Photo: Jacek Lesniowski, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons, color-graded
Southern Red Sea · Destination guide
A marina town built from scratch a few kilometers from Marsa Alam's airport – yachts, a waterfront promenade, a sandy beach and hotels minutes from arrivals.
Get your bearings
Port Ghalib is a marina town on the desert coast, about 65 kilometers north of Marsa Alam town. Nothing stood here before the resort builders came. Today it has a yacht harbor, a promenade of arcaded buildings with cafés and shops, a beach, and hotels spread along the shore. Marsa Alam International Airport (RMF) is only a few kilometers away, and that is the main reason people pick it.
It works as a base, not a sight. You land, reach your hotel in 10–15 minutes and spend the first evening on the waterfront. The big marine draws of the south – Dolphin House, the dugong bays, Wadi El Gemal – are a drive down the coast, and our Marsa Alam guide covers them. Up the road, about 75 kilometers north, the old port town of El Quseir gives you history to balance the beach.
What you're really here to see
Photo: Jacek Lesniowski, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons, color-graded01A working yacht harbor with room for more than a thousand boats, a harbor master and its own customs and immigration office. Private yachts tie up beside the waterfront cafés, and some liveaboard dive boats load here for southern reefs such as Elphinstone, Daedalus and the Brothers.
Any time of day
Photo: Roland Unger, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons, color-graded02A pedestrian strip of palms, arcades, cafés and shops along the water. It is modern and tidy, and it is where most guests walk after dinner. Expect a purpose-built resort feel, not an old Egyptian market.
Evening stroll
Photo: Jacek Lesniowski, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons, color-graded03Madinat Coraya sits on the far side of the airport, a short drive from Port Ghalib. It has its own traditional-style souk, a calm sandy shore and a name among divers, and larger resorts such as Steigenberger Coraya Beach (adults only) and JAZ Lamaya line the bay.
Short drive
Time to allow
Port Ghalib suits a relaxed stay with an easy start and finish. Give it four nights or more.
Beach and pool time, an evening on the promenade and one boat or snorkel trip. A soft landing at the end of a busy tour.
Beach days, time on the marina and a few trips down the coast. The usual Port Ghalib stay.
Day boats from the coast, or a liveaboard that loads at the marina, with a hotel night on either side.
Split the stay with a quieter reef-side camp further south, or with a night or two in El Quseir.
Where it fits
Port Ghalib is the convenient way into the southern Red Sea.
Hotels are 10–15 minutes from Marsa Alam Airport, so you lose little of a short break to the road.
Many travelers finish a temples-and-cruise trip with a few days of beach here before flying home.
The promenade has cafés and restaurants within walking distance of the marina, which is rare on this coast.
Boat trips and dive centers run from the marina and nearby bays, and we line up the right operator before you arrive.
Every way in
Day trips, classic multi-day tours, Nile cruises, hotels and private transfers – every part of an Egypt trip can be arranged from Port Ghalib. Start wherever makes sense.
Hotel pickup, a private Egyptologist, half or full day.
2–15 day private itineraries, hotels and guides included.
Pair Port Ghalib with a 3–4 night river cruise in one trip.
Aswan ↔ Luxor sailings, dahabiyas and classic cruisers.
5★ and boutique stays, hand-picked by our team.
Private meet-and-greet from the airport to your hotel.
Best time to visit
You can swim here every month. The sea stays between 22 and 29°C all year.
Warm days, mild evenings and calm conditions for the beach, the promenade and day trips. January highs run around 22–25°C.
August highs are 33–40°C on land. The sea and hotel pools keep it comfortable, and the coast is quieter than the northern resorts.
Roughly 22–29°C through the year, so a winter trip still means time in the sea, though a thin wetsuit helps on longer dives.
Flights arrive at all hours. With a 10–15 minute transfer, a late landing still gets you to bed quickly.
The practical part
Close to the airport and compact once you arrive – the practical part.
Fly into Marsa Alam (RMF). Port Ghalib is a few kilometers away, about 10–15 minutes by road. Hurghada is around 210 kilometers north if you connect there. We arrange a private transfer either way.
In the marina town we list Pickalbatros The Palace Port Ghalib, Pickalbatros Sands Port Ghalib and Marina Lodge at Port Ghalib. In nearby Coraya Bay we list Steigenberger Coraya Beach and JAZ Lamaya.
The promenade and marina are walkable. Marsa Alam town is about 65 kilometers south and El Quseir about 75 kilometers north, so we book trips with pickup rather than expecting you to drive.
We have an office in Marsa Alam, so questions about transfers, trips and flight changes reach people on the coast.
Common questions
Port Ghalib is a purpose-built marina town on Egypt's Red Sea coast, about 65 kilometers north of Marsa Alam town and 75 kilometers south of El Quseir. Marsa Alam International Airport (RMF) is a few kilometers away.
A few kilometers. By road it takes about 10–15 minutes to reach most Port Ghalib hotels, and we arrange a private transfer so a driver meets you at arrivals.
Not quite. Marsa Alam is the wider region and a small town 65 kilometers south. Port Ghalib is a separate marina resort next to the airport. Many hotels here are sold under the Marsa Alam name.
It is a convenient base. Boat trips and dive centers run from the marina and nearby bays, and some liveaboards load here for reefs such as Elphinstone. For dolphins and dugongs, take a day trip south along the Marsa Alam coast.
Yes, by the standards of this coast. The promenade has cafés, restaurants and shops within a short walk of the marina. It is a resort-town evening, not a big-city one.
They are neighboring resort areas on either side of the airport. Port Ghalib is built around a marina and promenade. Coraya Bay has a sandy shore, its own souk and larger resorts. Both are a short drive from RMF.
Photo: Jacek Lesniowski, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons, color-graded
Plan your trip
Tell us your dates, who's coming and how you like to spend a beach day – we'll send a private plan with the right hotel, transfers and day trips within 24 hours. Cairo · Luxor · Aswan · Hurghada · Marsa Alam · Sharm El Sheikh, on the ground since 1988.
