Travel Guides
El Gouna and Soma Bay: Egypt's Purpose-Built Red Sea Resorts
Two planned resort towns on the Red Sea coast, built for lagoons, watersports, and a slower pace than Hurghada or Sharm — here's what each actually offers.
Not every Red Sea town grew up organically — El Gouna and Soma Bay were both built from scratch as planned resort developments, and it shows, in a good way: wide lagoons, purpose-built marinas, and infrastructure designed around watersports rather than retrofitted for them.
El Gouna
Built across a network of man-made lagoons and islands connected by bridges, El Gouna has developed a reputation as one of the more upscale, design-conscious resort towns on the Red Sea — golf courses, a marina, and a lagoon system particularly well suited to kitesurfing, thanks to consistent wind conditions.
Soma Bay
Further south, Soma Bay sits on its own peninsula, largely occupied by a small number of large resort properties rather than a town in the conventional sense. It's built heavily around watersports — kitesurfing and windsurfing especially, thanks to reliable Red Sea winds — alongside diving access and a genuinely quiet, resort-only atmosphere.
Which Fits Your Trip
Both work well as an add-on to a Cairo-and-Nile itinerary rather than a standalone destination — a few days of lagoon and reef time to close out a longer trip. El Gouna suits travelers who want a real town with restaurants and nightlife alongside the resort; Soma Bay suits those who want a quieter, more self-contained few days focused purely on the water.
Where This Takes You