Hi Doe, we went to Hurghada late November a couple of years ago. The wind really picked up at night and felt very cold. I wouldn't have been able to eat outdoors.Without any exaggeration I could have done with a coat for the evenings,a cardi wasn't enough.

A coat sharon . I so hope I haven't made a bad decision for next easter being as we fly on 30th March.

Thanks Ladies, spunds like it was cold Sharon I have got myself in a right pickle, a big work project to complete in Oct and a can't get out of event early Nov so I keep pushing it back. Soon won't be worth booking and just leave it till spring. On the plus side Nov is cheap.

We were in an outdoor restaurant in Namma Bay in the middle of March once and the waiters came out and gave us their leather jackets to put over our shoulders, you wouldn't think folk needed leather jackets in Egypt I'm wondering if they were status symbols to show how rich and successful they were.

Still classic desert weather is hot during the day and cold at night. no idea what to do now, sounds like Sharm is a safer bet. Had a good price for a hotel called Grand Silva (?) in Hurghada but not sure where it was don't think I would chance El Gouna in Nov.

We have visited Sharm twice in November and Hurghada once.
We preferred Hurghada and didnt find it as windy as Sharm.
Doe,The Grand Siva is a lovely hotel with an amazing beach(Have a look on Google earth)
We had a look around when stayed over the road in the Sinbad Aqua hotel.
Its in a lovely part of Hurghada on the Boulevard,about 10 minutes from down town Hurghada.
There are loads of shops, cafes and restaurants in the area and is lovely for an evening walk as there is a pedestrian paved road outside the hotel.The images on Google earth are very good.
We never got hassled at all but you have to watch the taxi drivers when they give you change.
Egypt is now out of the question for us due to our travel insurance not including it in their European policy.

Thanks Jay, it did look nice in the pictures I was on the net. I can never get google earth to work is it something that I need to subscribe to. Can you not upgrade your policy to include Egypt, as the holidays to Egypt are at their best price in Nov as I guess you must know and there is not anywhere much closer that you can get good day time weather in winter.

I think I saw the Sinbad on TC site and that was an excellent price maybe £400 for a week, so presumably not much more for a fortnight ? Was it OK, was wondering about food standards in Hurghada AI 's. food seemed to be of a high standard in El Gouna but was in a five star on pay as you go, I saw the AI food though and it looked great.

The area the Grand Siva is in sounds like one we would enjoy

Doe

The food at the Sindbad was the best we have ever had in any AI and that includes Mexico x 2 and the Riu hotels in Dominican Republic.
There were 11 restaurants to choose from and on our second week we discovered the beach restaurant overlooking the lagoon which was an oasis of calm as not many guests used it at night.
This was in the beach hotel over the road which we could also use.Even their main restaurant was more peaceful than the main one in the Aqua hotel as it was smaller.
However since we were there in November/December 2010 there doesnt seem many British going and the reviews havent been as good which is a shame as we had a really great time.
Even visiting Dahar ,the residential area which wasnt for the faint hearted was an experience without hassle.
I have just been looking at the Side area in Turkey for November/December and the hotels there which are fabulous 5 stars are very reasonable but the weather wont be as good as Egypt.
Decisions Decisions PS,I am a numpty on a computer but manage to get Google earth free.

Doe,I have just looked at the reviews and photos on TA and they seem very good.
I will be looking into upgrading my travel insurance now.

Jay, I hope I haven't mislead you it was the Sinbad that was coming up cheap the Siva was more expensive. I looked at the pictures of the beach you were right it's looks good for a red sea beach as they can be a bit hit and miss depending on where you stay.

Doe

I felt cold in Hurghada one June evening.....
I'm putting it down to having been in Luxor in 40C for the previous week but the wind was certainly cool enough to warrant going inside rather than sitting out.
And I wasn't the only one to feel chilly.
Was glad to get back to Luxor the next evening!

Oh er Shell cold on June presumably only in the evening. One of the reasons I was thinking Hurghada rather than Sharm is that it's easier to do the day trip to Luxor from Hurgarda and November seems to be low season as far as I can make out.

Lots of people do seem to travel in Nov, Dec, Jan etc they must go for the daytime temperatures I guess and except that they will need to eat indoors of an evening. I guess if you are clued up it is not such a surprise.

Lyn I reckon u will be fine March going into April, I know it's hard not to worry when booking for others, but daytime should be fine, and if you go to the three corners ocean view most of their restaurants and bars are inside like at the hilton sharks bay, so the evening temps won't be an issue. But we ate outside in the downtown area of El Gouna in mid April no problem.

Doe

Lots of people do seem to travel in Nov, Dec, Jan etc they must go for the daytime temperatures I guess and except that they will need to eat indoors of an evening. I guess if you are clued up it is not such a surprise.

As Doe probably knows already we have been several times in January and are heading back to Sharm again over the New Year and it is indeed mainly for the daytime temperature, going AI we do eat indoors at the hotel some evenings however you will also find us sitting outside down in Sharm where there is a forrest of those gas patio heaters to sit under.

We understand that going away at that time of year in all reality we will be sitting indooors to eat or at the very least having to wear some form of cardigan / jumper and sitting under a heater.

Mind you similar to what Shell mentions we have always found Luxor to be much warmer in the winter months and have been able to walk along the Kornish or sit outdoors at the hotel easily.

You just can't tell with the weather, first time in Sharm (end of Jan) it was raining when we arrived, cloudy for 4 days, a bit of sun then heavy rain when we left and me complaining that we should have gone back to Luxor instead, our last visit Jan of this year was actually very pleasant and warm with during the day but definitely a cardigan or jumper for evening time.

We were in Hurgarda in May (at the Premier le Reve - the No1 hotel in Hurgarda according to TA) it was 43 during the day and not much cooler at night ! We ate outside most nights. Certainly wouldn't need a cardi !

Doe,The Sindbad is a good price for 2 weeks in December and I will wait a couple of weeks as the prices always come down.I will also know which date is the best for us by then due to Christmas arrangements.
We got 2 weeks for £385!
We ate in the beach front restaurant which was open air but did have a thatched roof for all of or 2nd week and we came back to the UK on December 17th to -10 temps.
I only wore a light cardigan one night which was when we went down to the Marina.
Have you seen the photos and reviews on TA?I put lots of photos on there and a map of the 3 Sindbad hotels that you can use.
Its now going to be a toss up between here or Side.

Thanks for all the comments folks I think I am realistic about what the weather will be like as this would be our sixth time to the red sea area. Its probably more of a problem for those who go for the first time having heard its an all year round resort and get surprised how the temperature drops away in the evening in winter months.

Good point about all the outdoor patio heaters Graham there seemed to be plenty in El Gouna around the marina area but they had been put away by the time we got there in April, I saw them around the sides of a couple of restaurants in storage areas.

Hope you manage to get something sorted out Jay, I should think you will get a great bargain for December .

Doe

No Im not too bothered about the evenings as it's not like we stay out late . It's usually dinner, couple of drinks and in bed by 10 . Think I'm starting to worry more about the sea Temps for the divers.

Oh dear can't help you there Lyn. Surely it will b similar to Sharm though .? Maybe Val will know I am sure she must have dived out of Hurghada. Do they use those wet suits .? I think you can get them at different mm's thickness.

Not sure if val has been that time of year before, normally later in the year I think . Yes they all have their own wetsuits but the sea temps can still be a little chilly in sharm that time of year . Oh well too late now we are going so maybe I won't tell them.

I have been out of both Sharm and Hurghada in December and the sea temperature is still actually quite warm and you can dive in a 5mm wetsuit. You tend to feel the cold a little after about an hour underwater.
The other year, we were there when the shark attacks were going on (in fact we actively went looking for sharks on dives) and one of the contributing factors we were told was that the waters were unusually warm for that time of year..6 degrees highter than normal..in fact it was so warm some people were just diving in shorties...but I am too nesh for that!

I have dived Egytptian waters in January, February, March. June, July and November and December. The waters seemed at their coldest to me in February...but of course the air temperature makes you feel colder in the water somehow...mainly for the second dive. I think the reefs are prettier going out of Hurghada..but of course sailing down from Sharm you do have Ras Mohammed which has some spectacular pretected reefs.

oh..and I suppose if anyone felt the cold, you could have a 5mm with a shortie over the top or even go for a 7mm wetsuit.