I flew to Egypt for a golf trip.

I came home obsessed with everything else.

Here is the honest truth.

I went to Egypt's Red Sea coast to play golf, and I did, four glorious rounds across two of the most exciting golf destinations on the Red Sea's doorstep. What nobody had told me, and what I now cannot stop telling everyone, is just how much more is waiting on this stretch of coastline. Snorkelling crystal water over coral gardens. Sailing into a sunset on a catamaran. A thalasso spa so vast you could happily lose a whole day in it. This is not a one trick beach destination, this is one of the smartest, most rewarding golf trips abroad I have planned all year.

Let me take you through it, starting with the golf.

Why Egypt's Red Sea coast belongs on your golf list

Three hundred and sixty days of sunshine a year, championship courses designed by Gary Player, Fred Couples and Gene Bates, fairways that flow between the Red Sea and the desert mountains, and prices that quietly outshine the obvious European golf escapes. Whether you are planning a golf trip with the boys, a girls golf trip, a family golf trip or a couple's escape, this coastline does it beautifully, and it does it year round.

The Golf, course by course

First stop: the Somabay Golf Academy

The very first thing we did on arrival was head to the academy, and honestly it set the tone for the whole trip. Somabay's practice facilities rival anything you will find in the world's top resorts, and they are open to everyone from absolute beginners to scratch golfers.

The double ended driving range stretches over 300 yards, with grass and mat tees at both ends and target greens, bunkers and yardage markers so you can practise with real purpose. The Short Game Scoring Arena is the showpiece, a vast 5,000 square metre creative space designed by James Edwards, with more than twenty different zones to work on chipping, pitching, bunker play and wedge distances. Add the putting green, the floodlit nine hole par 3 challenge course redesigned by Tim Lobb and Edwards for day or night play, and an academy team of PGA qualified pros, and it is genuinely one of the best places in the world to take up the game or sharpen one you already love.

Round one: The Cascades Championship Course, Somabay

Then to the main event. The Cascades course at Soma Bay is a Gary Player signature design, opened in 1998, and a piece of golfing history in its own right: the very first championship course in the Middle East or North Africa to be designed by one of golf's "Great Triumvirate" of Player, Nicklaus and Palmer. Eighteen holes, par 72, laid out in a figure of eight returning to a clubhouse on a peninsula that juts three miles out to sea.

We played the front nine first, where the holes hug the Red Sea, and the views are simply ridiculous in the best way. Hole 5, called The Pebbles of Soma, is the one that lingers, a beautiful short hole defended by a single continuous bunker that wraps three sides of the green. Holes 5 and 6 on the outward half and 14 and 15 on the inward circuit are the seaside stars, where you swing with the sound of the waves and the wind doing real work on your ball. The course has Bermuda greens and kikuyu fairways, immaculately kept, and a sea breeze that makes the same course play differently every single day, which is what proper championship golf should do.

And then there is the welcoming service. From the moment you arrive, cold towels are handed over with a smile, drinks are delivered on course, and the welcome and hospitality genuinely set the tone for the whole round. That is the bit you do not get on a winter golf break to the Algarve.

Round two: Hidden Cove, Somabay

Same resort, completely different mood. Hidden Cove is Soma Bay's brand new course, designed by Tim Lobb and James Edwards, and it is the first golf course in the region conceived, designed and operated with sustainability at its core. The nine holes currently open weave through a more sheltered, characterful landscape just inland, with minimal earth movement so the course flows entirely with the natural terrain. The fairways are Pure Dynasty Paspalum, a wonderfully salt and drought tolerant turf that gives a tight, true lie everywhere on the course. The next nine along with a new clubhouse will open shortly, completing the eighteen, and when they do this becomes one of the most exciting new courses anywhere in the region.

Play the original Gary Player nine in the morning, lunch at Spikes and Hidden Cove in the afternoon and you have eighteen holes of two completely different characters, from the same lovely clubhouse, with that same warm welcome and cold towel service waiting at the turn.

Round three: El Gouna Golf Club

A short hop up the coast to El Gouna and a completely different style of golf. The El Gouna course is a Gene Bates and Fred Couples design, opened in 1999, eighteen holes of par 72 championship golf laid out around El Gouna's network of turquoise lagoons. Seashore Paspalum throughout the fairways and greens gives it that lush, true feel underfoot, and the lagoons come into play on most holes, so your tee shot demands real accuracy. You access the course from a pontoon at Steigenberger Resort stepping onto a boat that takes you across one of the many lagoons to the Pro shop and Golf Course. 

It is a beautifully fair course for every level, with six sets of tees, which suited our mixed ability group and a unique Aqua Driving Range to warm up on. The signature hole is the 17th, a winding 526 yard par 5 that asks you to keep it well left of the lagoon, the kind of knee shaker that can absolutely make or break your round. Played in thirty plus degrees with a forgiving Red Sea breeze, it is sublime.

Round four: Ancient Sands Golf Resort

To finish, Ancient Sands, also in El Gouna and quite simply one of the most fun rounds I have ever played. It opens with a par 6 on the second, yes really, and the back nine dares you to carry the water more than once. Immaculate condition throughout, big skies, big greens, plenty of strategic decisions to make. Cold towels, cold drinks, a proper welcome.

This is a course experienced golfers will love for the challenge of the water and the sand, and that newer golfers like me will love because the room to play is generous and the staff make you feel a million dollars. The perfect closing round.

Why it works for every level of golfer

Here is what struck me most. I am still relatively new to the game, and across four rounds, with a few expert tips along the way from my host and Pro, I could feel myself genuinely improving from one round to the next. Better grip, smoother swing, a calmer putting stroke, a more confident drive. The Red Sea courses are forgiving enough to build a newer golfer's confidence, with wide fairways, generous tees and patient staff.

And yet the pros and seasoned single figure handicap I played with had a brilliant time too, because from the back tees, with the lagoons, the strategic bunkers, the wind off the sea and the proper championship pedigree, these courses bite. That is the magic of a great golf trip destination, it has to work for the boys' or girls' trip with the mixed handicaps, the family golf trip with juniors, the couple where one plays and one does not. This place does it beautifully.

And there is so much more than golf

For non golfers, and for the rest day in your golf trip, this coastline genuinely sparkles.

My personal highlight, a private boat out to the Seven Pillars, a snorkel and dive site where soaring underwater rock formations drop away into the deep blue. Forty minutes in that water with the light coming through was one of the most beautiful experiences of my year.

This was followed by boat golf which proved a big challenge but not for our pro Rupert. The balls are counted out and the team dive in and bring them all back on board.  Then there is diving, with some of the world's most accessible Red Sea reefs minutes from the door, kitesurfing (Soma Bay's 7BFT Kite House ranks among the top three kite spots in the world), sailing, paddleboarding, kayaking, go karting at the resort's own track, cycling, watersports of every flavour, world class gyms and spas that deserve a holiday of their own, and the kind of sunset catamaran sail that you remember for years.

Soma Bay: where to stay, matched to how you want to holiday

Soma Bay is a self contained peninsula 45 minutes south of Hurghada, calm, uncrowded and gloriously on the up. Rather than a flat list, here is how I match the hotels to the holiday.

Best for golf and a serious spa: The Cascades Golf Resort, Spa and Thalasso. Where I stayed, and the obvious home for any golf trip. Sits at the highest point of the peninsula, so almost every room looks out over the sea or the golf. Two Gary Player nines plus Hidden Cove, the brilliant academy, and a thalasso spa with over 60 treatment rooms and its own seawater aqua tonic circuit. You could spend a whole day in there and feel reborn.

Best for pure luxury and romance: Kempinski Hotel Soma Bay. Moorish style, six pools, a gorgeous private beach and a grown up, romantic feel. The one for couples who want to be quietly spoiled.

Best for the active, watersports obsessed: The Breakers Diving and Surfing Lodge. Laid back, flip flops and salt in your hair energy. Diving, kitesurfing and sailing right from the door, and golf course shuttle on tap.

Best for families: Mövenpick Waterpark Resort and Spa. A full waterpark, big pools and that easy family rhythm, while the grown ups still get a spa and good food. A natural for a family golf trip where the kids need their own adventure.

Best for all inclusive club energy: Robinson Club Soma Bay. Brilliant for active groups and anyone who loves a proper entertainment and wellness programme woven through the day.

Also worth knowing: the Sheraton Soma Bay, with its striking Karnak temple inspired architecture, and the Steigenberger Ras Soma right on the beach.

And the headline for anyone who likes to be ahead of the curve: a brand new Anantara Somabay Resort and Residences is on the way, due to open in 2030, bringing one of the world's most coveted luxury names to the peninsula. It is exactly the kind of arrival that tells you where this destination is heading.

El Gouna: where to stay in the glittering grown up resort town

Cross to the other side of Hurghada and El Gouna is a completely different proposition. A fully realised town, built over more than three decades around a network of lagoons and marinas, with a buzzing downtown, more than a hundred dining concepts and a lovely international community. By night the Abu Tig Marina sparkles. And a word that matters: El Gouna holds its hotels and restaurants to some of the strictest hygiene standards in the region, so you can simply relax and enjoy every meal.

El Gouna has more than eighteen hotels, so here are the ones I would actually point you towards.

The Chedi El Gouna is the jewel, part of the Leading Hotels of the World, all serene Asian inspired design, ebony and ivory tones and a spa to match. If you want quiet, polished luxury, this is the one.

Casa Cook El Gouna is adults only, boho luxe and effortlessly cool, recently named among the best hotels in all of Egypt. Slow mornings, mellow DJ sets, kiteboarding off the beach.

La Maison Bleue is the boutique choice, intimate, design led and very private.

Steigenberger Golf Resort is the golfer's home base, built around the 18 hole championship course, with lovely German hospitality and the only teppanyaki in town, which we very much enjoyed.

Ancient Sands Golf Resort sits alongside its own fun, characterful course and works beautifully for golf groups.

Cook's Club El Gouna is the hip, design forward, party leaning option, clearly aimed at a younger twenties and thirties crowd.

And a piece of news for the planners: the Mövenpick El Gouna is set to be reborn as a Sofitel, with a phased renovation beginning in 2027 that will turn it into a flagship luxury resort on a rare sea and lagoon peninsula. One to watch.

Why I would send you here over other five star destinations

I adore a sunshine escape and I have curated plenty of them, so I do not say this lightly: this stretch of the Red Sea genuinely surprised me. The water is warm and clear, the activities are endless, the food is excellent and the welcome is properly warm. I will always be honest with you, so I will say it does not have the polish of the very top tier Maldives or the glossiest Middle East addresses, and the prices reflect that in the loveliest way. But for sheer value, variety and fun in the sun, paired with championship golf and ancient wonders you simply cannot find anywhere else on earth, it is hard to beat. If you love the idea of a familiar five star beach week but want something with far more to discover, this is my answer.

And here is how to turn it into the trip of a lifetime

This is the part I cannot stop thinking about. A week of golf and sunshine on the Red Sea is wonderful on its own, but you are already in the land of the pharaohs, so why not make it unforgettable. Fly in or out of Cairo, or weave the ancient wonders into the middle, and you have one of the great holidays of a lifetime.

Cairo and the Pyramids. Stand at the foot of the Great Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx, then walk straight into the brand new Grand Egyptian Museum right beside them. Opened in late 2025, it is the largest museum in the world devoted to a single civilisation, and for the very first time since 1922 the complete treasures of Tutankhamun are displayed together, all five thousand plus pieces, including that famous golden mask. The timing has genuinely never been better to see it.

Luxor, the world's greatest open air museum. A short flight or a stretch of the Nile away, Luxor is where ancient Egypt comes alive. Here is what I would build in:

• The vast Temple of Karnak, with its forest of towering columns
• Luxor Temple, glowing and floodlit after dark
• The Valley of the Kings, including the tomb of Tutankhamun himself
• The Valley of the Queens
• The dramatic terraced Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el Bahari
• The towering Colossi of Memnon
• The wonderful, well curated Luxor Museum
• And for the truly special: a hot air balloon at sunrise over the West Bank, floating above the temples and the Nile as the light comes up

A Nile cruise to tie it together. The most romantic way to travel between Luxor and Aswan, gliding past palm groves and timeless riverbank life over three or four nights, with stops at the beautifully preserved Temple of Horus at Edfu and the dual temple at Kom Ombo. Aswan rewards you with the serene Philae Temple and, for the adventurous, the chance to go on to the colossal Abu Simbel. From elegant classic cruisers to intimate boutique dahabiyas under sail, there is a Nile experience for every style.

Getting there, made effortless. The good news is that it all joins up beautifully. Cairo connects to Hurghada by a quick internal flight of around an hour, and Hurghada airport is just 45 minutes from Soma Bay and around half an hour from El Gouna. Cairo to Luxor is a similar short hop by air, and from Luxor across to the Red Sea coast is a comfortable private transfer of around four hours, the most reliable way to make that leg. I handle the internal flights and private transfers throughout, so you are met, looked after and never left wrangling logistics in the heat. That is rather the point of booking with me.

Beach, golf, ancient wonders and the Nile, in one trip. This is the kind of itinerary I love to weave together so it flows effortlessly, with every transfer, guide and detail handled.

With thanks to Golf Escapes, our PGA Pro and our brilliant hosts in Egypt.

A trip like this is only ever as good as the people behind it, and this one was in wonderful hands. Huge thanks to Golf Escapes for hosting me and especially to Matt Davidson at Golf Escapes for the seamless planning and the warm, generous hospitality from start to finish, and to Rupert Hunter, our PGA pro, whose coaching and one liners had me playing better by the round and laughing all the way. Thank you too to Mohammed and Billy, for their warm welcome and being brilliant hosts in Soma Bay, and to Sandra for showing us so much of El Gouna in only two days and for her expertise and insight, they all showed us their corners of the Red Sea with real pride and made the whole trip sing.

Let me build it for you

Whether it is a golf trip with the boys or girls, a family golf trip, a couple's golf and spa escape or a clever combination with the temples and the Nile, or simply a winter sun holiday this is exactly the kind of journey I love to curate properly, start to finish.

Get in touch and let me curate yours.

#CuratedTravelByClaire