Just 30 minutes north of Hurghada lies one of Egypt’s most remarkable achievements — a city built from scratch on the edge of the Red Sea, threaded with lagoons, lined with bougainvillea, and designed from the ground up to feel like nowhere else on earth. Welcome to El Gouna.
Often called the “Venice of the Red Sea”, El Gouna is a privately developed resort city conceived by the Sawiris family and built over three decades into a fully functioning urban paradise. Its canals connect luxury villas to open-water lagoons. Its marina hosts superyachts alongside traditional wooden boats. Its art scene includes a world-class festival and a desert installation that has attracted visitors from across the globe. And unlike most Egyptian resort towns, El Gouna feels genuinely European in pace and atmosphere — elegant, unhurried, and designed for pleasure.
Our private El Gouna City Tour from Hurghada is the best way to experience all of it in a single day. With a dedicated vehicle, an English-speaking guide, and a flexible departure time, this excursion gives you exclusive access to everything that makes El Gouna special — including the iconic lagoon boat ride, the panoramic El Gouna Tower, the buzzing Abu Tig Marina, and the mesmerising Desert Breath land art installation.
📋 Tour at a Glance
| Tour Type | 100% Private — your group only |
| Duration | 4–5 hours (flexible departure) |
| Departure | Morning or afternoon — your choice |
| Languages | English, French, German, Russian |
| Pickup | All Hurghada hotels · Makadi Bay & Sahl Hasheesh (+€5/person) |
| Distance | ~30 km north of Hurghada (approx. 30 min drive) |
What Makes El Gouna So Special?
El Gouna is not just another Red Sea resort. It was built as a complete, self-contained city — with schools, a hospital, an airport, art galleries, restaurants, hotels, and a university campus — all woven together by a network of navigable lagoons. Today it is home to over 30,000 permanent residents and hosts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.
The city’s character is shaped by its Nubian and Mediterranean architectural DNA. Sand-coloured domes and arched doorways blend with bougainvillea-draped terraces. Waterfront promenades lead to open-air markets. The mood is simultaneously Egyptian and cosmopolitan — a rare combination that rewards curious visitors.
Key features that set El Gouna apart from any other destination in Egypt:
Lagoon Network
Over 10 km of interconnected canals weave between villas and hotel islands, making this the only lagoon city on the Red Sea coast.
Abu Tig Marina
Home to 117 berths for luxury yachts and sailing boats, surrounded by the best restaurants, cafés, and boutique shops in the Red Sea region.
Art & Architecture
From the world-famous El Gouna Film Festival to Desert Breath — one of the most photographed land art installations in Africa — the city punches well above its weight culturally.
The Sawiris Legacy
Built from empty desert since the early 1990s, El Gouna is the vision of one of Egypt’s most influential families — a story as fascinating as the city itself.
Tour Itinerary – Step by Step
Your El Gouna City Tour from Hurghada is fully private and professionally guided. Here’s what the day looks like:
Hotel Pickup — Hurghada
Your private air-conditioned vehicle and English-speaking guide collect you from your hotel at a time that suits you — morning or afternoon. The coastal drive north to El Gouna takes approximately 30 minutes and offers scenic Red Sea views along the way.
Lagoon Shuttle Boat Ride 🛥
The tour begins on the water. Board a shuttle boat and glide through El Gouna’s extraordinary canal network, passing luxury villas, lush gardens, and resort islands. Your guide shares the story of how this city was built from bare desert — including the remarkable role of the Sawiris family in its creation. This is a highlight that most visitors to the Red Sea coast never experience.
El Gouna Tower — Panoramic Views 🏙
Climb El Gouna Tower for sweeping 360° views across the entire city — its lagoons, the open Red Sea, the hotel islands, and the desert mountains beyond. This is the best vantage point in El Gouna and an unmissable photography stop. On clear days, you can see all the way to the horizon where the sea meets the sky.
Local Market & Artisan Quarter 🛍
Wander through El Gouna’s local market, where Egyptian artisans display hand-crafted jewellery, woven bracelets, stone carvings, and original paintings. This is a genuine craft market — not a tourist souvenir shop — with opportunities to watch artisans at work and pick up one-of-a-kind pieces directly from the maker.
Abu Tig Marina — Coffee & Waterfront Stroll ☕
End the tour at El Gouna’s crown jewel: Abu Tig Marina. With 117 berths for yachts and sailing boats, it is one of the finest marinas on the entire Red Sea. Stroll the promenade, browse boutique shops, and settle in at a waterfront café for traditional Egyptian tea or a fresh juice. This is El Gouna at its most relaxed and atmospheric.
Return to Your Hurghada Hotel 🏨
Your private vehicle takes you directly back to your hotel. The return journey passes along the coast — a fitting end to a day spent exploring one of the Red Sea’s most compelling cities.
Desert Breath — Egypt’s Most Surreal Art Installation
Just outside El Gouna in the open desert lies Desert Breath — a vast land art installation created in 1997 by artists D.A.ST. Arteam. Covering over 100,000 square metres, it consists of 89 conical sand formations arranged in a spiral pattern around a central pool. Seen from above, it resembles a giant fingerprint pressed into the desert. On the ground, it is profoundly disorientating and beautiful. This is one of the most unusual and photogenic sites in all of Egypt — and it’s included in your tour.
What’s Included in the Tour Price
✅ Included
- ✅ Private hotel pickup & drop-off (Hurghada)
- ✅ Air-conditioned private vehicle
- ✅ Professional bilingual guide
- ✅ All entrance fees
- ✅ Shuttle boat ride through lagoons
- ✅ El Gouna Tower visit
- ✅ Local market & Abu Tig Marina
- ✅ Desert Breath art installation
- ✅ Bottled water per guest
❌ Not Included
- ❌ Meals & personal drinks (cafés available)
- ❌ Shopping & personal expenses
- ❌ Tips & gratuities (optional)
- ❌ Makadi Bay pickup (+€5/person)
- ❌ Sahl Hasheesh pickup (+€5/person)
El Gouna Aquarium – Optional Add-On
For guests with a passion for marine life, the El Gouna Aquarium is a rewarding optional stop. Its collection showcases the native species of the Red Sea — including moray eels, lionfish, pufferfish, reef sharks, and dozens of coral reef inhabitants — in well-maintained tanks that bring the underwater world to the surface.
The aquarium is particularly popular with families travelling with younger children who may not yet be ready for snorkelling but want to connect with the Red Sea’s incredible biodiversity. Ask your guide to include it when booking and we will adjust the itinerary accordingly.
Why Choose a Private El Gouna Tour Over a Group Excursion?
Group tours to El Gouna from Hurghada are widely available — but they come with fixed schedules, shared transport, and the pace of the slowest member of the group. Our private excursion is fundamentally different.
Flexible Departure Time
Morning or afternoon — we depart when it works for you. No waiting in a hotel lobby at 7am if you’d rather leave at 10.
Your Pace, Your Priorities
Want more time at the marina? A longer café stop? A detour to a particular viewpoint? Your guide adapts to your interests rather than the other way around.
Ideal for Families & Small Groups
Private tours are inherently better for families with young children or elderly travellers. No rushing, no crowds, no compromise.
Deeper Engagement with Your Guide
A private guide can answer your questions fully, tailor the narrative to your interests, and share details that get lost in a group setting. The Sawiris story, El Gouna’s architecture, and its cultural scene all come to life differently when the guide speaks only to you.
Book Your Private El Gouna City Tour
Flexible departure · English guide included · Hotel pickup from Hurghada
📞 +20 100 925 5585 | hurghada-excursion.com | [email protected]
Frequently Asked Questions – El Gouna Tour from Hurghada
The Bottom Line — Why El Gouna Belongs on Your Hurghada Itinerary
Most visitors to Hurghada spend their time between their resort and the sea — and miss entirely what lies just 30 minutes up the coast. El Gouna is something genuinely different: a city designed with intention, built with ambition, and experienced with real pleasure.
Whether you’re fascinated by its architecture, drawn by the lagoon boat ride, excited to photograph Desert Breath, or simply in need of a stylish change of scenery, the El Gouna City Tour from Hurghada delivers a full, varied, and thoroughly enjoyable day.
At Hurghada Excursion, we take pride in offering the private format that allows every guest — families, couples, solo travellers, and groups — to experience El Gouna exactly as they want to. Our guides are local, knowledgeable, and genuinely passionate about sharing this city’s remarkable story.
Don’t leave the Red Sea without seeing the city that surprises almost everyone who visits it. Book your private El Gouna tour today.
📲 Ready to Explore El Gouna?
WhatsApp us now or send an email — we’ll confirm availability and arrange everything.
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