon. If you are certified, or plan to certify and then dive as much as possible, Sharm is the stronger choice.

Hurghada's diving is gentler and more spread out: island reefs, shallow wrecks, coral gardens around Giftun and Abu Ramada, plus liveaboards heading south. It is an excellent place to learn. The water is calmer, the descents shallower, and the boats are set up for groups where one person does a discovery dive while a friend snorkels above.

For snorkelers who do not dive, the honest ranking is Sharm's jetty reefs and Ras Mohammed first, Hurghada's boat trips to Giftun and Orange Bay a close second, with a bonus point to Hurghada for kids and nervous swimmers, because the day boats always have a sandy island to retreat to.

Beaches: sand entry versus jetties over reef

If you picture a beach as soft sand sloping gently into warm clear water where a six-year-old can paddle, that is Hurghada and its neighbors. The bays at Sahl Hasheesh and the lagoons at El Gouna and Makadi are exactly that. You walk in. No urchins, no coral to scrape a shin on.

Sharm's hotel beaches are often a narrow strip of sand backed by a coral shelf, with a jetty running out over the reef to deep water. Some bays, notably Naama Bay and parts of Sharks Bay, do have sand entry, but the classic Sharm experience is a sunbed on the sand, then a pier and a ladder into the sea. Adults who snorkel love it. Toddlers, elderly parents and anyone uneasy in deep water usually do not.

Water shoes are worth packing for both coasts. In Sharm they are close to mandatory outside the pool.

The towns: a real city versus a chain of resort bays

Hurghada is a working Egyptian city that happens to have hotels along its shore. El Dahar, the old downtown, has a proper souk, a fish market, mosques, coffee houses and streets where people live and shop. Sekalla is the newer center with the marina, restaurants, the promenade and most of the nightlife. You can leave the resort, eat at a place full of locals, and come back. For some travelers that is the whole appeal of the mainland: Egypt does not stop at the hotel gate.

Sharm El Sheikh is not really a town in that sense. It is a string of bays, each with its own cluster of resorts: Nabq at the north end, Sharks Bay, Naama Bay in the middle with its pedestrian promenade and bars, Hadaba on the headland, and the Old Market near the original fishing settlement. Naama Bay is where people go for an evening stroll and dinner. The Old Market is the closest thing to an Egyptian street, with spice stalls and grills. Between the bays you move by taxi. Our Sharm El Sheikh travel guide walks through each bay.

If you like to wander, haggle and feel a place, Hurghada. If you want a polished resort corridor, Sharm.

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Families, couples, divers and wellness travelers

Families with young children

Hurghada. Sandy beaches, calm lagoons, day boats with shallow snorkeling, water parks, and a Luxor day trip when the kids have had enough sun. El Gouna and Makadi Bay are especially easy with strollers.

Couples

It depends on the couple. For quiet adults-only hotels and snorkeling straight from the deck, Sharm's northern bays are hard to beat. For beach plus something to do in the evening, El Gouna near Hurghada, with its canals, marina restaurants and rentable bikes, is our favorite spot on either coast.

Divers

Sharm, with Dahab as the add-on. Hurghada for learners, for groups where not everyone dives, and for anyone booking a liveaboard.

Wellness and spa stays

Both coasts have large hotel spas. The secluded, resort-style wellness stays cluster around Soma Bay and Sahl Hasheesh on the mainland. Sharm's advantage is the view: the Sinai mountains turning red at sunset over a still bay is hard to match.

Older travelers and limited mobility

Hurghada. Flat sand entry and fewer ladders.

Excursions from each resort

From Hurghada the headline trip is Luxor. Leave early, cross the desert, and you can see Karnak, the Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut's temple in one long day, or stay one night and do it properly. Our excursions from Hurghada page lists the full menu, and the Luxor excursions guide explains what to prioritize once you are there. Closer in there are the Giftun and Orange Bay boat days, the Dolphin House trip, quad bike or jeep safaris to a Bedouin camp, and El Gouna for an evening out.

From Sharm the trips point inland into Sinai. The big one is the night climb of Mount Sinai for sunrise, followed by St Catherine's Monastery at the foot of the mountain. Read our Mount Sinai sunrise climb guide before you commit, because it is a real hike in the dark and the cold. Dahab makes a relaxed day of snorkeling at the Blue Hole and lunch in a beach cafe, and our Dahab guide covers how to spend it. Boats run to Ras Mohammed and Tiran daily. Cairo by air in a day is possible, but it is better to build Cairo in properly at the start or end.

Wind, seasons and temperatures

Both resorts are warm year round and most comfortable from late fall to spring. Summer is hot on both coasts, with afternoons well above 95 F (35 C), though the dry air and the sea breeze make it more bearable than the number suggests. Winter days are pleasant, typically in the 70s F (low to mid 20s C) under clear skies. Winter mornings and evenings are cooler than many Americans expect, sometimes in the low 60s F (around 16 C), so pack a light jacket for the jetty at breakfast.

The mainland is windier. Hurghada and its neighbors, especially El Gouna and Soma Bay, get a steady northerly wind that kitesurfers cross the world for. That same wind can make a winter beach day feel chilly and leave the day boats bouncing on the way out to Giftun. Sharm, in the lee of the Sinai mountains, is generally calmer at sea level, which is one reason the water is so clear and the jetty snorkeling so reliable.

The water is swimsuit warm through summer and early fall, and a shorty wetsuit helps for a winter snorkel on either coast. Luxor and Aswan are at their best in the same cooler months, so a winter trip works on both ends.

The neighbors: El Gouna, Sahl Hasheesh, Soma Bay, Dahab and Nuweiba

Around Hurghada the coast is a chain of purpose-built bays. El Gouna, a planned lagoon town a short drive north, has canals, a marina, good restaurants and the most relaxed feel on the coast; our El Gouna guide explains why we send so many couples there. Sahl Hasheesh, a gated bay south of the airport, has a long sandy beach and large resorts, and our Sahl Hasheesh travel guide covers who it suits. Makadi Bay, just beyond it, is a quiet family bay. Soma Bay, further south, has a golf course, a kite center and a few big spa hotels. All of them use Hurghada's airport and share its road to Luxor.

Around Sharm the neighbors are up the Gulf of Aqaba. Dahab is a Bedouin village turned laid-back diving town, roughly an hour and a half north, with a seafront of cafes and no big resorts. Nuweiba, further up the coast, is quieter still, with beach camps under the mountains. Both feel like a different world from the resort bays, which is exactly why people go.

Hurghada versus Sharm El Sheikh: the decision table

Who should pick which

Choose Hurghada if:

• Your trip includes Cairo, Luxor or a Nile cruise and you want the beach as the finale, without another flight.
• You are traveling with young children or grandparents who want to walk into the sea from sand.
• You want a real Egyptian city with a souk and a fish market outside the resort.
• You are learning to dive, or your group mixes divers and non-divers.
• You kitesurf, or you want the El Gouna and Sahl Hasheesh style of stay.

Choose Sharm El Sheikh if:

• The reef is the reason you are coming and you want it at the end of the jetty, every morning.
• You are a certified diver with Ras Mohammed, Tiran and the Thistlegorm on your list.
• You want the Sinai on the side: Mount Sinai at sunrise, St Catherine's, a day in Dahab.
• You are a couple who wants a quiet adults-only bay with mountain views.
• Your trip is beach first and monuments second, and you are happy to fly for anything else.

Still torn? The tiebreaker is the rest of your itinerary. A beach bolted onto the classic Cairo and Nile route is Hurghada. A beach that is the trip itself is usually Sharm.

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