Horse riding in Hurghada: beach, desert or swimming with a horse – which ride to choose
Updated October 7, 2026 · 6 min read
In short. For most people, “Hurghada: Swimming with Horses & Desert Ride with Transfers” fits best – two hours, from €13.20 per person, rated 4.9 from 1,139 reviews: see dates and prices for the ride with a swim. The cheapest way in is “Hurghada: Horse Riding on Red Sea Beach, Desert with Transfer”, one hour from €10.80, 4.6 from 1,694 reviews: see prices for the one-hour ride. If you want an evening with stars, dinner and a show, take “Hurghada: Sea & Desert Horse Tour, Stargazing, Dinner & Show”, from €16.30: see the evening horse programme.
Horse rides in Hurghada all look the same: horse, sand, sea. They differ in three things you can’t tell from the name: whether there’s a swim, how long it lasts, and what is added to the riding itself.
Five offers side by side
| Offer | Duration | From | Rating | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horses on the beach and in the desert with transfer | 1 hour | €10.80 | 4.6 · 1,694 reviews | first time in the saddle, minimum cost |
| Swimming with Horses, Beach & Desert | 2 hours | €13.20 | 4.9 · 1,139 reviews | most people: a ride and a swim |
| Desert and sea on horseback with optional swimming | 2 hours | €18.40 | 4.9 · 1,451 reviews | those who choose by rating and are happy to check the transfer |
| Horses by the sea and in the desert, stars, dinner & show | from 2 hours | €16.30 | 4.4 · 1,705 reviews | an evening instead of dinner at the hotel |
| Horse riding tour in Makadi Bay | 1 to 5 hours | €8.15 | 4.5 · 320 reviews | staying south of the city, tight budget |
The gap between the cheapest and the dearest row is €10.25 per person, so €20.50 for a couple. The price is per person everywhere, not per group.
Swimming with a horse: where it’s on offer
Of the five offers, the swim is mentioned in the description of two: for the €13.20 ride it is called “optional”, and for the €18.40 ride it is right in the title – “with optional swimming”. The description of the one-hour ride at €10.80 mentions only the Red Sea coast and the desert; there is nothing about water.
If you want exactly the picture of a horse in the water, choose between these two. Both times it is optional rather than a fixed part: you can skip the swim if you don’t like the sea that day or someone in the group is afraid of deep water. Whether you need to be able to swim, whether it is required and whether a child can go into the water is not stated in the descriptions, so ask the operator before you pay.
See dates and prices for the ride with a swim
One hour or two
The duration in the listing is the length of the programme, not the time in the saddle. How many minutes of the two hours you actually ride, and how many go on meeting the horses, mounting and photos, is not stated in the descriptions. Ask directly, as you would about a quad: it is the only figure that answers the question “will it be enough for me?”.
One hour at €10.80 is a sensible start if you have never sat in a saddle. If you already know you’ll enjoy it, the two-hour ride with a swim costs just €2.40 more, and the programme is longer.
Level of experience
The description of the €13.20 ride says it suits both beginners and experienced riders; the €18.40 ride says “for all levels”. The Makadi tour says the horses are calm and well trained. For the other two offers the description doesn’t name a level, so they aren’t confirmed for beginners, but they aren’t ruled out either: ask.
Minimum age and weight and height limits are not given in any of the five descriptions. We won’t invent those figures: take the operator’s answer on the booking page and ask for it in writing. With children the question goes beyond age – how they cope with the desert and the heat we have covered separately: desert trips with kids.
An evening with stars and a show
“Hurghada: Sea & Desert Horse Tour, Stargazing, Dinner & Show” is the most popular horse offer by number of reviews, 1,705. Its rating is 4.4, the lowest of the five in the table; that is not a verdict, but neither is it a reason to expect “the same as the swim, only with dinner”. The description names options: sunrise, swimming stops, dinner and a show. Which option is in the starting price, check in the basket.
The extra charge for the evening makes sense if dinner at your hotel isn’t included in your stay. If it is, you pay for the food twice. We have a separate piece on the stargazing evening itself, with a telescope and without horses: stargazing in the desert.
Transfer and pick-up area
“Hurghada: Swimming with Horses & Desert Ride with Transfers” and the one-hour beach ride name the transfer in the title. The ride with optional swimming at €18.40 has no transfer in the title. If you are staying not in Hurghada itself but in El Gouna, Soma Bay or Sahl Hasheesh, give your hotel in the enquiry before you pay: the pick-up area is not stated in the descriptions. The Makadi Bay tour is titled “From Hurghada”; check its transfer and departure time too.
If you want photos and video of the ride included in the price, there is a separate offer, “Hurghada: Swimming & Horse riding with Free Photos & Videos”: from €24, rated 5, but so far only 39 reviews. The other offers in this section, including camels and other horse programmes, are collected on the page things to do in Hurghada.
Who it isn’t for
If someone in your group is afraid of horses, the ride will be an anxiety rather than a holiday. If you cope badly with heat, look at the morning or evening rather than the middle of the day. How hot Hurghada gets, month by month, is set out here: best time to visit Hurghada.
If you want a calm day without a saddle, see relaxed trips. And if the horse is only an excuse for you to get into the desert, a quad gives more riding for the same price: quad, buggy or jeep.
Our recommendation
Take “Hurghada: Swimming with Horses & Desert Ride with Transfers”. A rating of 4.9 from 1,139 reviews is matched only by the €18.40 ride, the swim is optional and can be skipped, the transfer is named right in the title, and the price of €13.20 is only €2.40 above the one-hour ride. Ask the operator how many minutes you will spend in the saddle, and ask about age and weight if children are coming or you are unsure.
See dates and prices for the ride with a swim
If you count every euro or want to find out first whether you like horses, take the one-hour ride at €10.80. If you want an evening with stars rather than just riding, take the evening programme with dinner and a show, but only once you have checked what is included in the price you see in the basket.
