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Sahl Hasheesh, Makadi and Soma Bay: which bay to stay in

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Anorya Team · 21 oct. 2025 · 1 min read

Three purpose-built bays south of Hurghada, and they are genuinely different holidays.

South of Hurghada the coast is organised into planned bays, each a self-contained cluster of hotels. They look interchangeable in photographs and are not.

Sahl Hasheesh, Makadi and Soma Bay: which bay to stay in

Sahl Hasheesh is the most polished: a long crescent of sand, a promenade, upper-end hotels and a house reef at the northern end that is genuinely good. It is quiet by design, twenty minutes from Hurghada, and expensive.

Makadi Bay is the family choice. It has the water park, shallow entry across most of its beaches, and hotels built around children. The reef is further out and usually reached by boat or jetty. It is also the furthest from town at about forty minutes, which suits people who are not planning to leave.

Sahl Hasheesh, Makadi and Soma Bay: which bay to stay inSahl Hasheesh, Makadi and Soma Bay: which bay to stay in

Sahl Hasheesh is the most polished: a long crescent of sand, a promenade, upper-end hotels and a house reef at the northern end that is genuinely good.

Soma Bay is the sportiest — a peninsula with a championship golf course, a serious dive base, kitesurfing and a big thalasso spa. Sharm El Naga, the protected snorkelling reserve, is on its northern edge. If your holiday has an activity at the centre of it, this is the bay.

Sahl Hasheesh, Makadi and Soma Bay: which bay to stay in
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