Safaga Holidays

Safaga was a merchant port for many years and now the town, with its wide azure bay, long sandy beaches and pretty islands, is a favourite destination for family holidays in Egypt.  Safaga is especially popular for those who enjoy kite surfing and windsurfing (it hosted the 1993 Red Sea World Windsurfing Championships) and provides some good snorkelling and scuba diving with its waters rich in corals, fish and dolphins.   

The bay itself contains some excellent reefs and the opportunity to spot big pelagic marine life such as tuna, sharks manta rays and sting rays. The sea water is highly saline and very rich in minerals which are extremely beneficial for the skin.  Together with its unpolluted atmosphere and mineral springs, Safaga has acquired a reputation as a popular curative or health spa destination said to be very effective in alleviating rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis. 

Safaga is also a good starting point for trips into the Eastern Desert with its historical sites and legacy of the area’s past as a cultural crossroads.  The granite quarries of Mons Claudianus, a Roman penal colony where black Quartz diorite was mined to be used as a building material, is well worth a visit.  The sights of Luxor, one of the most impressive archaeological highlights of ancient Egypt, are only 137 miles away and can easily be reached in a day trip as can Marsa Alam, Aswan and Alexandria.

Safaga Hotels

The Sol Y Mar Paradise Beach is one of the finest four-star resorts in Safaga. Located 50 km from Hurghada International Airport, it boasts its own pristine sandy beach overlooking a tranquil bay on the Red Sea. Safaga is renowned for its natural beauty, lovely beaches and relaxed atmosphere. More active pursuits are also well catered for, including snorkelling, scuba diving and windsurfing. The resort facilities also include a fully-equipped health club, a water sports centre managed by a professional multinational team and a variety of playgrounds as well as an organised Kids Club and lively animation team. 

Guests have exclusive access to the hotel’s own private beach as well as a large heated swimming pool.  A wide range of sports and fitness options are also available including tennis, water polo and archery.   The Sol Y Mar Paradise Beach lives up to its name by allowing you to  relax and enjoy a perfect Egypt Beach holiday in comfortably appointed and spacious rooms that all have views of the sea, the pool or the well kept and lush gardens.

Diving in Safaga

Safaga is suitable for all levels of diving ability, from outright novice to highly experienced divers and close enough to Hurghada in the north to make it a viable “Dual Dive” all year round diving destination.  The area around Safaga has some great diving close to the mainland as well as offshore in the areas of Panorama Reef, Middle Reef and Abu Kafan. Some divers maintain that these are just as good as the great sites of Ras Mohammed and Careless Reef.
Safaga Dive Sites
Sha'ab Saiman: hard coral formations second to none in the Red Sea running parallel to the shore, separated by a narrow, sandy canyon.  Large schools of snapper, goatfish, and fusiliers circle over the plateau and look out for the occasional white tip reef shark and turtle.

Ras Abu Soma: a fringing reef sloping gently to the drop off with numerous quality dive sites where you can see schooling reef fish, octopus, resident morays, stonefish and turtles. 
Panorama Reef: one of the highlights of the area, it’s a huge coral formation with walls dropping to over 200 metres.  Jacks, barracudas and reef sharks often visit the area. Panorama is also the home of magnificent anemones and a stunning array of purple soft corals and a south bound current offers a thrilling drift!
Abu Kafan: possibly the best dive in Safaga teeming with anthias and soft corals. Superb wall diving dropping off to over 300 metres  with overhangs covered in soft and black coral and frequent sightings of jacks, tuna, barracuda, reef sharks and the occasional hammerhead.

Sha'ab Sheer/Wreck of Al Khafein:  a horse shoe shaped reef with a shallow lagoon on its south side and hard coral gardens to the east and west.  Since November 2005 Sha'ab Sheer has become the resting place for the wreck of the Al Khafein which drifted into the north side of the reef after a fire in the engine room caused the crew to abandon ship.

Wreck of the Salem Express: a ferry carrying pilgrims returning from Mecca sank in 1991 after hitting the reef at night. 300 people perished and penetration of the wreck is forbidden. The propellers make an impressive sight and the covering of hard corals now colonising the wreck show the power of the ocean to make new life. 

Ferry wreck "El Arish El Tor":  a Norwegian ferry that sank in 2002, she is now rich fish life and soft coral growth especially at the propellers.  The paraphernalia of the wreck, like life jackets and fire hoses are still visible as none of them was needed because the ship sunk slowly at anchor with no-one aboard. A big school of yellow tail barracuda is resident on this wreck and Indian mackerel often hunt around

Beaches & Water Sports In Safaga

Beaches in Safaga are pristine and beautiful. Most Safaga hotels usually have their own private beaches exclusively available to hotel guests.   Hotels and resorts in Hurghada offer a large choice of relaxed watersports and sea related activities from snorkelling excursions to pedal boats, canoeing, and catamarans.

Wind Surfing
Safaga hosted the 1993 Red Sea World Windsurfing Championships and is picking up a great reputation for wind and kite surfing.  The winds in the Red Sea are created by the difference in temperature between the land and the water and Safaga benefits from a generally flat coastline without fringing reefs that create perfect conditions.  Safaga is especially good for complete windsurfing novices or those keen to progress.

Ancient Egypt From Safaga

Safaga is a good base for sightseeing inland.  Luxor is within easy reach.  It’s often called the world’s greatest open air museum because the number of well preserved ancient monuments throughout the city and its surroundings, Luxor is close enough to make a day trip worthwhile.  Built on the ruins of the ancient city of Thebes, the City of Luxor is on the east side of the Nile with Karnak just to the north and Thebes on the west bank.  It’s a “must see” for any holiday in Egypt to view the Temple of Luxor built by Amenophis III and the Temple of Karnak. Luxor is also within easy reach of the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens.

Mons Claudianus is one of the best preserved sites of Roman civilization in Egypt.  A Roman penal colony and quarry, the stones worked by the prisoners were used as building materials for the Roman Empire. The shiny black stones from Mons Claudianus can still be seen in Hadrian's Villa, in the portico of the Pantheon, in public baths and in the columns and floor of the Temple of Venus in Rome.