Horse riding in Hurghada: desert, beach and riding into the sea

Horse riding in Hurghada is good value for a morning or evening away from the pool. Most rides follow the same shape: a hotel pick-up, a stretch of desert at a walk, a ride along the beach, and in the warm months the part everyone photographs, when the horses wade into the Red Sea. The big listings are well rated and cheap, often from about $10–16 per person.

What the listings rarely say is who they suit. Almost every one claims to be for "beginners and experienced riders", and none of the platform listings publishes a weight or age limit. The two stables with their own websites do: one sets 90 kg and a minimum age of 6, the other 100 kg. If you are a heavier rider, or bringing a child, ask before you pay.

Horse riding Hurghada: the rides on offer

Around Hurghada, GetYourGuide lists about 22 horse rides. They fall into five groups:

• Desert and beach rides, 1–3 hours in total, the standard product. The most-reviewed is Hurghada:Horse Riding on Red Sea Beach, Desert with Transfer, a beach and desert ride with transfer from about $12, rated 4.7 by nearly 1,900 people.
• Desert, beach and sea swim. Hurghada: Desert & Sea Horse Riding Tour w/Optional Swimming, our pick, adds an optional swim with the horses, from about $16, rated 4.9 by more than 1,600 people. Hurghada: Horse Swimming, Beach & Desert with Transfer and Hurghada: Horseback Ride & Swim with Horses in the Red Sea are similar and similarly well rated, from about $15 and $10.
• Sunrise rides, cooler and quieter, such as From Hurghada: Red Sea Sunrise and Desert Horseback Riding, from about $22.
• Evening rides with dinner and stargazing, such as Hurghada: Sunset Oasis Safari with Horse Ride & Stargazing, a sunset ride in the desert with a BBQ dinner and stars, from about $39 and rated 4.9; its listing also mentions a telescope.
• Combos, where the horse is one part of a quad and camel trip, such as a Makadi Bay ATV, horse and camel tour. Our guide to quad trips by length and combo covers those.

Listings give the total trip time, not the time in the saddle. The two stables with their own websites put their standard rides at about 1–2 hours of riding, and BADU's desert camp offers a 1-hour ride. On a 2–3 hour trip, expect the transfer and a tea stop to take part of the time.

Daytimefrom$16

GetYourGuide3 h

Hurghada: Desert & Sea Horse Riding Tour w/Optional Swimming

4.9 (1,634)

per personCheck dates

Daytimefrom$10

GetYourGuide2.5 h

Hurghada: Horseback Ride & Swim with Horses in the Red Sea

4.9 (664)

per personCheck dates

Daytimefrom$19

GetYourGuide3.5 h

Hurghada: Arabian Desert and Sea Horseback Adventure

4.5 (829)

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Daytimefrom$25

GetYourGuide2 hSahl Hasheesh

Sahl Hasheesh: Desert & Sea Horse Ride w/Optional Swimming

4.9 (214)

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Daytimefrom$10

GetYourGuide3 hMakadi Bay

From Hurghada: Makadi Bay Horse Riding Tour

4.4 (328)

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Morningfrom$22

GetYourGuide3.5 h

From Hurghada: Red Sea Sunrise and Desert Horseback Riding

4.5 (183)

per personCheck dates

See everything on GetYourGuide →See everything on Headout →Prices checked on 20 October 2026

Horse riding Hurghada price

Horse rides on GetYourGuide start at about $10 and the middle of the range is about $19 per person; half of all reviews are for rides of about $16 or less. The dearest are beginner courses and evening trips with dinner. Several of the big rides include hotel transfer from Hurghada; from Makadi, Sahl Hasheesh, El Gouna, Soma Bay or Safaga check whether pick-up costs extra.

Off the platforms, Lucky Horses in Hurghada lists its 1.5–2 hour desert and beach ride at €30 on its own site, including transfer, guide, briefing and a helmet; its sunset ride and its summer swim with horses are €35 each. Habiba Horse in El Gouna publishes no prices and books by WhatsApp. BADU lists a 1-hour horse ride with a Bedouin cultural programme at €27 on its own site.

Headout has around nine new horse rides from about $12 to $33. None has a review yet, and every one adds a €10 per person "governmental safari fee" in cash on the day, plus €10 per person for pick-up from El Gouna, Safaga, Soma Bay, Makadi or Sahl Hasheesh. Some are non-refundable. Here is a desert, beach and swim ride on both platforms:

The GetYourGuide ride is cheaper here even before the cash fee, and it has more than 1,600 reviews. The Headout ride runs three hours with the swim in the third hour, but it is non-refundable. The stable, the beach and the time in the saddle may differ, so read both listings.

Sea horse riding in Hurghada: riding into the Red Sea

The "horse swim", sometimes called water horse riding, is the reason many people book. Two things are worth knowing before you go.

It is seasonal. Habiba Horse in El Gouna runs its swim from April to November, depending on temperature and wind, and Lucky Horses offers its swim in summer only. In the cooler months, ask whether the swim actually happens before you book a swim ride.

It means different things. At Habiba the saddles come off for the water, you may take the helmet off while swimming, and not every horse goes in, because some horses dislike water. On several Headout rides the wording describes something gentler: you stay in the saddle while the horse wades into the shallows. Ask which one you are booking.

What to bring for a sea ride: swimwear under your clothes, a towel, long trousers and closed shoes for the riding part (several listings ask for them), and sunscreen. Leave your phone with the guide or in a dry bag.

If you are looking for "Sea Horse" in Sahl Hasheesh, it is a horse-riding stable that also runs quads, camels and buggies, not a hotel or a dive centre. The Sahl Hasheesh desert and sea ride Sahl Hasheesh: Desert & Sea Horse Ride w/Optional Swimming, from about $25 and rated 4.9, has the same name as a ride on Sea Horse's booking page; GetYourGuide shows the operator's name on the listing page. More in our Sea Horse Sahl Hasheesh review.

Sunrise or sunset horse riding in Hurghada

In summer, ride early or late. On the coast the average afternoon high is about 37 °C in July and August, and welfare guidance says working animals should not be worked in the hottest part of the day. Habiba rides at sunrise or sunset from spring to autumn and at 07:00 in winter.

A sunrise ride from a Hurghada hotel usually collects you 60–90 minutes before sunrise, which in June means before 05:00. Sunset rides go out two to three hours before sunset, which moves from about 16:51 in early December to about 19:44 in early July.

Here is a sunrise ride on both platforms:

The Headout ride has the lower headline price, but add the €10 cash fee per person on the day, and it has no reviews yet. The GetYourGuide ride has more than 180. For evening rides that end with dinner under the stars, see our sunset and stargazing guide.

The stables: Hurghada, El Gouna, Makadi Bay and Sahl Hasheesh

Platform listings rarely say where the stable is. These are the places we could pin down:

• Lucky Horses, Hurghada. Inland north-west of town towards El Gouna, about 30 minutes from the airport, open 09:00–19:00. Over 30 horses, plus donkeys, goats and other animals. Weight limit 100 kg, helmets free on every ride, life jackets for children under 8 on the swim. Its own site lists prices and books by WhatsApp.
• Habiba Horse, El Gouna. At the northern tip of El Gouna, about 800 m from the beach, under German management with a German-language website. About 1 hour for beginners, about 2 hours with a longer beach section for experienced riders, and the 2-hour swim ride in season. It asks about your experience, height and weight when you book. More El Gouna options on our El Gouna page.
• Sea Horse, Sahl Hasheesh. A stable with guided rides on a Makadi Bay trail and the Sahl Hasheesh beach, daily from 07:00. See our Sahl Hasheesh guide.
• Makadi Bay. No stable with its own website. Seller names such as Gamila Horseriding appear on other booking sites for Makadi rides, and one listing gives transfers of 25–30 minutes from Makadi or Sahl Hasheesh. Ask where the stable is. Our Makadi Bay page lists the Makadi rides.
• BADU Camp, Makadi Bay desert. A 1-hour guided ride with a Bedouin cultural programme, or a camel or horse ride with dinner and stargazing (Hurghada: BADU Camel or Horse Ride, Dinner, & Stargazing, from about $56; €48 on BADU's own site). Our BADU Camp review explains the evening.

Beginners, children and weight limits

Most rides suit beginners, but the details differ between stables:

• Beginners: at Habiba beginners get extra guides and ride at a walk only. On the platforms, every listing says beginners are welcome; if you have never ridden, ask for a walk-only group.
• Children: Habiba takes riders from age 6 and offers a trial ride on site for younger children. Helmets are compulsory for under-18s there. Lucky Horses gives life jackets to children under 8 for the swim. ABTA's welfare guidance is one rider per horse, so no child in front of a parent. Our kids guide has age rules for every activity.
• Weight: 90 kg at Habiba, 100 kg at Lucky Horses. Platform listings publish no limit. Heavier riders should ask before paying.
• Health: not recommended in pregnancy at the stables and listings that mention it.
• Helmets: free at both stables, and named on only two Headout rides. Ask for one on any ride.

For a longer or private ride, contact a stable directly. Habiba's 2-hour ride is aimed at experienced riders, and both stables with their own sites book by WhatsApp, so you can ask for a time and a group to suit you.

Welfare: what to check before you ride

The big investigations into working animals in Egypt concern Giza and Luxor; we found no comparable report for Hurghada's stables. A few quick checks still tell you a lot. They come from the UK travel association ABTA's welfare guidance and the Luxor charity ACE Animal Care in Egypt:

If something looks wrong, decline the ride and tell the operator why. Prefer a camel instead? Our camel ride page has the same checks for camels.

Horse riding Hurghada: questions people ask