Hurghada: Desert & Red Sea Horseback Ride with Swimming

4.96

(141 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

The first thing I noticed stepping out near Hurghada was how the air tasted—kind of salty but also dry, like two worlds mixing. Our guide, Mahmoud, greeted us with this half-grin and handed me a helmet that still smelled faintly of leather and sun. I’m not a horse person (my last ride was a pony at age nine), so I was relieved when he said, “Don’t worry, she’s gentle,” patting the horse’s neck. The sand felt soft under my boots—almost powdery—and for a second I wondered if it’d be harder for the horses to walk than for us.

We set off towards the edge of the desert, Mahmoud leading and chatting about his family’s horses—apparently they’ve been doing this since before Hurghada had big hotels. The quiet out there is different; you hear hoofbeats and sometimes a gull overhead but mostly just wind brushing your ears. When we reached the waterline, I hesitated. Horses in the sea? But mine just plodded right in, splashing up little bursts of cold that hit my ankles. It felt weirdly freeing—like being part of some old caravan story or something. Mahmoud laughed when I yelped at the first splash; “You get used to it!” he called back.

I still think about that moment when we turned back—the sun lower now, everything gold and blue at once. There was this quiet pride in Mahmoud’s voice as he pointed out where his grandfather used to graze horses before all the resorts came up. My legs were jelly by then (horse riding muscles are real), but honestly I didn’t want it to end yet. The ride back felt slower somehow, maybe because none of us wanted to leave that light behind.