Twenty kilometres of sheltered channels, warm and shallow, with no swell at all.
El Gouna was built across a set of islands, and the water between them is the point. The lagoons are enclosed, so there is no swell, no current worth the name and no wind chop even when the coast is blowing.
That makes them almost ideal for paddleboarding. Beginners get up on a board within minutes because there is nothing to unbalance them, and the channels run for kilometres between houses, bridges and small marinas.
The mangrove channels at the northern edge are the part worth seeking out. Mangroves this far north are unusual, and the water in them is glassy, shallow and full of small fish and wading birds. It is the quietest place in the whole development.
Boat tours cover the same water with less effort and are the standard excursion from Hurghada — usually combined with a reef snorkel stop outside the lagoons and a walk around the old town.
Boat tours cover the same water with less effort and are the standard excursion from Hurghada — usually combined with a reef snorkel stop outside the lagoons and a walk around the old town. Late afternoon is the time: the light on the water between the houses is what people photograph.
