---
node: spot_hurghada_el_gouna
type: spot
slug: el_gouna
destination: dest_hurghada
title: "El Gouna"
lead: "El Gouna is a privately built resort town 25 kilometres north of Hurghada, laid out on islands and lagoons from 1989. It is the tidiest place on the Egyptian Red Sea and does not pretend to be an old town."
published: 2026-08-12
updated: 2026-08-12
image_file: spot_hurghada_el_gouna.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:El_Gouna_R21.jpg"
image_author: "Marc Ryckaert"
image_license: "CC BY 3.0"
---

## Overview

The developer dredged canals and built in a Nubian-influenced style, and the result works: low buildings, water on both sides of most streets, and a marina at the centre. It has its own hospital, schools and a small airport, and a permanent population as well as visitors. Prices sit above Hurghada's, and the atmosphere is closer to a European marina resort than to Egypt.

## Highlights

The lagoon boats — taxi boats between the hotel islands — are the practical way to move and the pleasant one. Kitesurfing is the town's speciality, with reliable wind at Mangroovy Beach. Abu Tig Marina at sunset is where the town concentrates in the evening.