Hurghada Red Sea – the Resort Paradise in Egypt

Hurghada Red Sea is warm all year round, even in the winter season the place is great for sunbathing and other sun-related activities. This is the popular winter-escape destination for the northern Europeans. I bumped into many of the northern European during my visit to Hurghada Red Sea.  I was here in December month and during the day the weather is quite warm.

The Red Sea got its name because of a type of specific algae found in the sea, which upon dying often appear to turn-green color of the ocean to a reddish-brown.

Where is Hurghada Red Sea?

Hurghada is about 6 hours bus journey from Cairo Egypt. Over here you find many beach resorts stretching 40km along with Egypt’s Red Sea coast which was built-in 1980s. Before that, Hurghada is just a humble fishing village.

Hurghada is known for its watersports activities, nightlife, and warm weather.  You can wear bikini here in Hurghada.  Rusian and Northern European love to visit Hurghada Red Sea to escape their cold winter and enjoy the warm weather here.

Continental Hotel Hurghada Review

We stayed in the Continental Hotel Hurghada which is located on the west coast of the Red Sea. The resort lies along a beautiful private beach and a marina with big boats and yachts.

Hotel Lobby

The hotel resort is very big with well-kept gardens. We had 3 three rooms and two were given suites and one at the main building.  I find the rooms in the main building are newer and cleaner.  The main building is where the lobby is.

Our Mansion Suites

There are three suites in the 2 storey mansion and we occupied two suites upstairs. One of the suites is located on the first floor and still under renovation. Since our suites are located on the second floor, we need to carry our big suitcases up and every time we come out for breakfast or activities, we need to walk the stairs up and down.  Less mobile people or old folks may not find this mansion ideal.

The good thing is we had our private pool in front of the mansion suite.

Let’s find out the suites inside the mansion.  The suites are very large but rundown and not as new as the one in the main building that faces the Rea Sea and the main big pool.

The lightings weren’t bright enough and the carpet has some stains and looks old and dirty.  You need sandals for sure. The hotel room does not provide the free slippers.

There are small shops in the resorts, in case you have forgotten your sunblocks, insects spray or sandals you can get them here.  You can also buy souvenirs and Egyptian jewelry here.

The pool gets slightly crowded during the day especially when the animation teams play the music and dance.

Shisha water pipe cafe is also available!

Shisha smoking originates from the Middle East, you find the shisha smokers smoke tobacco through a bowl with a long hose joined on.  Shisha water pipe is often seen in Egypt. When we passed by this shisha cafe, we smell clouds of honey-scented smoke.

Sport & Fitness Centre

There is a gym inside the sports center which is only 2 mins walk from the main lobby. I find the types of equipment are quite sufficient for gym lovers, not very big but good enough to train.

There is a fee ( about USD 6 an hour) to use the pool table here, located in the fitness center.

Snoopy club

Don’t forget to bring your little one to Snoopy clubs, ideal for toddlers.

Food Review in Hurghada Continental Hotel

The breakfast and dinner are included in our booking of rooms but without lunch.  We had our lunch in one of the restaurants in the resort.  The chef barbeques the seafood in front of us so it served hot and fresh.

It was a huge seafood platter that cost around USD 90.00 for 6 people.

Hurghada Promenade

Outside the resorts, there are shopping streets but things sold aren’t cheap.  If you want shopping for souvenirs, it is better to do it in Cairo.  There are few restaurants outside the hotel in the Promenade, we found a Japanese and a Thai restaurant.

You can also do the camel ride outside the resort.

Taxi or Private Hired Car in Hurghada?

In the afternoon we went to the old town El Dahar, about 30 mins drive from our resorts.  You can either catch the taxi outside the resort or catch the private hired car from the hotel.  Cathing a taxi cost way lesser than using the private hired car from the hotel.  We were worried not able to find a taxi back from the old town so we went with the private hired car which includes sending us back to the hotel.  Later we found out that there are so many taxies in the old towns so there is no need to use private hired cars from the hotel.

El Dahar (Hurghada Old Town)

El Dahar is where the local shops and dining. I wanted to see how the locals live so coming to El Dahar is a good choice. The highlight of the old town is the “souk” or market. We spent an hour walking browsing the local product and spices.

Al Dahar is old and rundown but it has its own character.  The old town is where most of the Egyptians live and work. You see the fruits and vegetable market and local restaurants. Most of the shops are old and dirty so we don’t dare to dine in.

Coptic Cathedral of Saint Shenouda

Not very far from the old town of El Dahar, there is a church so we walked it. Security was tight and there is a big tank with a soldier and his machine gun pointing.

The word “Coptic” comes from a Greek word meaning “Egyptian,” and describes a person from Egypt.

In front of the line was the European just alighted from their tour bus.

Egyptian Perfume Shop

Other Red Sea Activities

Some of the popular activities in the Hurghada Red Sea:

• Submarine Trip -Explore the underwater world off the shores of Hurghada. You will see colorful fish, reefs, and corals.
• Safari Jeep Trip – You learn about the Bedouins tribe also known as nomadic Arab people who live in the desert. A jeep ride through the fascinating desert landscape of the desert and watch the sun go down and star watching at night.
• Giftun island trip
• Scuba Diving or snorkeling
• Safari Quad Bike

Final tips:

If your Egypt tour includes Hurghada Red Sea destination, please bring along a pair of sandals, swimsuit, sunscreen and insect spray.