Hurghada in two or three days: which trips to book first and which to save for next time
Updated October 7, 2026 · 6 min read
In short. For most people, two days are enough on a short holiday: one at sea and one evening in the desert. The sea day is “Hurghada: Luxury Cruise Trip to Orange Bay with Lunch”, 8 hours 30 minutes, from €45.65 per person, rated 4.9 from 6,664 reviews: see dates and prices for the Orange Bay cruise. The evening is “Hurghada: Desert Quad Bike, ATV, Camel Ride & Optional BBQ”, three hours from €23.40, 4.9 from 3,238 reviews: see prices for the desert evening. If a third day is free, “Hurghada: Royal Seascope Submarine Cruise with Snorkel Stop” takes two hours and costs from €18.57: see prices for the two-hour submarine trip.
The main rule for a short holiday is not to pile up similar things. Two eight-hour days at sea in a row are not two experiences but one, played twice.
Five trips side by side
| Trip | Duration | From | Rating | Place in the plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orange Bay cruise with lunch | 8 hrs 30 mins | €45.65 | 4.9 · 6,664 reviews | sea day |
| Speedboat, dolphins, snorkelling and two islands | 4 hours | €33.25 | 4.6 · 4,085 reviews | half a day instead of a full one |
| Royal Seascope submarine | 2 hours | €18.57 | 4.4 · 5,424 reviews | a gentle outing |
| Quad, camel and barbecue | 3 hours | €23.40 | 4.9 · 3,238 reviews | evening |
| Luxor, Valley of the Kings and Tutankhamun’s tomb | 1 day | €67.50 | 5 · 1,689 reviews | the far-off day, if you have four days |
The most popular trip by number of reviews is the yacht with three islands and lunch, 8,267 reviews, €44 per person. It is the same kind of day as the Orange Bay cruise: eight hours at sea, dolphins, snorkelling, lunch. Pick one of the two, not both.
Two days
Day one is the sea, in full. The Orange Bay cruise costs €1.65 more than the yacht with three islands and is rated 4.9 against 4.7; the description names snorkelling, a buffet lunch and a massage on board. The second evening is the desert: three hours, quad, camel, barbecue.
The two trips together cost €69.05 per person, €138.10 for two. If you fly home that day, don’t put anything long on it: the descriptions don’t say when you are picked up and brought back, and you need to ask before paying.
Three days
The third day is better filled with something short than with a second big outing. There are two options. The speedboat for four hours at €33.25, rated 4.6 from 4,085 reviews, gives you dolphins, snorkelling and two islands: the same sea, without a whole day. The Royal Seascope submarine for two hours at €18.57 is the lightest option in the table, with 5,424 reviews and a rating of 4.4. We have a separate article on the submarine and its “glass bottom”: Royal Seascope: the semi-submarine.
Three days come to €87.62 per person if you take Orange Bay, the evening and the submarine, and €175.24 for two. If you take the speedboat instead of the submarine, it is €102.30 per person.
Four to five days and the long trip
With a fourth day in the plan, there is room for a long trip. Luxor in a day is “Hurghada: Luxor Valley of the Kings & Tutankhamun Tomb Trip”, €67.50, rated 5 from 1,689 reviews. It is the cheapest Luxor offer and the only one rated 5. Cairo by bus takes fifteen hours and more, which is a whole day out of the holiday rather than a part of it; the comparison of bus and plane is in a separate article: Cairo from Hurghada. Luxor in a day and the overnight stay with a balloon flight are described here: Luxor from Hurghada.
Add Luxor to the three-day plan and you get €155.12 per person. Don’t put the long trip on the day before an early boat departure: you would spend one of the two days at half strength.
See dates and prices for the Valley of the Kings tour
Keep a spare day
Going out to sea depends on the weather, and there are days when the boat doesn’t sail. If you have only two or three days and just one sea day, there is nowhere to move it to. Put the sea first, not last, and you have a buffer: the desert evening doesn’t depend on the weather on the water. What to do on a day when the boat stays in port we have covered separately: Hurghada with kids when the boat doesn’t go out.
Who this isn’t for
If you have a week, this plan is too small: then it makes sense to take a second sea day to another island and not rush the long trip. If someone in your group likes neither water, nor dust, nor a long road, look at relaxed trips. And if you are travelling with children, start with the article by age: Hurghada with kids.
Our recommendation
For two days, take “Hurghada: Luxury Cruise Trip to Orange Bay with Lunch” and the desert evening with quad, camel and barbecue. Both are rated 4.9, from 6,664 and 3,238 reviews, €69.05 per person together, and no long trip to eat up the second day.
See dates and prices for the Orange Bay cruise
For the third day: two hours in the submarine if you want calm, or the four-hour speedboat if you want more sea. For the fourth and fifth, Luxor, and only once. The other destinations are gathered in the sections islands and Orange Bay and things to do in Hurghada.
