Add These Epic Trips to Makadi Bay
Add These Epic Trips to Makadi Bay
Two or three extra days is all it takes to turn a beach week in Makadi Bay into something that includes pharaohs, pyramids, or a shark dive you will talk about for years. Here are the three multi-day trips actually worth planning around.
Liveaboard dive safaris to the Brothers and Elphinstone
If diving is why you are here, a liveaboard cruise out of nearby Hurghada or Port Ghalib is the upgrade from house-reef snorkeling. Multi-day trips run to the Brother Islands, Daedalus Reef, and Elphinstone, all serious sites known for pelagic shark encounters, and they are built for divers who already have some open-water experience rather than a first certification trip. Remember the 24-hour no-fly rule before your return flight out of Hurghada Airport if you are diving right up to the end.
The 2-day Luxor and Nile Valley circuit
This is the classic, and it earns the reputation. The highway coach out crosses roughly 280 km of desert via Safaga and Qena in 3.5 to 4 hours, so plan on an early departure and an overnight in Luxor rather than trying to cram it into one day. Day one covers the East Bank: Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple. Day two is the West Bank: the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple, and, if you book it, a sunrise hot air balloon ride over the Nile Valley that is genuinely one of the best views in Egypt. Head back to Makadi Bay that evening, or add a third day if the balloon ride talks you into staying longer.
The 2-day Cairo and Giza fly-in
Skip the idea of driving to Cairo. A roughly one-hour flight from Hurghada gets you there fast enough to make two days worthwhile: the Giza Plateau and the Pyramids, the Grand Egyptian Museum, and an afternoon getting pleasantly lost in the Khan el-Khalili bazaar. Flying instead of driving is the difference between a trip you enjoy and a trip you endure, since the road option adds many extra hours each way that a short flight simply skips.
Before you go
Carry your passport on every one of these, since desert highway checkpoints check documents even on organized coach transfers. If you landed at Hurghada Airport to start your trip, the standard $25 USD tourist visa applies here; it is not covered by the free Sinai-only permit that some South Sinai airports offer.
Verdict
Pick one, not all three, unless your trip is genuinely two weeks long. The Luxor circuit is the highest-value first choice for most travelers, the Cairo fly-in is the best use of a short window, and the liveaboard is for divers who already know that is what they came for. For a single day out that needs no overnight bag, see our adventure sports guide .