r/GoingToEgypt

first i'm Egyptian, and in 2023 (when i was 22) i took my first ever solo trip to Hurghada.

i booked a single room in a really affordable hotel in a local area and booked snorkeling tours with agencies at the marina.

I'd been to many places on the Red Sea and the Mediterranean before, but Hurghada was a really different experience.

It's a normal city. the prices there are cheaper than Cairo and the sea is amazing.

it didn't feel like i was in a gated community like some places in the north coast, which doesn't really feel like Egypt

but as an Egyptian woman, the thing i loved the most was being able to walk around without getting harassed. it was surprising because in Cairo men like that would absolutely not leave me alone if i wasn't dressed modestly.

the reason is simple, Hurghada is full of foreigners and welcomes so many visitors every summer. People there are used to tourists, and the police are everywhere to make sure everyone is safe

also because people sometimes don't notice that i'm Egyptian, i think that added another layer of safety. however i still experienced catcalling twice there.

on my last solo trip there in 2024, I got to know a group of British people between the ages of 65 and 80. most of them had lived in Hurghada for 20-30 years, while the rest spent every summer there

I asked them why? they told me that the sun is always shining there and the sea with its pure blue color brings them peace. they spend their days relaxing on the beach and gathering at a club at night.

and on another day i met a Syrian/German family. they were religious, and we had a great conversation. they were spending a month there and were extremely happy with everything.

So what I really love about Hurghada is that you can find everything there, the true Egyptian spirit, along with a mix of cultures and languages everywhere. I felt like I was traveling the world without leaving my own country lol

So if you're a solo female traveler, I would absolutely recommend visiting Hurghada. however i would suggest having a friend who knows arabic with you just in case

I did snorkeling in both Hurghada and Dahab, and both were incredible experiences, however really different.

Snorkeling in Hurghada was fun, with small fish around me, some coral reefs, and the pure blue color of the water.

But I've never seen sea life as rich as the one in Dahab. i did snorkeling in many spots there, and one of them was in the Blue Hole. And in every one of them, there was so much life down there: so many fish of all kinds (i saw Nemo and Dory haha), coral reefs all over the place. It was surreal, and a bit scary in the Blue Hole yet a fun experience.

So I guess both Dahab and Hurghada will absolutely be incredible experiences, but Dahab is on another level man

The reason is unfortunately, over time ships in Hurghada's sea have really destroyed many of the coral reefs.

Meanwhile, Dahab doesn't have this amount of ships at all so they still have this rich sea life.

also fish there is pretty cheap and tasty. I guess it's because the fishing scene there isn't really full of competitors, since it's a small and simple city.

I've also seen amazing pictures from Marsa Alam, and maybe it's even better than Dahab. I can't wait to go and experience it