- Religious monuments
- Museums and exhibitions
- Marine entertainment
- Water attractions
- Children's fun
Hurghada is the beach capital of Egypt, the most popular resort in this country, receiving thousands of tourists every year. Hurghada has many advantages over other tourist places in Egypt and neighboring countries: it has the warmest sea in the world, fantastic weather throughout the year, excellent conditions for beach holidays and diving.
Hurghada is located on the Red Sea coast about 450 km south of Cairo. It was still a small fishing village 30 years ago. Now it is a bustling city with huge hotel complexes, water parks, museums and golden beaches. Along the coast, there are beautiful coral reefs that are worth seeing at least once in a lifetime.
Where to go in Hurghada, what to see - all travelers who are going on vacation to sunny Egypt ask such questions. First of all, you need to go to the beach, explore the territory and surroundings of your hotel, note for yourself the most picturesque places where you can spend many wonderful hours enjoying the fresh air and sunlight. And then you can start exploring the city and its attractions.
Religious monuments
There are few monuments of history and culture in Hurghada, but those that exist are worthy of the closest attention. It should not be forgotten that Egypt is an Arab country where the majority of its inhabitants are Muslim.
The main Islamic prayer house of Hurghada is located in the port area and is called Al Mina. The mosque receives thousands of tourists every day, who see its beauty and listen to lectures on tolerance for Islam, read by scholars in different languages of the world. In addition, the mosque has a large library, which contains many religious books, which are provided free of charge to tourists.
The construction of the Al-Mina Mosque lasted 5 years and was completed in 2012. This is a large structure, crowned with two slender minarets, in which up to 10 thousand local residents gather for prayer at the same time. So far, repair shops are adjacent to it, but in the future these buildings will be demolished so that nothing interferes with enjoying the beauty and grandeur of the Al-Mina mosque.
Another mosque in Hurghada is named after the scholar Abdulhasan Elshazi, who lived 6 centuries ago and preached Islam. It is no less popular than the port one. The mosque was built in the late 60s of the last century, so it is one of the oldest in Hurghada. It can be found near the main administrative buildings of the city - the governor's palace, the mansion of the city council and other government departments. The sacred structure, crowned with 40-meter minarets, can be seen from afar. The internal prayer hall, decorated with beautiful carved ornaments, is notable for its modest size. So that all believers could gather for prayer, the building was supplemented with prayer pavilions adjacent to the main building.
It is worth going to the Christian Coptic Church of St. Senufri, which dates back to 1922. This temple in Hurghada was built by the British who worked for oil companies. The church is famous for its frescoes and original window frames. Inside there are benches for believers, there is also a TV and video projectors. There are no special requirements for the appearance of visitors.
Museums and exhibitions
In Hurghada, next to the Senzo Mall, there is an open area with a unique exhibition of huge sand figures. The "Sand City" exposition consists of about 40 sculptures and several dozen reliefs, which were made only of sand and water. In order to be able to recreate the smallest details of the characters, sculptors prepare the sand in a special way, making it hard. From the resulting material, images of heroes of films, cartoons, historical figures are cut out. Here you can see Sinbad, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Catwoman, Bugs Bunny, The Smurfs, Shrek, the goddess Isis, Emperor Napoleon, the image of a scarab and much more. You can only look at the figures, you cannot touch them with your hands. The entrance ticket to the exhibition costs about $ 10.
You should definitely visit the Museum of Marine Biology, which is located in the vicinity of the city. Visitors to the museum have the opportunity to learn interesting features about the inhabitants of the Red Sea and walk through the tunnel in the middle of the aquarium to see a recreated living coral reef, above which both small colorful fish and larger animals float: turtles, rays and sharks. Exhibitions of underwater plants, shells and much more are arranged in the adjoining rooms. Information boards can be found on the walls.
Marine entertainment
Everyone goes to Hurghada for the sake of the blue sea in the sea, which is called the Red Sea. The beach season lasts here all year round. Even in winter, the sea water temperature rarely drops below 19 degrees. And if such water is not very comfortable for swimming, then it is quite suitable for other sea entertainments. Tourists are offered:
- boat trips with a glass bottom to the nearest coral reefs, which allows you, sitting on a bench with some tasty drink, to observe the active life of underwater inhabitants;
- diving independently and in the company of experienced instructors. Anyone can handle the dive, even an unsportsmanlike person. The main thing is to listen to the diving center employee and follow his instructions. Dive sets in Hurghada are available both from the shore and from the boat. There are day trips to the most popular dive sites. They run from 8 am and end at 15-16 pm. There are also diving safaris for 3-14 days;
- kitesurfing. This is riding on a board pulled by a kite. In the vicinity of Hurghada there are wonderful kitespots for beginners. In search of a smooth wave, you should go to El Gouna, which is located 30 km from Hurghada, and Kiriazi, which is located south of the popular resort. A decent wind blows here, necessary for gliding on the waves, there are shallows that beginners will be able to appreciate;
- fishing. In order not to find yourself in an uncomfortable position, you should know that fishing from the shore and on coral reefs in Hurghada is prohibited. They can also be fined for spearfishing. To save time and nerves, it is better to entrust the organization of fishing to special companies that provide a ship for going to sea and all the necessary tackle. The duration of an organized fishing trip is from 1 to 5 days. The cost of an individual trip with fishing rods to the sea is about $ 300.
Water attractions
The best pastime at beach resorts is going to the pool or the sea. Many hotels in Hurghada have their own water parks, where, however, guests staying in other hotels are also allowed. True, they will have to pay an entrance ticket.
A good water park is open at the Sindbad Aqua Park Resort, which is located in the city center a few hundred meters from the coast. Here you can spend the whole day, handing over your children to the supervision of animators and enjoying the sun, fun and socializing with friends. The territory of the water park is compact, but you can find 7 adults and 2 children's pools there. The central pool is surrounded by sun loungers for relaxation. Water attractions are designed both for extreme lovers who do not spare their nerve cells, and for lovers of quiet relaxation.
The largest water park in Hurghada is open at the Prima Sol Titanic Resort & Aquapark Hotel. Here, 27 various attractions have been created for guests, among which the terrible Black Hole and the exciting Tsunami are especially noteworthy. 13 slides are designed for children. The organizers of the water park took care of the brave teenagers and installed the Free Fall attraction for them. Families with children will love the Multislide - four slides from which parents and their offspring can go down at the same time. The water park is combined with a compact but very interesting aquarium, where the representatives of the Red Sea fauna are demonstrated. When visiting the water park, you do not need to buy an entrance ticket.
The Jungle Aqua Park Hotel has a water park consisting of 14 swimming pools connected by canals. The water in the two pools is heated, so even in cool weather, splashing in them is a pleasure! The main attraction of the water park is considered to be 35 difficult and not very slides, which will take more than one hour to explore. There are zones for the youngest children in the water park, a swimming pool with artificial waves, a slow river.
Children's fun
The child will surely enjoy a trip to one of the largest aquariums in the East, the Hurghada Grand Aquarium, which is located next to the Mercure Hurgada hotel. Excursions are often organized to this place, but you can visit it yourself. You will have to spend several hours exploring all the sights of the complex. In addition to the reservoirs where the inhabitants of the seas and oceans are kept, including huge sharks, stingrays gliding smoothly in the water column, terrible barracudas, moray eels and other equally impressive sea reptiles, the aquarium has a petting zoo where small cute monkeys and turtles live. Baby monkeys are allowed to be hand-fed, turtles are allowed to be held and stroked. At the entrance to the aquarium there is a pond teeming with fish, which will not mind the treats in the form of bread crumbs. Adults will surely appreciate a walk in the jungle, into which the territory adjacent to the aquarium has been turned. The final chord will be a visit to the pavilion, inside which the Bedouin's house is recreated. Guests with an interest in history and archeology should also not miss the exhibition, which contains the bones of whales and other prehistoric animals found in the Wadi Al Hitan area.
Also, kids can be taken to the Dolphin World Dolphinarium, which is located in the neighboring resort of Hurghada called Makadi Bay. It is very easy to get there either by public transport or taxi, or as part of an organized excursion group by bus. Shows are held 6 times a week, after lunch. Guests are entertained by real sea "stars" - dolphins, sea lions, seals and walruses. Animals dance, do acrobatic sketches, play ball, count, etc. After the show, the entertainment does not end. For an additional fee, tourists take pictures with dolphins and can even play with them in the water.
