Getting to El Gouna: flights, visa, airport transfers and buses

El Gouna has no airport of its own. Almost everyone arrives through Hurghada International Airport (HRG), about 30 km to the south and 30 to 40 minutes by car. From Cairo it's an hour's flight to Hurghada, or around seven hours by bus.

Hurghada has direct flights from most of Europe, many of them with holiday airlines. From Germany, Condor, TUIfly and Eurowings fly direct from cities such as Frankfurt, Munich, Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Berlin, in about four to five hours. Many package holidays include the flight and the transfer to your hotel.

From Cairo, EgyptAir flies to Hurghada in about an hour.

• Many nationalities, including EU, UK and US citizens, can buy a tourist visa on arrival at Hurghada airport: US$30 per person, in cash (US dollars are simplest). It's sold at the bank counters before passport control.
• Or get an e-visa before you travel on the official site, visa2egypt.gov.eg: US$25 for a single entry, paid by card.
• Your passport should be valid for at least six months after you arrive.
• Rules and fees change, so check with your airline or the Egyptian embassy before you go.

• A pre-booked transfer is the easiest: a fixed price and a driver waiting with your name. Most hotels arrange one if you ask when you book.
• A taxi from outside arrivals. There's no meter, so agree the price to El Gouna before you get in.

The drive is about 30 km north along the coast road, to El Gouna's gate.

Go Bus runs several buses a day between Cairo and El Gouna, many of them overnight. The trip takes around seven hours. El Gouna's bus station is on the edge of town, behind El Gouna Hospital next to the Solar petrol station. Book at go-bus.com or in its app.

By car, Cairo is about 450 km away, five to six hours via Ain Sokhna and the Red Sea coast road.