Luxury Kitesurfing journal
Soma Bay or El Gouna? Two very different faces of luxury kitesurfing in Egypt
Five hours in the air. No jet lag, no connection, no vaccinations. If you live in Northern Europe and want a long weekend or a week of guaranteed sun, the Egyptian Red Sea is the most efficient kite destination there is. And unlike a decade ago, you no longer have to compromise on where you sleep.
The story
The two destinations that genuinely matter for luxury-minded kitesurfers sit an hour's drive apart, and they could hardly be more different in character. Choosing between Soma Bay and El Gouna is really a choice between seclusion and sociability.
Soma Bay: one peninsula, nothing else
Soma Bay isn't a town but a private peninsula, about an hour south of Hurghada airport. It holds a handful of resorts, a golf course and a thalassotherapy centre. Beyond that: sand, water and quiet.
The spot is what most people picture when they hear the words "kite lagoon". A vast sandbank runs for kilometres at low tide, with flat, glassy water barely up to your knees. You can walk out further than feels reasonable without it ever getting deep. For beginners that's a gift. For freestylers and foilers too, because you'll rarely find water this flat. At high tide it deepens and picks up some chop, but the zone stays big enough never to feel crowded.
The wind comes from the north and blows almost along the axis of the bay, giving you a long, comfortable line.
Where to stay: the Kempinski Hotel Soma Bay is the most polished option on the peninsula, with architecture that suggests a Moorish town rather than a beach resort. The Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge is a notch simpler but sits right on top of the kite and dive centres, and is popular with people who mostly want to be on the water. Cascades Golf Resort, Spa & Thalasso is the choice when the non-kiting half of the party is really the reason for the trip: the thalassotherapy facility here is among the largest in the region.
El Gouna: a town somebody designed
El Gouna is the opposite proposition. It's a purpose-built town of lagoons, islands and bridges, with a marina, dozens of restaurants, galleries, a golf course and a nightlife that runs until it gets light again. If you don't want to sit in the same resort restaurant you sat in yesterday, this is your place.
The kiting happens mainly at Mangroovy Beach on the northern side. The water is shallow and flat near the shore and gets deeper with some swell further out. Several large schools operate here, including Kiteboarding Club, and it's busier than Soma Bay. That cuts both ways: less space, but an atmosphere where you'll know people to ride downwinders with inside a day.
Where to stay: Casa Cook El Gouna is adults-only, designed with real attention to detail and by far the most photogenic option. Ancient Sands Golf Resort sits on the course and is more spread out. If you want to be in the middle of things, take an apartment or hotel around Abu Tig Marina, within walking distance of the restaurants.
When to go, honestly
A misconception needs clearing up here. The Red Sea is often sold as a winter-sun destination, and for sun that's accurate. For wind it's more nuanced.
The most reliable months are April through October, peaking in summer when the northerly blows almost daily. March, May, September and October are the sweet spot: plenty of wind, comfortable air temperatures and water around 24 to 26°C.
In December, January and February the wind is considerably less consistent. You can have three days of beautiful sessions followed by four days of nothing. Water drops to roughly 21 to 22°C, so a 4/3 wetsuit is no indulgence, while summer calls for a shorty or rash guard at most. If you're booking in winter, choose a destination where the windless days are also good days. El Gouna is much stronger on that front than Soma Bay.
For the non-kiter
The Red Sea has one significant advantage that many kite destinations lack: the underwater life is genuinely exceptional.
Diving and snorkelling are not a sideshow here. The reefs off Soma Bay and Hurghada are among the best in the Red Sea, and a day trip by boat to a house reef or out to Abu Nakhari is an outing even non-divers enjoy. PADI courses are widely available and visibility is excellent almost year-round.
Golf is walkable from both bases. The Cascades course at Soma Bay is the most dramatically sited; El Gouna has two courses, one of which winds between lagoons.
Spa and thalasso are taken seriously at Soma Bay, with seawater pools and treatments that go well beyond a standard massage.
Culture requires a long day, but it delivers. Luxor is about four hours' drive and gives you the Valley of the Kings, Karnak and the temple of Hatshepsut. Go with a private guide and leave early. Closer to base there are desert excursions, stargazing and quad tours, though those are best enjoyed with calibrated expectations.
In town: El Gouna wins comfortably. Markets, art galleries, kite-adjacent sports like wingfoiling and padel, and a restaurant scene running from shawarma to genuinely refined cooking.
The practical side
Flights from most Northern European hubs to Hurghada are direct and take around five hours. From the airport, Soma Bay is roughly an hour's drive and El Gouna half an hour. Arrange the transfer through your hotel.
Egypt requires a visa, obtainable online in advance or on arrival. A rental car isn't necessary for either destination; El Gouna has tuk-tuks and shuttle buses, and everything in Soma Bay is walkable.
Gear rental is available everywhere and the fleets at the larger schools are generally current. For a long weekend, travelling without your own kit saves a meaningful amount of hassle.
At a glance Atmosphere: Soma Bay: Secluded, quiet / El Gouna: Lively, urban Water: Soma Bay: Very flat, shallow sandbank / El Gouna: Flat inshore, choppy further out Crowding: Soma Bay: Low / El Gouna: High Evenings: Soma Bay: Resort / El Gouna: Restaurants, marina, nightlife Best for: Soma Bay: Unwinding, families, learning / El Gouna: Sociable travellers, couples, longer trips
Both destinations prove you don't need twelve hours on a plane for a week of properly good kitesurfing. Book March or October, bring your partner, and use the windy days for the water and the rest for the reef.