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Hurghada, the Red Sea Area and its
Highlights
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| "Until the late 80'ies Hurghada was a small
fishermen village in the south of the Suez Gulf. Its idyllic beaches and
excellent scuba diving spots turned it to be the great southern playground,
with more than 30 kilometers of hotels and resorts lining the
shore" |
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Locations
The Red Sea, famous for its
underwater world, is welcoming the divers, snorkelers & windsurfers. The
shore is stretching for several hundred kilometers, starting in the north of
Suez Canal down to the south at Berenice close to the border of Sudan.
El Ain El Sukhna is located
just 110 km / 75 miles out of Cairo, quite some hotels have established
themselves in the last years along the sandy beaches in easy access to the
capital of Egypt. Spring Tours cooperates with several of the hotels there and
the Palmera Beach Resort is one of our preferred partners in the region.
On way to Hurghada along the Golf
of Suez one passes the villages of Zaafarana and Ras Ghareb.
El Gouna (30 km / 20 miles)
north of Hurghada was established in the beginning of the 90ies along beautiful
manmade lagoons and lakes within lush gardens. Today, the area features 10
hotels of various categories, meeting the needs of divers, surfers, the young
of age and young at heart and especially the families due to the concept of
each of the fine resorts, (boutique) hotels, inns and pensions. Kafr El Gouna
is the heart of the area, a small Oriental-styled village with restaurants,
bars, shops and entertainment facilities. Ask the Spring Tours experts about
details referring to the beautiful 'Steigenberger Golf Resort'.
20 years ago Hurghada, a
village close to a tiny runway receiving irregular flights for military use and
oil-industry-workers, gave home to a few fishermen and their families. Today
the worldwide most famous beach resort of Egypt offers tens of thousand of beds
in hotels, resorts, inns, pensions and boarding houses and gives home to
approximately 100.000 inhabitants most of them working in the service related
industry. Approximately 3 hours of Luxor, 4 to 5 hours flight from most
European airports, 50 min. flight out of Cairo today Hurghada is a world wide
admired summer and winter destination preferred by vacationers who'd like to
experience swimming, surfing, diving, fishing and relaxing. The
express-ferry-boat connecting the harbors of Hurghada with Sharm El Sheikh in
90 minutes and the International Airport running a 24-hour service ready to
receive any size of aircraft gives the area all the privileges for constant
growth.
Spring Tours operates two
offices here, each one located in Sekalla and Dahar,
the two districts within Hurghada, where locals mingle with tourists in the
afternoon for daily-needs shopping and in the evenings for souvenir bargaining
and entertainment. Various restaurants, fast food outlets, internet cafes,
bars, coffee shops and traditional 'kahwas' meet the expectations and budget of
any traveler.
25 km / 17 miles south of
Hurghada, the sandy and vast beach of 'Sahl El Hasheesh' is home of one
of the 'Leading Hotels of the World', the Oberoi located in lush gardens.
Remarkable is the Health & Spa center within the hotel's
premises.
Makadi Bay is located ca.
33 km / 23 miles south of Hurghada airport. The Bay features several hotels of
4* and 5* category, stretched along the sandy, soft sloping beaches in front of
a vast reef, the ideal spot for snorkelers, divers and families.
The Bays of Soma and
Abou Soma are just a bit more south of Makadi, about 12 to 15 km (8 to
11 miles) north of Safaga. Elegant hotels and resorts are located here;
furthermore one of the most well known Thalassic Centers in Egypt in addition
to the Cascades Golf Resort designed by the famous 'Gary Player', a landmark of
the region.
A 50 min. drive south of Hurghada
one finds the village and port of Safaga (55 to 60 km / 37 to 40 miles).
The hotel zone is built along the vast and sandy beaches, the ideal spot for
surfers (4 to 7 BFT) and families. A short boat ride will bring the diver to
the coral reefs in close distance. The village of Port Safaga invites for some
shopping and a rest in one of the several 'Kahwas' serving the traditional
shisha-waterpipe. Safaga is furthermore famous for its sand and minerals
helping in curing rheumatism and some skin diseases.
125 km / 85 miles south of
Hurghada and about 5 to 7 km (3 to 5 miles) north of the little city of ancient
origin named El Quseir, the last 10 years have witnessed an increasing
number of fine hotels and resorts meeting the needs of the divers and
snorkelers.
Marsa Alam -divers paradise
at the Red Sea-. The small city is located around 250 km (170 miles) south of
Hurghada. The 'own airport' (RMF) was opened in late 2003, receiving charter
flights from several European countries. Most of the hotels and resorts are
located directly at the shores in distance of up to 70 km / 48 miles to the
city and/or the airport. As of fall 2004 Spring Tours is running an
office here as well.
Pharaonic
period
Along the Red Sea coastal line,
the Pharaohs have not left too many sites of interest behind. Marsa Alam as
well as El Quseir still show some ruins but an easy accessible road (almost 4
hours by car) will lead to the city that holds third of the world monuments
'Luxor'. A Must See: Karnak & Luxor Temples, Valley of the Kings, Valley of
the Queens and the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut in Deir El Bahary.
Roman
sites
Mons Claudianus with gold mines
and wells, within the desert close to Hurghada.
Coptic & Islamic points
of interest
Monasteries of St. Paul & St.
Anthony on the way from Zaafarana to Ras Ghareb invite the interested visitor.
Churches and Mosques can be visited in Hurghada, Safaga, El Quseir and Marsa
Alam.
Today's points of interest are
definitely related to the (under)water world of the Red Sea, as well as any
sort of 'desert experience'. For further information see our
Sports page.
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