Hurghada, Sharm el-Sheikh or Marsa Alam: Where to Go in Winter

In January the sea off Hurghada averages +23.0°C, off Sharm el-Sheikh +23.4°C and off Marsa Alam +23.5°C. Nobody can feel half a degree in the water, so the sea temperature won't settle the choice. What will is the wind on the beach, the drive from the airport, whether there is a reef in front of the hotel and what happens at passport control.

This guide compares the three Red Sea resorts for December, January and February on the same points: sea and air temperatures, wind, transfer times, getting into the water, flights from Poland, prices in PLN and entry rules for Polish, Ukrainian and Belarusian passports. A short checklist for booking comes at the end.

Which resort fits your trip?

Hurghada makes sense if you want the widest choice of hotels and dates, if you're bringing children, or if Luxor is on the list. Expect wind, though: of the three resorts, it is the breeziest in winter.

Sharm el-Sheikh suits people who plan to spend the day on the beach and snorkel the reef in front of the hotel. Most hotels are 10–20 minutes from the airport, and if you fly in here you can enter on a free stamp instead of a visa. Luxor and Cairo, on the other hand, are a long way off.

Marsa Alam is for anyone who'll spend most of the day in a mask and fins. The reefs start right off the hotel beaches, and green turtles live in Abu Dabbab Bay. The catch is distance: one airport serves more than 100 km of coastline, and there's very little to do outside the hotel in the evening.

If you're torn between two, pick the one with the shorter transfer. On a one-week holiday you'll notice that far more than half a degree in the sea.

Sea and air temperatures, December to February

The three resorts warm up and cool down almost in step. The water is +24–25°C in December, around +23°C in January and +22–23°C in February, the coldest it gets all year. Marsa Alam comes out a few tenths of a degree warmer on average.

Within a single area the gap can be wider than between the resorts themselves. In January 2026, the sea off El Gouna, north of Hurghada, averaged +22.0°C, while off Marsa Alam town it was +24.2°C. So look at the village your hotel is in, not just the resort name on the holiday.

Daytime highs are +21–23°C and nights drop to +13–16°C. You can sunbathe comfortably from about 10am to 3pm, and you'll want a jumper once the sun goes down. It hardly ever rains: there are 25–28 sunny days a month, and daylight grows from 10.5 hours in December to 11.5 hours by the end of February.

For comparison, the sea off Hurghada reaches +28–29°C in August. A winter swim is pleasant but short, and an hour of snorkelling needs a wetsuit wherever you stay.

The wind is a different story. All along the African coast, from Hurghada down to Marsa Alam, a northerly blows through the winter, and on many beaches the sunbeds sit behind windbreaks. Sharm el-Sheikh is across the water on the Sinai, with mountains between the town and the desert. Long-term averages put its winter wind at roughly a third weaker than Hurghada's, with Marsa Alam somewhere in between.

Hurghada has the most hotels and the strongest wind

A "Hurghada" holiday can mean any of several places that share one airport. Hotels in town are 5–11 km from the terminal, Sahl Hasheesh 18–25 km and Makadi Bay 31 km, about 35 minutes by car. El Gouna lies 25–40 km to the north and Soma Bay 45–60 km to the south, roughly an hour away.

In Hurghada itself the beaches are mostly sandy and slope gently into the sea, which works well for children. To reach a reef you usually take a boat or walk out along a hotel jetty. Some of the beaches at Makadi are sheltered by a reef, so you can snorkel closer to shore, but check the description of the specific hotel. Sahl Hasheesh has 12 km of sandy beach and a long wooden pier that takes you out to submerged ruins.

There are more hotels here than in Sharm or Marsa Alam, plenty of them with water parks, and the widest choice of departure dates. Luxor is closest from here too: about 300 km, under four hours along Highway 60. A day trip, including the drive, takes around 18 hours.

The wind that bothers you on a sunbed is exactly what kitesurfers come for, and El Gouna and Soma Bay are the places to go. Bear in mind that El Gouna also has the coldest water in the area in winter. If you'd like to see turtles, tour operators run trips from Hurghada to Abu Dabbab near Marsa Alam, but they take about 10 hours, most of it on the road.

Who is it for

Families with children, first-timers in Egypt who want plenty of hotels at different prices, and kitesurfers. Not worth it if your plan is a week on an open beach: Hurghada gets more wind than the other two, and El Gouna's water is the coldest on the coast in winter.

Sharm el-Sheikh: sheltered bays, short transfers

Sharm sits on the southern tip of the Sinai. Its hotels line one main road across several bays, and the airport is roughly in the middle: Naama Bay is 10–16 km away and Nabq a 15–20-minute drive.

Naama Bay is the best protected from the wind, and it's also the centre of the resort, with restaurants, shops and bars. Watch out for hotels that use "Naama" in their name but are a taxi ride from the bay. Sharm el-Maya Bay, by the Old Market, is calm as well, and at Sharks Bay the cliffs give the beaches partial cover. Hadaba, south of the centre, is a separate cluster of hotels with a water park and go-karting, fairly cut off from Naama's evening life. Hotels are spread out, so you'll take taxis between districts.

Nabq is north of the airport, on the edge of a protected area with mangroves. In front of the hotels there's a wide stretch of ankle-deep water before the reef drops away steeply, and many hotels have jetties out to its edge. From Sharm you can visit Ras Mohammed National Park and the Coloured Canyon, or set off at night to watch the sunrise from Mount Sinai.

There's one more advantage. If you land in Sharm, you can get a free Sinai Only stamp instead of a visa. It's valid on the peninsula only; the visa section below has the details.

Who is it for

Couples and families who want to spend most of the day on the beach and snorkel the house reef, and anyone who hates long transfers. Not worth it if Luxor or the pyramids are the point of the trip: the Sinai Only stamp won't take you off the peninsula, and the Nile Valley is much further from here than from Hurghada.

Is Marsa Alam worth the long transfer?

Marsa Alam airport stands next to Port Ghalib marina, 60–70 km north of the town, and serves more than 100 km of coastline. Hotels around Port Ghalib and El Quseir are 15–40 minutes from the terminal. From Marsa Alam town and the south, around Abu Dabbab, Coraya Bay and Hamata, allow 45–90 minutes. Some operators also fly Marsa Alam guests into Hurghada, which leaves about 290 km, or three hours by coach, to the hotel.

What you get in return is reef a few metres from the shore and the warmest water on the coast, although in winter Sharm is only 0.1–0.2°C behind. The best-known spot is Abu Dabbab Bay, around 30 km south of the airport. It has a sandy, seagrass-covered bottom, you walk in from the beach, and green turtles turn up regularly. Dugongs are seen too, but rarely, and no one can promise you one.

The further south the hotel, the warmer the sea and the longer the drive. At Port Ghalib, closest to the airport, the water averaged +23.6°C in January 2026, much the same as Sharm. For the extra half a degree you have to go further south.

In the evening there's not much going on outside the hotel. Luxor is 350 km away, a little over four hours by road.

What to do

• Check where the plane lands, Marsa Alam (RMF) or Hurghada (HRG), before you book: it's the difference between a half-hour and a three-hour transfer
• Look up the hotel's distance from the airport on a map: 90 minutes each way instead of 20 adds well over two hours on a coach to a single holiday
• Choose a hotel with a jetty or a reef by the beach if you want to snorkel every day rather than only on excursions
• Bring or hire a wetsuit for longer snorkels in January and February, as an hour at +22–23°C without one is more than most people can manage
• Before booking a trip to Abu Dabbab, ask whether the mask and fins are included, because some operators charge for them separately

Who is it for

Snorkellers who want to swim straight off the beach, and couples looking for quiet and happy to stay within the hotel grounds. Not worth it for a one-week holiday in a hotel at the southern end, or with an operator that flies into Hurghada: you'll lose half a day to travel at each end of the trip.

When to go for the lowest prices

Since late October 2026, Wizz Air has been flying from Poland to all three resorts on scheduled routes that run all year. From Warsaw, the flights leave from Modlin, not Chopin: to Hurghada on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, to Marsa Alam on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and to Sharm on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Katowice has flights to all three, Gdańsk to Sharm and Marsa Alam, Kraków to Marsa Alam and Wrocław to Hurghada.

In July, return fares from Katowice started at 578 PLN to Sharm and 608 PLN to Hurghada and Marsa Alam. That covers the flight only, with no hotel or transfer. Tour operators' charters are still running as before. Flying time from Warsaw is about 4 hrs 20 min to Hurghada and Sharm and about 4 hrs 40 min to Marsa Alam.

The week you travel affects the price more than the resort does. Late December and the first days of January are the festive peak. The cheapest stretch is roughly 8–17 January, when hotels are at their emptiest. Coptic Christmas falls on 7 January, and some sites in Luxor and Cairo keep different hours that day. From 18 January to the end of February, Polish schools take their winter break (ferie) in three waves by region, and family hotels get more expensive.

It helps to know which airport falls in which wave. The regions around Katowice and Wrocław are on holiday in the second half of January, those around Modlin and Gdańsk in the first half of February, and those around Kraków and Poznań in the second half. If you aren't travelling with school-age children, compare the same week from different airports, since the one whose region is still at school is often cheaper.

For December 2026, the cheapest all-inclusive holidays start at about 1,550 PLN per person in Makadi Bay, 1,720 PLN in Marsa Alam and 1,820 PLN in Hurghada. Those are floor prices. A typical winter week costs 2,600–3,500 PLN per person, which puts two people on a seven-night holiday at around 3,100–7,000 PLN, depending on the hotel and dates. All prices are a guide only.

Ramadan is expected to begin around 8–9 February 2027. It makes no difference to a hotel-based holiday, but museums and archaeological sites may close earlier during the month.

• Egypt in December
• Egypt in January
• Egypt in February

Visas: what your passport changes

Egypt's entry rules depend on the nationality in your passport, not on where you live. A Polish residence card (karta pobytu) gives you no right to enter Egypt and doesn't replace a passport. A Schengen visa doesn't help either, as Egypt is outside the Schengen Area.

Polish passport. You need a visa. Since 1 March 2026 a single-entry visa costs 30 USD and allows a stay of up to 30 days. Apply online for an e-Visa about a week before you fly, or buy one on arrival. Your passport must be valid for at least six months after you return.

Ukrainian passport. Get an e-Visa in advance, or a visa on arrival at Hurghada or Sharm el-Sheikh airport.

Belarusian passport. A visa on arrival is only available at Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh airports: 30 USD, for up to 30 days. Border officers may ask for your hotel voucher, travel insurance and return ticket. If you're flying into Marsa Alam, you need to arrange the visa beforehand, because you won't get one there on arrival.

Whichever of these three passports you hold, landing in Sharm el-Sheikh gets you the free Sinai Only stamp, valid for up to 15 days on the peninsula. It's enough for a week at the hotel and a boat trip to Ras Mohammed, but not for Luxor or Cairo. If your plans change once you're there, you can get a visa from the tourist police in Sharm. Hurghada and Marsa Alam don't issue the stamp.

A child with their own passport needs their own visa, paid for separately. If you aren't an EU citizen, also check that your residence card or Polish visa is still valid on the day you fly back.

The verdict

For a one-week winter holiday, choose Sharm el-Sheikh or Hurghada, and save Marsa Alam for trips where the reef is the whole point.

Families with children and anyone set on Luxor should go for Hurghada, ideally a hotel in Makadi Bay or Sahl Hasheesh with a short transfer. Couples and anyone who wants to sunbathe without the wind will be happiest in Sharm. Marsa Alam pays off on stays longer than a week, with a hotel near the airport and a reef by the beach. On a Belarusian passport, Hurghada and Sharm are the easy options, since you can get the visa at the airport.

If your dates aren't tied to the school calendar, pick the week first and the resort second. Travelling between 8 and 17 January, or during another region's ferie, will save you more than switching from Hurghada to Sharm.

One practical tip:

If you go for the Hurghada area, look south of town rather than at El Gouna. In January 2026 the sea off Makadi Bay and Soma Bay averaged +23.1°C, more than a degree warmer than off El Gouna. That's a bigger gap than the one between the three resorts.

Sofia Nowak Editor

A seasoned traveler with a decade of experience exploring the globe, from hidden gems to world-class resorts. I skip the clichés to provide you with honest reviews, practical budget tips, and inspiration for your next getaway. My mission is to help you experience the world’s beauty with confidence, style, and absolute comfort.

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