El Gouna on The Red Sea

Gouna is an up and coming resort town, and the Gouna tourist board is pouring money into advertising campaigns in Egypt. It seems they want to eventually turn Gouna into the type of resort town Sharm is now. So go while you can, because, soon it might be flooded with tourists.

Gouna has a nice golf course, beautiful quiet beaches, and some of the best SCUBA in the world. Because Gouna is not well known, a lot of the dive and snorkel sites are uncrowded and unspoiled. Gouna is also the closest resort to the famed S.S. Thistlegorm, and the Abu Nuhas ship graveyard. Gouna is surrounded by picturesque mountains and it is possible to take many excursions to them whether on horse, camel, or ATV. Gouna also has good nightlife with bars, discos as well as quiet places to smoke shisha and chat. Gouna is a resort town so don't expect any real cultural stuff, although there is a museum and aquarium, but Gouna is a great place to kick back and relax on the beach.

Quick Tips:

Gouna features a number of nice hotels; however, many are far from the beach. The extra money you might pay to stay for a place near the beach is worth it so you do not have to deal with walking, or waiting for shuttles or water taxis. For beach-side hotels try the Mövenpick, the LTI Paradisio, Mariana, or the Sheraton. If you don't mind walking a bit and taking a short boat ride to the beach, try any of the Swiss Inns, like the Sultan Bey, Dawar El Omda, or the Arena.

Best Way To Get Around:

Gouna is a small place. It is easiest to walk, but there are also shuttles that run between the hotels, as well as some boats that run from a few hotels to the beaches.

The Arena Hotel is located just off downtown El Gouna, about a 5 minute walk, and right next to the Palladium Disco. It is not on the beach, so it is necessary to walk about 10 minutes to the Sultan Bey hotel, and take a boat from there, or take the shuttle from the hotel to one of the other hotels.

The rooms are a little small, but they have nice little balconies, air conditioning, and a TV. However, my room had no phone. The Arena also has a very nice pool, and to make up for its lack of being on a beach, the Arena has a deal with Zeytuna Beach allowing you to get free towels, beach chairs, and discounted drinks. The Arena offers breakfast, but has no real restaurant.

If you are looking for a more luxurious resort, go to the Mövenpick, but if you just want a relatively cheap room, and don't care about frills, the Arena is a good spot. With that said, if I had to go again, I'd choose the previous.

El Gouna has a fairly wide selection of restaurants, but when it comes to a good place to grab a satisfying bite to eat for lunch or dinner, nothing beats The Club House. Located right in downtown on the water, the Club House has tables set up around a pool and on the beach. It is the favorite spot for people to stop for a late lunch on their way back from the beach. It can get rather crowded around 2-3, and service will run a little slow, but earlier afternoon and dinner are much quieter.

The menu offers a range of Italian appetizers, pizzas, pastas, salads, and a few main dishes, as well as burgers. The pizzas are of good quality, and the burgers (often served in a pita) are fairly good. The pastas and other dishes are standard fare and will leave you satisfied.

What makes the Club House fun is the atmosphere. A friendly wait staff (featuring people like "Crazy Neil from Ireland) and a bunch of swimsuit-wearing beach revelers make the Club House a wondeful place to have a filling meal after a long day of diving, snorkeling, or lying on the beach.

Zeytuna beach isn't a huge beach with a lot of frills. It is just a nice small beach where you can go and relax. It is on an island so you have to take the water taxi from the Sultan Bey Hotel downtown, or walk across the footbridge by the Hill hotel.

The beach is nice and sandy and there are plenty of beach chairs with umbrellas that will give you shade and privacy. There is a great volleyball court with an omnipresent camel next to it. You can rent the camel for a negotiatable price if you want, 15 Pounds for a half an hour is fair. There are also a few horses you can rent if you want.

The bar features a good selection of cocktails and has standard beach food, sandwiches and pizza. There are also a few shops where you can buy cheesy tourist fodder or get a chic henna tattoo.

The water at Zeytuna is lovely, crystal clear and a beautiful blue/green. There is a dock that extends way out into the water, and for good reason. About 10 feet out it is deep enough to swim, but past that it is shallow and rocky, so you have to go to the end of the dock if you want to do more than just float in the water. At the end of the dock is a nice diving platform too.

Zeytuna Beach is also the home to a number of nice late night beach parties with authentic Turkish food, a DJ and a bonfire, definitely worth checking out.

Sand Bar is a fantastic bar in the heart of downtown Gouna that is jumping every night of the week. With a nice outdoor patio, inside bar as well as pool, darts, and table soccer, Sand Bar is a great place to kick back and relax after a day on the beach. Chat with friends and other travellers, and enjoy the cool night air. Sand bar is the perfect spot to start your evening. Just kick back with a few Stellas on the patio and listen to the great selection of classic rock pour out from the bar. The owner, Clayton, a resident of Baltimore opened this bar a few years ago, and just a few months ago opened up a sister bar in Zamalek in Cairo. He's a great guy, so if you see a guy with long hair walking around in jean shorts and tye-dye, that's most likely him, so introduce yourself. When it comes to atmosphere, Sand Bar can't be beat. Definitely worth a stop on your nightly Gouna pub crawl.

Palladium is one of the two major discos in El Gouna, and it is a place that can be either a rowdy time, or quite tedious. In terms of potential, Palladium has great potential to be a fabulous night club. It is designed as an open air amphitheater with the dancefloor in the middle with large pillowed seats encircling it. The seats are extremely comfortable, easy enough to fall asleep in, and are great for kicking back with a few friends and watching the people on the dancefloor. Beer is a little pricey and mixed drinks will cost you even more. The free popcorn is spectacular, but hardly worth a 15 Pound Stella.

In terms of music, the standard DJ spins a selection of R&B, hip-hop, house, as well as local favorites, but the Palladium is also host to many rave-type house parties. The dancefloor is a little small and for some reason is flanked by stripper-style dance cages that look like they belong more at a Mötley Crüe concert than a dance club.

While the music is usually fairly good, Palladium's problem is lack of clientele. The place is rarely near full, with about 10 people on the dancefloor at a time, and the amphitheater style architecture only adds to the feeling of emptiness.

Palladium can be a lot of fun if you are with a good group of friends and just want to dance the night away together, but it's not so great for smaller groups, or for a singles scene.

So try it if you like, but I don't recommend going on the 50 Pound cover nights, it most likely won't be worth it.