Last Updated: October 17, 2022
Hurghada has been a popular holiday destination in Egypt for both Egyptians and international families for some time now. And it’s easy to see why.
With white sandy beaches and vibrant coral reefs, Hurghada is a favourite for families to come and enjoy swimming, snorkelling, water sports and diving.
Whilst it may sometimes feel like it lacks the authenticity of the ‘real’ Egypt. With all the big hotels and commercial entities and not any Ancient Egyptian sites nearby. It’s still a great place to visit and has some added bonuses away form the beaches that kids will enjoy.
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Best Time to Visit Hurghada for Families
Hurghada has pretty generous temperatures all year round and very rarely rains (and I mean very rarely). So it’s appealing to visit any time of the year.
But there are some months where it gets very hot and others where the swimming may be a bit chilly. So you will want to have a little think about the time of year to head there if you want ‘perfect’ conditions for whatever you are doing.
The summer months from June to August get VERY hot. With highs regularly over 35°C and sometimes getting over 40°C. The waters are therefor at their warmest though. So if you and your kids can stand the heat, it can be rewarding for long dives with the warm waters. This is also the high season though, so when the hotels will be most busy.
The winter months from December to February are nice and mild with highs of 21°C in the daytime. It can get a bit chilly at night though with average lows of 9°C and sometimes lower. The waters are also pretty chilly this time of year not, really getting above the low twenties.
Either side of winter and summer you get a bit of both and this is arguably the best time of year to go for families. With daytime temperatures from the mid twenties to low thirties and the water temperatures feeling reasonable in these months.
How to get to Hurghada as a Family
Hurghada is located on the east coast of the main part of Egypt, to the west of the Red Sea (as apposed to the peninsula part, east of the Red Sea, where Sharm El Sheikh is located). And there are a few options to get there.
Hurghada International Airport serves many flights in and out of Europe along with other parts of the world. So you should have plenty of choice if you are flying into Egypt.
If you are flying in and are wondering about the entry requirements, then you can check out our advice on entering and staying in Egypt for families.
If you are already in Egypt, adding Hurghada to your Family Egypt Itinerary should be a logistically easy task as it’s very easy to reach it by land. There’s no rail link, but it’s easily doable by road.
The Route 65 road runs up the east coast, so heading up from Marsa Alam or some of the other coastal towns is a straight forward affair.
From areas on the Nile, such as Cairo, Luxor or Aswan, you will need to cut across the desert to get to the coast. There’s a couple of main roads that cut across, so again it’s pretty straightforward.
The journey across the desert is a beautiful one. With alien like landscapes stretched out either side. You won’t find any phone signal at points, so if you are using a GPS on your phone, be sure to download the map before you leave.
In orde to navigate the roads you will need to decide what vehciel to take.
The coaches are an economical and pretty comfortable option for families. Go Bus serves plenty of routes in and out of Hurghada from the main areas and is the go-to choice for most families. It’s what we used to get to Hurghada and was a comfortable journey.
Hiring a car or van and a private driver is another option for families. You will easily find drivers willing to do this if you don’t already have someone in mind.
You can read more details on transport to Hurghada and other locations in Egypt in our Getting Around Egypt post.
Where to stay in Hurghada as a Family
“Hurghada” is often used as a loose terms for the city of Hurghada and the surrounding bays and beach resort areas.
Some of the bays are quite remote and far from the town. So it’s important to do a bit of research before you book anywhere to ensure that you are heading where you want.
If you want to be in the thick of it, then you will want to head to Hurghada City itself. Originally a small fishing town it has grown and grown into this vibrant area with numerous hotels, apartments and other commercial entities to accommodate tourists.
But it’s still very much a living and breathing city for Egyptians as well. And a place where locals and tourists will mingle and interwind.
Where you stay in Hurghada City doesn’t matter too much as it’s pretty easy to get about. The majority of accommodation are dotted up and down the main road either on or near the beaches. You have a wide choice of hotels, apartments and villas to choose from in the city. So you shouldn’t struggle to find what you want.
Lots of accommodation have private beaches. There are also some public ones dotted about in the city, although only a few and they’re not always kept in the best condition. If you don’t have a private beach you can usually pay a fee to enter one of the other hotel’s private ones.
Outside of the city there are then the alternative areas and bays where most accommodations are your large, all inclusive hotels. Often with private beaches and water parks of various sizes.
Al Ahyaa and El Gouna Bay are areas north of Hurghada. With Sahl Hasheesh, Makadi Bay and Soma Bay all being south of the city.
The bays are the places to head for the best swimming, water-sports, snorkelling and diving.
However, outside of your resort and private beach there may not be a lot else to do. This is considered paradise for some, but others might get bored.
But if you are after a relaxing peaceful beach stay with great marine life for snorkelling and diving, then they might be the choice for you. And then you can take a day trip or two into the city when you fancy.
Getting Around Hurghada as a Family
Hurghada is simple enough to get around. There is no metro or rail network so road will be your main source of transport.
Taxis are everywhere in the town and you can have them ordered in your hotel when you are in the more remote areas.
The official taxi’s are a very obvious colour being orange and blue, and you can’t really miss them.
If you flag one in the town or on the road you will probably need to agree a price upfront.
If you are exhausted from haggling or just prefer mobile hailing apps, then Uber is also available in Hurghada and the wider area. They’re pretty common and so you will rarely struggle to hail one.
If you want to travel more like a local, then there are also ‘microbuses‘. You will see minibuses driving around, usually with the door open. You can usually flag them and shout your destination. Providing it is a well known one and on the drivers route they will wave you in and then you pay around 2-5EGP per person, including kids if they are on a seat.
Walking can also be a pleasant way to stroll around when in Hurghada city. There does seem to be a lack of pavements at times, which can be tricky on occasions with little ones. But generally speaking it is a family friendly place to walk around with a lot of the attraction in close proximity.
Eating in Hurghada as a Family
If you decide to go for the all inclusive big hotels that are on offer then you’ll probably eat at your hotel most of the time (why wouldn’t you?).
If you’re in one of the bays, there probably won’t be much else in terms of eating establishments outside of your resort.
But the city of Hurghada has lots of restaurants and some of your home comforts you and the kids might be after such as McDonalds and Cost Coffee etc.
You can still find the more traditional Egyptian food entities such as falafel stands and Egyptian style food if you head off the main tourist strips or heading somewhere like the Old Town.
For self-caterers there are plenty of supermarkets and smaller convenient stores in the city. The bigger supermarkets tend to cater for tourists as much as possible so you should find the majority of things you require if you head to one.
If you don’t fancy venturing out, there are also takeaway options. And Egypt and Hurghada has it’s own online food delivery platform, similar to Uber Eats or Deliveroo. Egypt’s version is called Talabat. It works like any of the others and can be a great way to getting some food in.
You will need an Egyptian phone number as you will need a code when you first set it up. You can easily get local sims at the mobile shops such as Vodafone (just make sure you take your passport or ID card). If you haven’t got a local sim then your accommodation staff may be willing to help you out by using their number to get you the code for the set up.
It’s available in English and works just like any other app you will have used. So is a great simple way to get some food delivered when you’re not going out.
Things to do in Hurghada for Families
Although the main draw in Hurghada is the beaches and water activities. There are also some other attractions that you might want to discover when you get a bit bored of your private beach or hotel waterpark.
You can do some family favourites like go bowling at the Hughada Bowling Center. Or head to the City Centre Hurghada Mall, where you will find a soft play area, cinema and even an ice rink (all be it, a fake one!).
Outside of the city you also have Sand City and Mini Egypt. The former being an area to view sand sculptures. And the latter a miniature model village of all the sites of Egypt.
If that’s not enough you can head 25 metres under water in a real diving submarine! This is pretty unique and cool thing to do.
As there is a good range of things to do we have a separate post on things to do in Hurghada with Kids that you can check out if you want more details.
So with all these activities for kids. Plus the warm weather and endless shoreline, Hurghada is a great choice for a short vacation or as part of a wider Egyptian tour for families.