Hurghada is a long strip of hotels along a very good stretch of sea. The hotels are comfortable and largely interchangeable; what makes or breaks the week is what you do between them. This is our honest list, written by people who run trips here rather than resell them.

1. Get in the water — properly

The single best thing about Hurghada is 20 metres below the surface. If you have never dived, a Discover Scuba Diving day puts you on a real reef with an instructor. If you have, a two-dive day from around €44 is the everyday choice.

Not a diver and not planning to be? A snorkelling boat trip reaches the same reefs. The coral starts about a metre down; you are not missing the good part.

2. Giftun Island and Orange Bay

The postcard day out: white sand, shallow turquoise water, and reef within swimming distance of the boat. Worth doing once. Go on a boat that leaves early — by 11am the anchorage fills up and the quiet is gone.

3. The desert, by quad or jeep

The Eastern Desert starts fifteen minutes inland and looks nothing like the coast. A half-day safari gets you dunes, a Bedouin settlement and a genuinely good sunset. It is dusty and bumpy — that is the point.

4. Dolphin House (Shaab El Erg)

A horseshoe reef north of Hurghada where a resident pod of spinner dolphins rests during the day. Sightings are common but never promised — they are wild animals, and any operator who guarantees them is selling you something. Responsible boats keep their distance and let the dolphins approach.

5. Learn to dive, for real

If you are here for a week anyway, the PADI Open Water course takes three to four days of it and leaves you with a licence valid for life, anywhere in the world. Egypt is among the cheapest places on earth to earn it. Details in our PADI certification guide.

6. Old Town and the marina, at opposite ends of the day

El Dahar (the old town) is where Hurghada is still a working Egyptian town: a souk, coffee, no cover charges. The Marina is the polished version — restaurants, boats, a promenade that comes alive after dark. Do the souk in the morning and the marina at night; the reverse disappoints both times.

What is overrated in Hurghada?

Two things, honestly. Submarine trips cost more than a snorkelling day and show you less than a mask would. And "unlimited" watersports packages at large hotels usually mean queueing for equipment in a roped-off patch of sea.

How many days do you need in Hurghada?

Four days covers the sea and the desert without rushing. Seven turns it into a diving holiday — enough for a 5-day dive package or a full certification course with time either side.

See everything bookable in Hurghada, or tell us your dates and we will build the week around them.