Hurghada Area Recommendations

[dannysporea]

Hi all,

I am trying to plan a 3 weeks vacation in the Hurghada area at the end of September 2024 and looking at resort and dive operators options... found a few but none seem to tick all the boxes for me, so looking for recommendations from anyone who has been in the area.

My wife is not diving, so we are looking for a nice all inclusive resort with several a-la-carte restaurants and a good dive operator nearby. I am planning on diving at least 10 days, if not more, while she will relax at the beach/pool in the resort. For diving, I'd like ideally a nearby operator that can do day trips to Ras Mohammed in the North and Panorama Reef/Abu Kafan in the South. Wrecks are ok, but not my favorites, looking for colorful sites, with live coral and lots of life.

So far, for hotels, I found the Titanic Palace/Beach complex, which seems to be good for my wife. It is in the range of James & Mac highly recommended operator, but kind of far, about 30 minutes transfer each way... I'm afraid that, whatever hotel I choose, the operator would just go to the nearby sites, and I would never get to the nice ones if there aren't other divers willing to go that far and pay extra. Is James & Mac a good choice in this case?

Should I be looking instead for another resort in the south, in the Makadi or Soma Bay areas? I did a quick check there, but most of the resorts are on the smaller side, so it would get very repetitive for 3 weeks. Or should I be looking to split the stay between 2 areas/hotels? As an example of what worked for us in Mexico, we usually split the stay between Cozumel and Playa del Carmen area, staying at the Iberostars or Barcelo resorts... but I could not find something similar in Egypt, all the resorts seem to be smaller, and even if they are owned by the same company and next to each other, you cannot use the facilities of the other hotel like you can in Mexico.

Thanks a lot!

 

[JustSurfaceInterval]

J&M is a good choice. They have an extended range of options for day trips and also some "XXL-Trips" or 2 days trips. Have a look, if not already done.
The XXL-Trip goes down to Panorama Reef/Abu Kafan and i guess J&M are the only one going so far south from Hurghada. I think i remember seeing them at Elphinstone, but not sure.
J&M will also have a minimum participants limit for nearly all trips. However, as they are one of the bigger shops in that area, it is less likely that something gets cancelled by lack of participants.
If you stay 3 weeks, you can certainly socialise at Shaab Stella to find some others with the same interests. Or enlist on one of the trips already well booked.
...
Re Soma Bay, the ORCA Dive shop has daily trip to Panorama, Kafan, Salaem Express and other fantastic spots, but they are too far away from Ras Mo. On the plus side, the house reef is nice so you can even think of a morning or afternoon dive to spends the rest of the day with your wife. Have a look at the hotels there, if soemthing suits. Although not AI, consider The Breakers...

 

[dannysporea]

@JustSurfaceInterval thanks for the tips, this is really helpful. Maybe we can do a week at the Breakers and move up north to an AI for the rest of the time... Can foreigners drive freely in Egypt or you need to go in an escorted convoy? It would be a lot easier even diving with J&M if I could rent a car at Hurghada airport and move around... We are also planning on a day trip to Luxor and end the vacation in Cairo for 3 days to go to the pyramids. I don't plan on driving in Cairo, but I don't think I would have a problem driving around Hurghada and to Luxor, if allowed.

 

[JustSurfaceInterval]

Well... Egypt is not Cozumel: no "unescorted" diving. No hiring a car and just diving where you fancy. You will have to go with a dive shop.
The first dive will be a so called check dive with a dive master who will assess whether you are realy that experienced as you state. No worries, usually only some simple exercise, if at all. They may as well only observe how you behave under water.
Once you got clearance, you may dive the house reef with a buddy on your own. On day trips, a small number (2-) is assigned to 1 DM for a dive or, if the spot is easy or if you are known to the crew, you will can dive alone without having to follow the guide.

 

[Altamira]

We had a wonderful time at the Ft. Arabesque Resort a few years ago, and will return there someday. Excellent dive op (I Dive) and diving, and a great place for non-divers and snorkelers. Highly recommend.

 

[dannysporea]

We had a wonderful time at the Ft. Arabesque Resort a few years ago, and will return there someday. Excellent dive op (I Dive) and diving, and a great place for non-divers and snorkelers. Highly recommend.

I was looking at Ft. Arabesque in Makadi Bay and I Dive, but do they go south to Panorama Reef and Soma Bay/Safaga sites? Their website only mentions 15 local Makadi Bay dive sites...

 

[dannysporea]

Well... Egypt is not Cozumel: no "unescorted" diving. No hiring a car and just diving where you fancy. You will have to go with a dive shop.

That's what I was afraid... so no rental car and you are limited on diving only with a shop close by the hotel you are staying at.

 

[Altamira]

I was looking at Ft. Arabesque in Makadi Bay and I Dive, but do they go south to Panorama Reef and Soma Bay/Safaga sites? Their website only mentions 15 local Makadi Bay dive sites...

I am not sure where they go now. They were very responsive to my questions, so I would drop them an email.

 

[BoltSnap]

Ft. Arabesque Resort a few years ago

Does the resort have its own shore diving that is good for u/w photographer?

 

[JustSurfaceInterval]

so no rental car and you are limited on diving only with a shop close by the hotel you are staying at.

No rental car to go diving with at your convenience, yes.
If there are several dive shops near your hotel, you can chose the one you like and go diving with them. That will be the case in HRG with many hotels and many dive shops. Unfortunately no house reef.
The more South you go, the more you will find the "one hotel, one dive shop" situation where you have to dive with that shop, basically because there is nothing else nearby. Example: Marsa Shagra.
That is not necessarly a bad thing as the house reefs are getting better and better.
These dive shops will also offer some trips to more remote dive sites, so you don't have to only do house reef: either via boat (up to approx. 15 divers) or zodiac (max. 8 divers).