THE RED SEA

The Red Sea, or what is sometimes called the Erythraean Sea, is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez (leading to the Suez Canal). The Red Sea is a Global 200 ecoregion.

HURGHADA:

Hurghada is a city in the Red Sea Governorate of Egypt. It is a main tourist center and third largest city (after Suez and Ismailia) in Egypt located on the Red Seacoast. Although a town in its own right Hurghada’s current major industry is foreign and domestic tourism, owing to its dramatic landscape, year-round dry and temperate climate and long stretches of natural beaches. Its waters are clear and calm for most of the year and have become popular for various watersports, particularly recreational scuba diving and snorkeling. There are plenty of diving shops. Most take you out on a daytrip and make one dive in the morning and one in the afternoon. Dive sites around Abu Ramada Island, Giftun Kebir and Giftun Soraya are very popular. But you can also visit wrecks such as the El Mina or the Rosalie Moller.

GOUNA:

El Gouna, "the Lagoon") is a tourist resort, developed and owned by Sawiris Family, Samih Sawiris and Orascom Hotels and Development, dating from about 1990. It is located 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of Hurghada and is part of the famous Red Sea Riviera. El Gouna specializes in watersports, including scuba diving, windsurfing, kitesurfing, waterskiing, parasailing and snorkeling. There are two main beaches, Zeytuna Beach located on its own island and Mangroovy Beach. There are three centralized areas in El Gouna, housing shops, bars and restaurants: Downtown, Tamr Henna square and the Abu Tig Marina. There are 18 hotels (some of which were designed by the American architect Michael Graves) with 2,895 rooms rated from one star to five stars; a six-star hotel is currently under development next the Abu Tig Marina Extension.