How many days do you need in Hurghada?

A week is the right length for most British visitors, and a fortnight is the right length for people who want to see Luxor and still come home rested. Hurghada is a beach destination first, so the trips should fill the gaps between pool days, not replace them.

The trips below are the four that give the most variety for the time: Luxor for history, Dolphin House for the sea, the desert for an evening out and the city tour for a look at the town behind the resorts. You can drop any of them, but the order matters more than the choice.

A week in Hurghada

• Day 1: arrive and rest. Do nothing with a start time.
• Day 2: pool, beach and a walk round the hotel area.
• Day 3: Dolphin House snorkelling, an eight-hour boat day with a 08:00 pick-up.
• Day 4: rest.
• Day 5: Luxor, a 15-hour day with a 04:30 pick-up, so sleep early on day 4.
• Day 6: a lie-in, then the city tour (four hours) or the pool.
• Day 7: the desert safari in the afternoon, which lasts about five hours, with a 14:00 pick-up.

This leaves at least three days free, which is the right balance. If the one-day Luxor trip seems too long, swap it for the two-day overnight on a fortnight holiday, which spreads the driving across two days and gives you an evening in Luxor.

A fortnight in Hurghada

With two weeks you can do the same four trips and add a second boat day, such as Paradise Island, which is eight hours with about three hours on the beach. You can also replace the one-day Luxor trip with the overnight, a two-day trip with one hotel night, which is calmer in summer. Space the long days at least three days apart.

Where to put the long days

Place the long trips in the middle of your stay. The first days are for recovering from the flight, and the last days are for packing, souvenirs and transfers. Early starts at the start or the end of the holiday add stress that you do not need.

Weather and the spare day

The wind in Hurghada can close the sea for a day. If the port authority stops sailings, we move the trip or refund it. A boat day on day 3 of 7 leaves four days to rebook. A boat day on the penultimate day leaves none. This is the single best planning tip we can give.

If you only have two or three trips

If you can only do two or three trips, choose by what you came for. Pick Dolphin House or Paradise Island for the sea, Luxor for history and the desert safari for an evening out. The city tour is the easiest to drop. It is one of the shortest trips at four hours, so it also fits a gap if a trip has been moved because of the sea.

Travelling with children changes the plan. Count the ages: the semi-submarine and Paradise Island suit the youngest, the horse or camel ride starts at age 6, and the Luxor day is a long one for small children. A family week can have two boat days, one short land trip and plenty of pool time, and that makes a good holiday.

Rest days are part of the plan, not wasted ones. The early trips begin at 04:30 or 08:00, and the sun is tiring even on a pool day. Use the rest day after Luxor to do nothing, and you will enjoy the desert evening more. Families should treat the day after a boat trip in the same way.

In the second week, add the smaller trips. The horse or camel ride takes three hours including transfers, and the semi-submarine takes about the same, so both fit into a morning or afternoon without spoiling a pool day. They are also the easiest trips to move if the weather changes your plans.

Keep the booking rules in mind when you plan. Most trips can be booked online up to 48 hours ahead, and inside that window you send a request. Cancel three or more days ahead for a full refund, and half is refunded between three days and 24 hours. Fix the long days first, then fill the rest.

Diving and flying

If you plan to try scuba, do the intro dive day in the first half of your holiday. Divers are normally advised to wait about 18 to 24 hours before flying, so a dive on the last day or the day before is a poor idea. Everything else on this list is safe to do at any point. Open the trip pages for the current price and to check availability.