About twenty-five kilometres north of Hurghada, El Gouna is a private, purpose-built resort town that feels like a different country from the rest of the coast: a car-light network of islands and lagoons linked by bridges and little boats, built by an Egyptian developer from around 1990 in a soft, low-rise Mediterranean style. It is laced with saltwater canals (locals call it the Egyptian Venice) and revolves around three hubs, the Marina, the Downtown quarter, and Tamr Henna square, all thick with boutiques, international restaurants, and bars. There is an eighteen-hole golf course, a lagoon-side beach scene, dependable wind for kitesurfing, and a nightlife that is lively by Egyptian standards, plus film and cultural festivals through the year. It draws a wealthier, younger, more international crowd than mass-market Hurghada. You can drop in for a meal, a beach day, or a night out, or base yourself here entirely if you value polish over the value further south.
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