Photo: Roland Unger, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons, colour-graded
Mediterranean Coast · Destination guide
Pale sand and clear, sheltered water on Egypt's Mediterranean — a summer seaside town with a cave museum, a famous rock pool and the road to Siwa Oasis.
Get your bearings
Marsa Matrouh lies about 240 kilometres west of Alexandria, 222 kilometres short of Sallum and the Libyan frontier. It is built round a bay, and the bay is the point. Rocks across the entrance act as a natural breakwater, so the sea inside is flat, clear and bright over pale sand. Egyptians holiday here in summer, and the town records the coolest summer days of any Egyptian resort, which suits anyone who finds the Red Sea too hot in July.
The town is older than its beaches suggest. The Romans shipped grain from here, calling the port Paraetonium, and Ramesses II had a temple here around 1200 BC. In the Second World War the British used it as a base, and Rommel's forces captured it before it was retaken after the Second Battle of El Alamein. Most visitors now come for the sea, and some press on to Siwa Oasis, about 300 kilometres south-west across the desert. The coast road you take to get here, with the Alamein battlefield beside it, is the subject of our North Coast page.
What you're really here to see
Photo: Mia, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, colour-graded01On Cleopatra Beach a rock outcrop has been hollowed from within, with openings either side that let the tide wash in and form a natural bath. The link to the queen is a local story rather than recorded fact, but the sea-filled hollow is well worth a look and a swim.
1–2 hours
Photo: Kevin Gabbert, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, colour-graded02Right in town, the beach follows the curve of the bay beside the coast road. Further west, Agiba Beach has natural caves and vivid turquoise water, while Al-Obayed Beach offers another long strip of pale sand. Early mornings are calmest.
A day or longer
Photo: Roland Unger, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons, colour-graded03A modest museum inside a cave hewn from the rock. By local tradition Rommel drew up plans here during the war. The displays include guns, maps and other wartime items. It is brief, so fit it round a beach morning.
About 30–45 minutes
Time to allow
This is a seaside stay, best kept to a few nights unless Siwa is on the list.
The town beach, Cleopatra's Bath and a trip out to Agiba. Enough to see what the bay is about.
Unhurried beach days, the Rommel Cave and a chance to compare more than one beach along the shore.
Two or three more nights at Siwa Oasis, about 300 kilometres along a desert road from Matrouh.
See El Alamein and the North Coast first, then follow the highway on to Matrouh and its beaches.
Where it fits
Marsa Matrouh suits people who want a clear sea more than a busy itinerary.
Pale sand and a sheltered bay: a Mediterranean beach break in an Egyptian setting, away from the Red Sea resorts.
Matrouh is the usual overnight before the desert road south to Siwa Oasis, about 300 kilometres to the south-west.
At about 240 kilometres from Alexandria it is the far end of the coast road that passes El Alamein.
This is a June to September destination. It is quiet the rest of the year, and we would not plan a beach holiday around it then.
Every way in
Day trips, classic multi-day tours, Nile cruises, hotels and private transfers – every part of an Egypt trip can be arranged from Marsa Matrouh. Start wherever makes sense.
Hotel pickup, a private Egyptologist, half or full day.
2–15 day private itineraries, hotels and guides included.
Pair Marsa Matrouh with a 3–4 night river cruise in one trip.
Aswan ↔ Luxor sailings, dahabiyas and classic cruisers.
5★ and boutique stays, hand-picked by our team.
Private meet-and-greet from the airport to your hotel.
Best time to visit
Go in summer, when the sea is warm and the beaches are open.
Warm sea, open beach facilities and the coolest summer days of any Egyptian resort, helped by the breeze off the Mediterranean.
The height of the season. Arrive early in the day and book ahead.
Winters are mild but wetter than most of Egypt, with rain and cloud, and the beach season has ended. Go for the museum and a change of scene rather than the sea.
The oasis is much hotter than the coast in summer and cools to around 5°C on winter nights, so pack for both ends of the journey.
The practical part
The town sits at the end of the coast road and has its own airport.
Marsa Matrouh International Airport (MUH) is in the city. Services change with the season, so confirm what is operating on your dates before building a trip around it.
The drive from Alexandria is about 240 kilometres along the coast highway, passing El Alamein. We can provide a private driver and plan stops on the way.
We have no hotels listed in Marsa Matrouh yet. We can arrange your accommodation and transfers on request, to fit your dates.
The desert road south is about 300 kilometres long. We can add Siwa as an overnight stop or a longer stay.
Common questions
Marsa Matrouh is a port town on Egypt's Mediterranean coast, about 240 kilometres west of Alexandria and 222 kilometres east of Sallum, close to the Libyan border.
Yes. A natural breakwater of rocks keeps the bay calm, with clear water over pale sand. Agiba Beach and Al-Obayed Beach, to the west of the town, are also popular.
Between June and September, when the beaches are open and the town has the coolest summer days of any Egyptian resort. It is quiet in the winter months, so we do not suggest it for a beach holiday then.
Around 300 kilometres to the south-west, along a road across the desert. Most people stay at least a night in Siwa rather than rushing back.
A small museum in a cave cut into the rock at Marsa Matrouh. Local tradition connects it with Rommel, and it displays wartime items including guns and maps. A visit is short.
The North Coast is the resort strip and El Alamein, nearer Alexandria. Marsa Matrouh is a separate town and bay further west, with its beaches and the route to Siwa. Our North Coast page covers the former.
Photo: Sunny lov cats, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, colour-graded
Plan your trip
Send us your dates, who's travelling and what you'd like from the sea, and within 24 hours we'll come back with a private plan: hotel, transfers and any day trips. Cairo · Luxor · Aswan · Hurghada · Marsa Alam · Sharm El Sheikh, on the ground since 1988.
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