Egypt's two main Red Sea resort towns are both built around diving and beach relaxation, but they sit on opposite shores of the Sinai peninsula and Red Sea, with slightly different characters and diving conditions.
Sharm El Sheikh's Naama Bay Beach and Ras Um Sid Beach are set against dramatic Sinai mountain backdrops. Hurghada's beaches, including its Hurghada Downtown Beach (El Dahar), are flatter and more spread along the coast, with the Giftun Islands a short and popular boat trip away.
Sharm has the stronger reputation among serious divers — Ras Mohammed National Park and the SS Yolanda Wreck are considered among the best dive sites in the Red Sea. Hurghada counters with the Hurghada Marine National Park and easy Red Sea Reef Snorkeling Tour options that are more beginner-friendly and accessible straight from shore.
Sharm's location on the Sinai peninsula puts it closer to inland historical day trips like the Temple of Hatshepsut. Hurghada is further from Egypt's major ancient sites but makes up for it with a wider range of desert safari and adventure excursions available directly from the resort strip.
Both cities are almost entirely resort-built, with international airports and a similar all-inclusive holiday format. Sharm tends to skew slightly more upmarket with a stronger diving-tourism identity, while Hurghada is generally larger, cheaper, and more geared toward broader family package holidays.
Choose Sharm El Sheikh for world-class diving and a more dramatic mountain-and-sea setting. Choose Hurghada for a larger resort area, easier beginner snorkeling, and generally lower prices. Both are reef-diving destinations built for beach relaxation rather than city sightseeing, so the choice is mostly about dive quality versus budget and scale.