Hurghada

Is Hurghada safe?

Mostly, yes, as long as you treat the sea and the roads with more care than the streets. Hurghada is a resort town of hotels strung along the Red Sea coast, with checkpoints on the approach roads and security at hotel gates. The UK Foreign Office calls Egypt's crime rate generally low and pickpocketing rare, and it says security forces check vehicles and airports to protect resorts such as Hurghada.

What goes wrong for visitors here is mostly at sea. In March 2025 a tourist submarine sank about a kilometre off Hurghada and at least six Russian tourists died. Four months earlier a liveaboard dive boat sank further south, near Marsa Alam. We score Hurghada 67, above Cairo and below Antalya, Turkey's equivalent beach city.

Boats, dive trips and submarines

Most people come for the reefs, and that is where the serious accidents happen. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says safety standards on Red Sea diving boats "vary considerably", that some operators lack proper safety and insurance cover, and that recent incidents involving British divers included deaths.

• Sindbad submarine, March 2025. A sightseeing submarine run by a private company sank on a routine reef tour off Hurghada with 45 tourists on board. At least six Russians died. Russia's tour operators' association said it struck a reef at about 20 metres.
• Sea Story, November 2024. A dive boat carrying 44 people on a multi-day trip sank near Marsa Alam. Al Jazeera reported that it was unclear how it got permission to sail in bad weather. Reuters later counted four dead and seven missing.

Book liveaboards and day boats through your tour representative or an established dive centre, ask for a safety briefing before you leave port, and check there are life jackets and a working radio. Do not dive below your insurance policy's depth limit. The FCDO warns that sea or air rescue can cost more than 4,000 dollars an hour and that the Egyptian authorities start it only once payment is guaranteed, so make sure your insurer or dive operator covers it.

Sharks

Shark attacks are rare, but they do happen. In June 2023 a tiger shark killed a Russian man off Hurghada and beaches were closed. In December 2024 one tourist was killed and another injured near Marsa Alam, in deep water outside the swimming zone by the jetties, according to Egypt's environment ministry. Stay inside roped swimming areas, do not swim far from the jetties, and obey beach closures.

Crime, touts and assaults in the resorts

Violent crime against visitors is uncommon, but not unknown. In July 2017 a man swam ashore at a hotel beach and stabbed six foreign tourists, killing two German women.

The more realistic risk for women is assault by someone they have already met. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says most sexual assaults reported to the British Embassy in Egypt took place in Red Sea resorts, often by hotel or excursion staff, and that hotel staff have sometimes discouraged victims from going to the police. Do not let staff into your room when you are alone, do not leave children on their own, and report any assault to the tourist police (126) before you fly home.

Day to day, expect selling rather than theft. Excursion sellers work the beach and the streets, taxi fares are negotiated, and friendly "guides" in Sakkala and El Dahar lead you to shops. Agree prices before you get in or set off, and book trips through your hotel or a known agent.

Roads, quad bikes and desert trips

There is no published road death figure for Hurghada. Nationally, WHO estimatesWHO road-death estimateThe World Health Organization's estimate of road traffic deaths per 100,000 people in a country, adjusted for deaths that police statistics miss.More in the glossary 7.9 road deaths per 100,000 people (2023), and Egypt's statistics agency counted 5,829 deaths in 2025, up 10.8%.

The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary reports several serious quad-bike accidents involving British visitors in resort areas, and advises against driving outside cities and resorts at night. Choose desert safaris that provide helmets, and if you take a day trip to Luxor, go with an established company and avoid night journeys on the desert highway.

Heat and health

Hurghada's coast is milder than the Nile Valley. ERA5 weather data show July highs averaging about 35 °C in 2021–2025, with only a few days a year above 40 °C. Sun and dehydration on boat days are the usual problem, so carry water and cover up.

The US State Department says emergency care in Egypt is limited and ambulances are unreliable. Have travel insurance that covers private hospitals and evacuation. Drink bottled water.

How we scored it

Natural hazards (70) and violent crime (76) are Hurghada's strongest factors. Traffic safety (58) and health and environment (60) are the weakest, because of national road deaths, quad-bike crashes and uneven rescue and emergency care. Walking at night (68) uses Egypt's Gallup share and the same harassment warnings as Cairo. For the resort across the water, see Sharm el-Sheikh.