Egypt - Red Sea holidays

Things to do

Explore your destination

Here’s a little taste of what’s on offer: for more excursion ideas, speak to your Rep.

Snorkelling
Take a relaxing boat trip to the Garden Reef and famous Ras Mohamed National Park, where you’ll uncover an incredible underwater world, surrounded by over 1,000 species of colourful fish.

Cairo
Spend 1 or 2 days exploring the spectacular city of Cairo. You’ll get to see the awe-inspiring Pyramids of Giza, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, along with the fascinating Egyptian Museum, home to more than 120,000 relics and antiquities.

Bedouin Experience
An amazing opportunity to visit the desert, with the chance to ride a camel to a Bedouin camp, you’ll experience an evening of great hospitality, including a candlelit dinner beneath the stars.

Highlights

• Snorkelling or scuba-diving with spectacular marine life in the amazing coral reefs of Ras Mohammed National Park, home to over a thousand species’ of fishes
• Exploring striking desert terrains in a 4x4 jeep before visiting a traditional Bedouin camp for dinner under the stars
• Visiting the historic St Catherine's Monastery, built at the spot in the Sinai Desert where Moses is said to have seen the burning bush
• Browsing colourful bazaars and haggling for souvenirs to remind you of your holiday in the Red Sea
• Trekking around the famous pyramids and visiting the incredible Egyptian Museum on a tour to the country’s ancient capital, Cairo
• Horse or camel riding, whether for half an hour along your hotel beach, or on a longer trip in the desert
• Teeing off on El Gouna or Taba Heights’ 18-hole Championship golf courses
• Experiencing the stunning scenery of Sinai’s craggy mountains
• Keeping an eye out for nesting turtles at the nature reserves at Nabq and Ras Mohamed
• Riding a quad bike over sand dunes; these four-wheel motorcycles are ideal for driving on desert terrain

Food and drink

Egyptian cuisine is often aromatically spiced and traditional dishes include 'ful', a spicy stew of beans, kofta kebabs and lamb. Try a mezze platter, a mixed plate of goodies like falafel and hummus.

Taste the refreshing local beer, Sakara, brewed in El Gouna, or for a tea break Egyptian style, sample the shisha, a pipe filled with a special kind of tobacco mixed with molasses.

The Red Sea’s resorts also offer a wide variety of international cuisine, including familiar fast food outlets. In Sharm, look out for Planet Hollywood and the Hard Rock Café.

Evening Flavour

If you’re after party towns in the Red Sea, you’re best to head to Hurghada and Sharm where you’ll find a Hard Rock Café as well as Pascha clubs and trendy restaurants. But, nightlife in Egypt’s not as heaving as, say, Ibiza, and you might want to try an authentic Bedouin dinner under the stars or enjoy your hotel’s cocktail lounge instead.

Shopping

Haggle for bargains in Sharm’s ‘Old Market’ in Na’ama Bay, where you can also treat yourself to perfume or jewellery made with gold, silver and semi-precious stones.

Look out for shisha pipes, colourful scarves, spices and leather goods in Sharm’s shopping plazas, like the El Sharm Mall. Good holiday buys for the home include Bedouin embroidery, Egyptian cotton bed linen, pottery and brass.

Taba Heights offers hotel shops and a small shopping area and in Hurghada and El Gouna there is a variety of bazaars and boutiques.

Dates for the Diary

Hurghada International Festival’s sporting celebrations wow the crowds from early to mid February every year. With participants from across the globe, highlights include the gruelling triathlon and the final day’s ‘Hurghada half marathon’.

For the Family

• Climb onto a camel for some family fun in the desert.
  
• Get an eyeful of coral reefs and colourful fish from a glass-bottomed boat.
  
• Dive deep into the underworld at one of the world’s best scuba diving sites.
  
• Go watersports wild on the Red Sea – hop onto a banana boat or try your hand at some parasailing.
  
• Soak up the sun on the Red Sea Riviera’s golden sandy stretches.
  
• Step back in time on a trip to the Egyptian wonders of Luxor.

Information

Language: Arabic, English and Egyptian. Currency: Egyptian Pound (LE). Standard GMT: +2hrs. Egyptian Tourist Office: Egypt House, 170 Piccadilly, London W1V 9DD. Tel: 020 7493 5283. www.gotoegypt.org

Travel money

Egyptian Pound

You can get commission-free foreign exchange on currency notes and travellers cheques at most First Choice Travel Shops and Holiday Hypermarkets.

Travel foundation

Training tour guides in Egypt
When you book a holiday with us we’ll ask you to make a small donation to the World Care Fund. With you contributions, we’re training snorkelling guides in environmental issues and helping to develop an official training. The project’s creating jobs for local people, protecting the marine environment and improving the quality of snorkelling in the area.

Our World Care Fund project partner, The Travel Foundation, is an independent sustainable tourism charity that works in close partnership with the UK travel industry to fund these projects.