Hurghada is a city at the Red Sea coast of Egypt. High number of tourists from many countries are traveling there each year, here are some reasons why not to visit!
Where is Hurghada located?
Hurghada is located at the east coast of the country, right at the Red Sea. It is one of the biggest tourist destinations.
Since the 1980’s there the hype of the city started, with many international investors getting there. Most are from Europe and Russia. Due to the high masses of tourists which are in the millions each year.
Because of that, nature suffered a lot, especially the coral reefs, which were there for a healthy ecosystem of the ocean. This is mainly due to wrong / too many dives and the boats with their anchors.
What can you expect?
Hurghada is not for no reason a magnet for tourists. It is near the Red Sea, which is unbelievably clear, so perfect for diving and snorkeling. The weather is hot and the sun is out most times of the year.
You have the desert nearby and the most important thing, huge masses of tourists!
Of course many places have many tourists, in this case it is most likely people, who were booking an all inclusive 4-5 star hotel. To be fair, the same I was doing, it was my first trip by myself.
People who try to sell you some stuff most likely know your language and can say a few sentences, to make you buy their stuff. Also expect that of their cousin. lives in your country, you say you come from.
When being in Hurghada, it is quite likely that you will stay in a certain radius around your hotel, when you don’t go on a tour. As further you are going outside of it, it feels less safe to be, at least in my experience I had that feeling.
You are most likely not going to learn about the culture of Egypt there, because there are not really locals who are honestly interested in making friends without expecting money or working for a tour/hotel service.
Reasons why not to visit Hurghada?
When the section on what to expect in Hurghada didn’t speak for themselfs, here are some more things.
- There are other places in Egypt, where you are able to get the same things, just it probably will be more authentic, cheaper and more cultural.
- It is easy to have a bad experience with aggressive people.
- Just because the hotel says it is a five star hotel, don’t expect standards from countries like Germany.
- It is a city for tourists, the city for the locals is nearby and cold old Hurghada, the Hurghada for the tourists was basically made for exactly that.
- Everyone is seeing you as an ATM, which leads to high overcharging, so negotiating skills are needed. You need to negotiate with everyone and all the time. This is of course found in many countries, just here it was more in a negative way.
- You are going to see not really something of Egypt, when not paying a lot for tours, which bring you out of the city.
Why visit Hurghada?
Just because there are in my opinion many aspects, to not visit this city, of course there are reasons for people to visit it. It is always depending on what you like and want to see, during your travels.
- The hotel quality for the price is really good. It is quite cheap, including a flight and everything else. Also you are getting food, transport and also often drinks included.
- There are many tours to choose from. From diving, to dolphin watching over to the desert going by quads. Also taking a tour to the capital Cairo is possible.
- The locals are going to speak English and also often Russian and German. You will not have big problems with speaking in the language you are speaking. Of course when you only rent a car.
- The weather is hot, which of course could also be a negative thing. There are many places to cool down, rather it’s the pool, or the beach, which is usually not that far away.
- When you like being around tourists and also parties during your travels, then it’s probably decent.
My experiences
When I traveled to Hurghada, I didn’t do any research and I didn’t expect anything of it. I thought about Egypt and was excited. When arriving there and wanting to explore the city, my motivation went down a bit.
I was a lot of time in the hotel, using the all inclusive offer, with free food and drinks and spend a good time with people from Germany. Basically the whole hotel was full of Germans and Russians. I joined activities, such as Water Polo and other sports.
It was still not what I was expecting. Due to the fact that it was my first solo trip, I wanted to make the most out of it. Also because I just had this week’s vacation, while at my first job, so it had to be worth it!
I did almost all tours, which were available, from the quad in the desert, to the diving over to Taken a tour to Cairo
A lot of people tried to rip me off, tried to steal from me and I was a victim of aggression (no physical). It is just sad, because when you don’t want to play their game, it is possible for you to end up not being the nicest. They want to sell and you should buy.
When talking to the people in the hotel, many experienced the same. The sad thing about it is, that people are spending a lot of money to go to a place, which is talked about as a great place for tourists to go, but in the end, it is the opposite.
The other sad thing is, that Egyptians outside of Egypt are amazing people, I have never met anyone not nice from Egypt, just in Egypt itself.
What would I do differently today?
My whole trip would have been different today. It starts already with the form of accommodation I would choose. I would not stay in a five star resort, I would try to get a host from the platform couchsurfing, to gain local experiences.
Probably I would not even go to the city of Hurghada, now that I know what it is like and choose a different city on the sea side instead.
I would probably still visit the Red Sea, because of how amazing it is, just somewhere else. Also I would come at a different time and not during the summer, because it is just way too hot in this region for that!
Also when I would have been to the resort and did everything the same, I would have maybe not drunk as much and also booked the tours not in the hotel, to save money, when booking somewhere else. Or at least comparing the prices, so not booking is just blind, what the hotel is offering.
Summary
Before you visit Hurghada, there are just a few things to know, as listed above. It is not a shitty place for many people, just for me not the place to be. Still, even I need to admit that there are nice things about it, each city and country have pros and cons.
It is not a city for people who want to explore the culture of a country and want to spend time with locals and dive deep into it.
The things you are able to do, especially with the red sea, is of course amazing. The Red Sea is big, in countries like Jordan and Saudi-Arabia, the same things are possible. Also Egypt has more places, where you can go to experience that in a more authentic way, plus cheaper.
You can maybe compare it to Cancun in Mexico, or Mallorca in Spain, or Venice in Italy. All these places have something which is nice, many tourists are going, but in the end it doesn’t seem authentic. You expect more from when you visit and to be fair in those three examples, you are more likely to find that, then in Hurghada.
When you just want to hangout at the hotel, it is probably perfect, because you don’t need to think about anything, but then you could also go to any other country with offers like this.
I would love to hear your experiences about this place, or questions. Share it with me in the comments.
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