Getting Around Hurghada

Hi,

The distance Hurghada-Luxor is about 290 kms (one way) on a beautiful, but not very busy desert-highway.Due to security reasons tourist-buses are usually accompanied by a police-car.
I would recommend to take the official day-tour, as renting a car is difficult, much costlier and less safe !

Enjoy Egypt and Diving, have a safe trip!

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You can see my Flight Moscow-Hurghada VIDEO with Colin Mutchler music from my personal YouTube channel. After opening the VIDEO please press the right bottom button on the screen for expansion of the image in all screen.

While choosing a tour to Egypt I have taken advantage of a low season and opportunities of two airlines. Usually tourist operators offer air tickets to Hurghada by one airline. It helps to receive the discount at purchase of return tickets. Usually standard tours have duration of 8 days and 7 nights (plus additional one or two weeks if you want).

My tour was a practically completely excursion tour. Therefore it was important for me I could have a rest on the sea even one and a half or two days. For this reason I have chosen early morning Saturday flight to Hurghada by "Transaero" airline and returning to Moscow late Sunday flight by "Atlant-Souyz" airline. Therefore my tour was prolonged 9 days and 8 nights (including only 5 working days and 4 target days).

I don't know the price of my air tickets because I bought a complex tour with all transfers. But I think two-way ticket coasted about $350. I flied to Hurghada by "Boeing-747" and came back Moscow by "Iljushin-86". It took me 4 hours one way flight. There weren’t any delay. We arrived to Hurghada and Moscow just according to the schedule.

My travel companion and I went straight from the ferry to the bus station in Hurghada to buy tickets for the night bus to Aswan. We were told we could buy the tickets on board when the bus arrived. But it was a Thursday night and the bus was already full when it arrived at the bus station. A lot of people tried to get on and my friend kindly asked the bus driver to let us on board. He said yes and I quickly got the bags in the luggage compartment before anyone changed their mind. We were not the only passengers who were without seats and we had a journey of nine hours ahead of us. In the back there were mostly women sitting so we sat on the floor there. Later, when the light was turned off we tried to sleep on the very dirty floor. We were not the only persons trying to sleep on the floor, but I guess it was not often tourists were seen doing that. On the way we stopped two times for tea and once when the bus broke down. Not until it was a couple of hours left I got a seat.

It was a very uncomfortable trip, but a very memorable one and for that I enjoyed it.

The ticket was 45 pounds (July 2005).

There is a high-speed ferry a few times a week going from Sharm el Sheik to Hurghada. It is supposed to take 1,5 hour, but when I went with it took 3 hours. The sites on board are comfortable and there is a small snack bar selling coffee (6 pounds) and tea, coke, crisps and sandwiches. If you feel seasick you better sit in the middle in the middle. The ferry leaves Sharm at 6 pm. You will need your passport. A ticket was 250 pounds (July 2005).

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This airport is one three main air Egypt gates (besides Cairo and Sham el-Sheikh). There are local airports in Abu Simbel, Alexandria, Aswan, Luxor. But the most of tourists usually arrive to Cairo, Hurghada and Sham el-Sheikh.

30 year ago the airport of Hurghada had only military value. Now it’s quite modern and equipped with tourist facilities place.

AirBaltic (Riga), Air Berlin (Berlin-Schönefeld, Berlin-Tegel, Cologne, Dresden, Dusseldorf, Erfurt, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Leipzig, Munich, Munster, Paderborn, Nuremberg), Astraeus (Leeds/Bradford, London-Gatwick), Atlant-Soyuz Airlines (Moscow-Vnukovo), Austrian Airlines (Vienna), Bashkirian Airlines (Ufa), Belair (Zurich), British Airways, operated by GB Airways (London-Gatwick), Condor Airlines (Düsseldorf, Munich), Edelweiss Air (Geneva, Zurich), Egyptair (Cairo, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Geneva, Milan-Malpensa), Excel Airways (London-Gatwick, Manchester (UK)), Finnair ( only charter, from Helsinki), Hifly (Lisbon), Jat Airways (Belgrade), LTU (Berlin-Schönefeld, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich), operated by LTU Austria (Vienna), Luxair (Luxembourg), MyTravel Airways (Manchester (UK)), Niki (Salzburg, Vienna), Primacharter (Poznan,Warsaw,Wroclaw), Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise (St Petersburg), S7 Airlines (Moscow-Domodedovo), Star Airlines (Paris), TAROM (Bucharest-Otopeni) (seasonal), Thomas Cook Airlines (Glasgow, London-Gatwick, Manchester (UK)), Thomsonfly (London-Gatwick, Manchester (UK)), Transaero (Moscow-Domodedovo), TUIfly (Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart, Hanover), TUIfly nordic (only charter, from Helsinki).

The city is served by the Hurghada International Airport with direct connections with several cities in Europe.
There are also daily flights to and from Cairo. Some times a week there are flights to Sharm el-Sheikh and once a week to Aswan by Luxor.

The ariport is very interesting in itself, when I was there he airport was in caos. Not really know where to go and not many people around that could help you. But I've heard that the airport has improved alot the last year or two. But I must say it was a fun and interresting experience.

Just after New Year's, 2007 we faced a 3 hour wait in the Hurghada Airport to get from the curb to first security screening. No lines--just frustrated and angry travelers trying to make their flights. How often does this occur? I have no idea. Our guide told us this is not unusual. Other travelers have told us they endured long lines but nothing on this scale. It's the lack of lines that was the biggest problem. My tip? Be prepared. Ask your travel agent about best days (times) to travel out of Hurghada--especially if you're going during a holiday. We would have changed our travel days or tried to fly at an off time had we known this is what we were facing during peak times.

The best way to get to Hurghada is by airplane. From Belgrade the flight takes less than three hours. But if you travel during the hot summer time, be prepared for a shock when you leave the airplane! A very hot wind blows into your face and it can be very dangerous if you are not prepared. The airport is nothing much, and the bus will be waiting to transfer you to the airport building.