Hurghada

A 2-week stay near Hurghada, with excursions to Utopia and a desert safari. It's our second experience in the Red Sea, the first in August, fearing the great heat. Instead we found 2 wonderful weeks; we were so comfortable even in the room that we never turned on the air conditioning. We stayed at the Hilton Long Beach, a splendid and very well-equipped resort. The restaurant was perfect, in terms of quality and cleanliness, and so were the rooms. The beach is very large, with plenty of umbrellas; you can choose where to settle, though where all the guests of the roughly 1000 rooms go is anyone's guess, probably to the super-crowded pools. The coral reef is still well preserved, especially if you swim a little further out beyond the jetty.

The Inviaggi organisation was excellent as far as excursions are concerned: the jeep safari in the desert was great fun and engaging, with the camel ride, the quad bike tour (thrilling at any age if you've never tried it), the sunset in the middle of the desert, the Bedouin dinner and the starry sky. We also took a boat excursion, with a stop at the islet of Utopia and the coral reef of the Seven Pillars. The guarantee of good weather in these areas is a sure incentive to return.