Mild, sunny beach days (22–24°C), a still-swimmable sea, festive resort programmes and big New Year's Eve parties. If you want a Christmas of sun-loungers, snorkelling and a warm sea rather than cold desert nights, the Red Sea is Egypt's best festive option. Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh stay dry and pleasantly warm through late December, resorts lay on Christmas dinners and NYE galas, and the reefs are as good as ever. It's the sunniest, most relaxed way to spend the holidays in Egypt — book early, because the last week of December sells out fast.
Ask us where to spend Christmas in Egypt and the answer depends on what you're after. If you dream of temples and a festive Nile cruise, you'll head to Luxor and Aswan — but you'll be packing a proper jacket for genuinely cold desert nights. If your idea of Christmas is a warm beach, a swim before lunch and a cocktail as the sun goes down, you want the Red Sea. Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh sit far enough south to stay mild and sunny right through the holidays, the sea is still comfortable enough for a dip, and the big resorts turn on full festive mode — decorated lobbies, Christmas dinners and some of the liveliest New Year's Eve parties in the country. We send families here every December who want winter sun without the long-haul flight to the Caribbean, and it delivers exactly that. Egypt in December
The pitch is simple: this is the warmest, easiest corner of Egypt in late December. While Cairo turns grey and Luxor's nights drop into single figures, Hurghada and Sharm hold onto mild afternoons around 22–24°C with almost no rain and plenty of sunshine. The sea sits at roughly 22–23°C — cool by summer standards but genuinely swimmable, and perfect for diving in a wetsuit. Add resorts that are built for exactly this crowd — all-inclusive festive programmes, kids' clubs running over the school holidays, pools that are often heated — and you have a low-effort, high-sun Christmas. It's the flip side of an Upper Egypt trip: less history, far more beach, and no need to layer up after dark.
Tell us when you can travel and we'll suggest the ideal route and season — usually within the hour.
Chat with a local expertThe days are yours to fill with sea and sun, and there's far more here than lying by the pool. Diving and snorkelling are the headline act — the Red Sea's reefs are world-class and December's clear, calm water makes for superb visibility, whether you're a first-timer trying a discovery dive or a certified diver chasing wrecks and walls. From Hurghada, the classic day out is a boat to the Giftun Islands or Orange Bay, where you swim off white sandbars and snorkel over coral gardens. From Sharm, the star is Ras Mohammed National Park, one of the finest dive and snorkel sites on the planet. Away from the water, a desert safari by quad bike or 4x4 into the mountains — often with a Bedouin dinner under the stars — is a brilliant Christmas-week outing, and the cool winter air makes it far more comfortable than in summer. And if you can't leave Egypt without the Pyramids or a temple, both resorts run long day trips: Cairo from Hurghada, and Luxor from either coast. Things to do in Hurghada Things to do in Sharm El Sheikh Giftun Islands guide Orange Bay guide Ras Mohammed National Park Scuba diving in Egypt Luxor day trip from Hurghada
Local tip: the water is warm enough to enjoy but cooler than you'd expect, so a shortie wetsuit or rash vest makes snorkelling much more comfortable in late December — and most reputable dive centres include a wetsuit as standard this time of year.
We'll tell you honestly what the weather and crowds are really like for your travel dates.
Chat with a local expertThe easiest way to do a Red Sea Christmas is a package that bundles your hotel, transfers and festive extras, then adds a day tour or two so you're not stuck on the sun-lounger the whole week. Our Egypt Christmas packages are built around the holiday fortnight, and many travellers pair a few beach days in Hurghada or Sharm with a short Cairo or Nile add-on for the best of both worlds. If you just want sun, sea and reefs, our Red Sea travel packages focus purely on the coast. For flexibility, book your resort and then add day trips as you go from the local day-tour menu — Hurghada day tours and Sharm El Sheikh day tours cover everything from island snorkelling to Cairo and Luxor excursions. Whatever the mix, December fills up early, especially the New Year's Eve dates. Red Sea travel packages Hurghada day tours Sharm El Sheikh day tours
★ Want a warm Christmas by the Red Sea? Our Egypt Christmas & New Year packages combine beach days in Hurghada or Sharm with festive dinners, NYE galas and optional Cairo or Nile add-ons — and the holiday dates book out months ahead. See our Egypt Christmas & New Year packages Egypt Christmas & New Year packages
This is winter sun, not summer heat, so set your expectations accordingly. Daytime highs sit around 22–24°C — warm enough for the beach and a swim, ideal for diving and desert trips, but not scorching. Nights are cooler, dropping to about 13–15°C, so you'll want a light jacket or jumper for evenings out and boat mornings. Rain is rare on both coasts, and the sky is usually a reliable blue. The one variable is wind: the Red Sea can get breezy, which chills you faster after a swim and occasionally moves boat trips around, so keep a windbreaker handy. Compared with Luxor and Aswan, where nights genuinely turn cold, the Red Sea is the mildest place to wake up in Egypt in December.
The Christmas-to-New-Year window is the single busiest, priciest fortnight of the Egyptian travel year, and the Red Sea is no exception. The best resorts, festive dinners and New Year's Eve galas book out months in advance, flights spike over the holidays, and popular day trips like Giftun Island snorkelling and Cairo by air fill early. Our advice is to lock in your hotel and flights by September or October, then confirm your NYE dinner and day tours as soon as you can. It's also worth reading up on where to base yourself: Hurghada suits families and value-seekers with its long beaches and easy day trips, while Sharm leans slightly more upmarket with world-class diving on the doorstep. Where to stay in Hurghada Where to stay in Sharm El Sheikh
Prefer temples and a festive cruise to a beach? The Red Sea is only one way to spend the holidays in Egypt — see our full guide to Christmas in Egypt, our roundup of the country's best festive destinations, and our sibling guide to a Christmas Nile cruise to compare. Christmas in Egypt guide Christmas holiday destinations in Egypt Christmas Nile cruise guide
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