Horseback Riding in Hurghada: From Desert to Red Sea

She had come to snorkel.

It was her first trip to Egypt, a vacation from Austria, and she had planned the whole thing around the Red Sea. Then she arrived and the water was too cold. So she booked a horseback riding experience instead, mostly to fill the afternoon.

That afternoon changed her life.

By the time we met her, she had already rescued a horse in Cairo. One of the thousands that work near the tourist sites, where mistreatment is widespread and well-documented, a reality that animal welfare organizations have spent years trying to address. She saw it, she couldn't unsee it, and she decided she would do something about it even though she had no idea how to care for a horse. She figured it out. Then she moved from Austria to Egypt entirely, built a team around her, and now runs the tours herself.

She was in her early thirties. She spoke to every horse by name in Arabic, and they listened.

We found her through GetYourGuide, which is how we find most of our day experiences when we travel. The reviews were exceptional. We booked a private tour, which I will tell you now is the only way to do this. At one point during the ride we spotted another group in the distance, larger, louder, moving differently. We looked at each other. The private tour was clearly the right call.

A comfortable van picked us up at the gates of our resort in Makadi Bay that afternoon. We had spent the morning on other things, so this was our wind-down, which turned out to be the opposite of that.

The horses were waiting. Mine was white. Kenan's was a warm chestnut brown. I had ridden at university and not much since. Kenan had been on a horse twice in his life and had never cantered. Our guide introduced us to each horse in Arabic, and there was something quietly lovely about watching them respond to her, the flick of an ear, the shift of weight, the particular attentiveness that animals have for the people they trust.

We rode out into the desert.

It was cool that afternoon, and the light had already started its slow turn toward gold. The hotels that line the Makadi Bay coastline fell away behind us as we moved further into the sand. There is a road you cross at some point, one beat of ordinary life, and then the road is behind you too and it is just desert and sky and the sound of hooves.

Our guide was always there, ahead, alongside, behind. She had a way of knowing when to move forward and when to fall back. We had asked her to take photos and videos on our phones as we went, which she did without making it feel like a production. We also had our Insta360 with us, and that camera caught things we didn't even notice in the moment: the spray off the hooves, the way the horses moved through the water, Kenan's face when he realized he was cantering. Everything came straight to our phones. No transfers, no waiting.

We cantered toward the water.

If you have not cantered a horse into the shallows of the Red Sea, I will tell you that it is one of those experiences that arrives before your brain can process what is happening. The sand shifts to packed wet ground, the light off the water hits you all at once, and the horses keep going, straight into the shallows, their hooves sending up spray as they move. We did not get wet. We got something better than that.

Some people swim with the horses here. You can book that version of the experience too. It was not quite warm enough for us to want to venture further in, and honestly, what we had was enough. The feeling of cantering on an open beach with the Red Sea in front of you and nothing behind you but desert and the last of the afternoon light is not a feeling that needs improving.

Kenan, who had barely been on a horse before this, told me afterward that he had felt a freedom he hadn't felt in a long time.

I knew exactly what he meant.

When the ride was over, we made our way back to the road where the van was waiting. Before we got in, the men from the stable came and collected the horses. They mounted up right there and rode them back through the desert into the last of the evening light. We stood at the road and watched them go, the horses moving toward the horizon with the sunset behind them. It was one of those moments that arrived quietly and stayed.

We drove back as the sky went dark. We ordered drinks on the beach. We watched the water. We did not need to talk much.

That evening at dinner, we were still talking about it.

The practical details:

We booked through GetYourGuide and recommend booking a private tour. The group experience exists and works for some people, but the private version gives you a completely different pace and a guide whose full attention is on you and your horses.

The ride runs in both morning and afternoon slots. We went in the afternoon and the light was extraordinary for photos. If you go in the morning, you'll get a different quality of cool and quiet.

The pickup is from your resort. The van is comfortable. The horses are well cared for. You can see that immediately.

Book the exact experience here: GetYourGuide

We also always travel with our Insta360 X5. It's the camera that made these shots possible. Get it here.

Hurghada / Makadi Bay, Egypt. Best time to visit: October through April.

Travel insurance is non-negotiable for us, especially on international trips with activities like this. We use Faye. Get a quote here.

Looking to build this into a full Egypt itinerary, Makadi Bay, Luxor, the Nile? Read about our full Egypt journey here.

Prefer a more hands-off approach? Elaine builds full trips with experiences like this already included. Get in touch.

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