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- Destinations
- Africa
- Egypt
- The Sinai Peninsula and the Red Sea
- Hurghada
Hurghada
Hurghada, known locally as Ghardaga, has grown from a small
fishing village to an internationally renowned holiday resort town
on the Red Sea coast of Egypt, famous for its underwater life and
diving and snorkelling opportunities. Popular as a European package
holiday destination, the town of Hurghada boasts first class hotels
and all-inclusive resorts, as well as a highly vaunted nightlife.
South of the town is the resort strip with hotels packed along a
12-mile (20km) stretch of beach, while within the town there are
many bars, restaurants, shops and a variety of accommodation to
suit all types of budget. The town's central location on Egypt's
coast provides a gateway to prime diving sites throughout the Red
Sea.
Information & Facts
Activities
The holiday resort of Hurghada is renowned for its variety of
watersports that includes sailing, fishing, kitesurfing and
windsurfing. Offshore underwater gardens and coral reefs make this
an internationally recognised location among divers and
snorkellers, and for the less active many hotels offer
glass-bottomed boat excursions to admire the corals and marine
life. Hotels and resorts also offer water activities such as banana
rides, pedal boats and canoeing, as well as trips to the Giftun
Island Marine Park. On land there are beautiful beaches, golf
courses, horse riding, and desert excursions, which include camel
rides, hiking, 4x4 or quad safaris.
Language
Arabic is the official language although English and
French are widely spoken, especially in the tourist
areas.
Money
The unit of currency is the Egyptian Pound (EGP), which is
divided into 100 piastres. Most credit cards are accepted in major
hotels and restaurants. Visitors are advised to take travellers
cheques in US Dollars or Pounds to avoid additional exchange rate
charges. Banks are usually closed on Friday and Saturday, but
private exchange bureaux, called 'Forex', are open daily and banks
in major hotels are open 24 hours. Cairo branches of the Egyptian
British Bank and Banque Misr now have ATMs available that accept
Visa, MasterCard and Cirrus and are quite common in the main
tourist areas.
Negatives
The beach in Hurghada is made of dark red grainy sand
interspersed with rocks and boulders; sandals should be worn.
Night Life
With its growing reputation as a holiday party town 'par
excellence', Hurghada boasts a lively nightlife with numerous
clubs, discos, pubs and trendy lounges, and a variety of
entertainment that includes beach barbeques, karaoke evenings, foam
parties and divers' parties. Popular are Papas Beach Club and
Calypso, while Alf Leila Wa Leila is famous for belly dancing and
Arabic folklore.
Restaurants
Hurghada has a variety of restaurants for those on holiday to
enjoy, serving food from around the world, from Indian or French to
Thai, Mexican and Japanese. El Dahar (downtown) offers a wide
choice of authentic Egyptian eateries, including street stalls and
inexpensive restaurants, and fast food chains such as KFC, Pizza
Hut and McDonalds are also available. Most local places don't serve
alcohol. Hotels all have their own restaurants, which serve up a
variety of local and international cuisine.
Shopping
El Dahar, the old part of Hurghada town, has a traditional
Egyptian bazaar with a variety of shops selling tourist souvenirs
and holidaymakers can splurge to their hearts' content. Bargaining
is expected and prices will generally be better than in the resort
village shops. The best buys are papyrus scrolls or traditional
'shisha pipes'.