Flying into the Red Sea from the UK

Hurghada International handles the bulk of UK Red Sea charter traffic. The airport sits between three hotel zones: Hurghada Marina (10–15 min north), Sahl Hasheesh and Makadi Bay (20–30 min south), and El Gouna (30–45 min north, the upmarket lagoon resort).

Arrivals are straightforward: visa booth before immigration (£30 cash), baggage hall, a single arrivals exit with a TUI / Jet2 / Thomas Cook rep desk to your right. Pre-booked transfers and rep-desk transfers both work; our drivers wait outside with name-boards.

Marsa Alam International is 60 km north of the town itself, in the middle of the desert. It serves the southern Red Sea – Port Ghalib (10 min), Marsa Alam town (45 min), and the new resorts along the coast south to Wadi El Gemal (up to 90 min).

The airport is small, single-terminal, no airbridges (you'll walk across the tarmac). Visa booth, immigration and baggage all in one open hall – efficient at off-peak, slower when two TUI charters land within 30 minutes of each other. Best for divers, honeymooners, and adults-only resorts.

Sharm el-Sheikh International serves the southern Sinai peninsula – Naama Bay (15 min), Sharks Bay and Nabq (20 min), Ras Nasrani (north of airport, 25 min). It's also the access point for Ras Mohammed National Park (the world-class diving) and overland excursions to St Catherine's Monastery and Mount Sinai.

UK passport holders arriving at Sharm have a unique option: the free Sinai-only visa stamp at immigration. If your entire trip stays within Sharm, Dahab, Nuweiba and St Catherine, you don't need the £30 paid visa – request the Sinai-only stamp at the desk. The catch: it does NOT cover Ras Mohammed (technically outside the Sinai zone), Cairo day trips or any flight onward to Luxor.

If you specifically want a Pyramids day trip from your Red Sea hotel, fly into Hurghada – EgyptAir runs HRG to Cairo daily in 1h 10m, and we can package it as a same-day excursion (fly out 6am, see the Pyramids and Egyptian Museum, fly back 9pm).

From Sharm, the Pyramids day trip is harder because there's no morning Sharm-Cairo flight that gets you there before the heat. Most Sharm guests do Petra (Jordan) instead via the Taba border or a charter to Aqaba.