Borg El Arab Arpt

British holidaymakers in search of a luxury holiday destination will not be disappointed by a Soma Bay holiday. Unlike many Egyptian Red Sea resort towns, Soma Bay resorts are sheltered from public thoroughfares and air traffic lanes, and all Soma Bay hotels are top-of-the-line establishments offering every kind of amenity and guest service imaginable. Upscale international hotel chains represented in Soma Bay include the five-star luxury Sheraton Soma Bay Resort and the newly-opened five-star Kempinski Hotel Soma Bay. For a scuba-diving holiday, Soma Bay is an ideal choice; its world class house reef can be accessed easily via the Orca Dive Club’s private 420m long jetty or on board luxurious dive boats. Golf enthusiasts will also enjoy going on holidays to Soma Bay; the resort features a spectacular 18-hole championship golf course, ‘La Résidence des Cascades’ which offers breath-taking views of the rugged desert, the sparkling blue sea amidst the lush greenery of the course. Travellers whose priority is to simply relax in luxury should consider booking Soma Bay holidays where they will also have access to a top class thalasso-therapy centre. For the more active visitor, Soma Bay resorts offer a range of sports and recreational activities, including wind-surfing, tennis, squash and much more. While holidays in Soma Bay are truly a class apart from other Egyptian Red Sea holiday destinations, visitors should keep in mind that Soma Bay is not a town but a relatively new resort (it dates back to the late 1990s), and evening entertainment is limited to that provided by Soma Bay hotels. Vacationers in search of an active night scene will need to travel to Hurghada (about 60 minutes by car). Excursions to the city of Luxor and its antiquities and day trips into the desert can easily be arranged from Soma Bay resorts.

The most distinctive aspect of a Soma Bay holiday is its exclusive, secluded location. Situated on a private picturesque peninsula (approximately 5 km long and 2 km wide) on the northern tip of the bay of Safaga on Egypt ’s Red Sea shores, Soma Bay is reached by means of a private road and a single, controlled entrance. Guests at Soma Bay resorts benefit from beautiful soft sandy beaches, desert mountain views and, of course, year-round sunshine. The warm waters of Soma Bay have a number of top quality dive sites, making diving and deep-sea fishing the primary attractions of Soma Bay holidays. To the east and north-east of Soma Bay, an extensive variety of dive sites suitable for novices and experienced divers can be accessed either by way of jetties or on diving boats. Soma Bay has a fully equipped dive centre (the Orca Dive Club) with its own 420-metre jetty to the reef. Electricity-operated cars are available to transport divers and equipment along the jetty as well. The principal advantage of a diving holiday in Soma Bay is, again, the exclusiveness of the dive sites which are significantly less crowded than other Red Sea resort sites. Golfers will also enjoy holidays to Soma Bay with its 18-hole Cascades Championship Golf Course. The first golf course on the Egyptian Red Sea coast (it was opened in 1999), the Cascades is one of Egypt's most stunning desert links-style golf courses. A 9-hole par 3 Challenge Course situated right next to the championship course is perfect for beginners or for practicing your shots. A Soma Bay holiday offers perfect conditions for snorkelling, especially at the wide, shallow beach on the south-west of the peninsula. However, Soma Bay holidays are not only ideal for divers and golfers; they are equally perfect for families (all hotels have children’s clubs and baby sitting facilities), holidaymakers in search of quiet relaxation and pampering (‘Les Thermes Marins des Cascades’ spa and thalasso centre services the entire Soma Bay community) as well as water sport fans (wind-surfing, kite-surfing, catamaran and laser boat sailing etc.). Nightlife in Soma Bay is hotel-based. For more exciting evening entertainment, residents of Soma Bay resorts may travel to one of the nearby towns such as Hurghada or to El Gouna, a resort with a more active night scene. Travellers who would like to do more than scuba dive and relax on exclusive beaches during their holidays in Soma Bay will be able to choose from a number of excursions and day trips. The city of Luxor is about three hours (240 km) away by taxi or coach, and it is possible to plan same-day excursions to the Valley of the Kings, the Karnak and Luxor Temples and other archaeological sites. Visits to the 4th century monasteries of St. Paul and St. Anthony in Egypt’s Eastern Desert are also easily arranged. St. Anthony’s Monastery is situated in a lovely little village where you can see some rare icons and paintings as well. Another popular day-trip to include in your Soma Bay holidays is a visit to the 16th century Ottoman fortress at Al Quseir which the British occupied in the 19th century, following a bloody battle with the French. El Quseir is also a quiet seaside town with traditional narrow streets and bazaars which may be a refreshing change from your luxurious Soma Bay hotel. If you would like to do some shopping during your Soma Bay holidays, you will need to go into Hurghada. Shopping in Soma Bay is limited for the most part to the purchase of golf apparel and equipment from the Cascades Pro Shop, or spa and beauty products at the Beauty Boutique of Les Thermes Marins des Cascades spa. For your Soma Bay holiday, you will be able to choose among four and five-star Soma Bay resorts. The five-star Sheraton Soma Bay Resort looks out upon 800 metres of private white sandy beaches and has three swimming pools (two heated), three tennis courts, a squash court, and a croquet court in addition to wind-surfing and sailing facilities. Soma Bay is also where Egypt’s first Kempinski luxury resort is located. The five-star Kempinski Hotel Soma Bay, inaugurated in February 2010, occupies 7000 m2 and offers its guests a 400 metre private beach, beautiful lagoons and pools, a racquet club, a spa and much more.  Package holiday Soma Bay deals and cheap holidays to Soma Bay are very popular as many of the late Soma Bay deals offer the advantage of all-inclusive packages. Alongside its five-star hotels, Cheap Soma Bay holidays can be found with four-star hotels, and guests at these resorts may use all the facilities and amenities available in other Soma Bay resorts. Vsitors from the U.K. and Europe normally arrive at Hurghada International Airport, 45 km to the north of Soma Bay. Egypt Air operates direct flights from London to Hurghada (and several flights per day from Cairo). Airlines which usually service Hurghada from the U.K. include Easy Jet, British Airways and Thomas Cook. Flight time from U.K. airports is about five hours, and transfer time from Hurghada Airport to Soma Bay is between forty-five and sixty minutes. The desert climate of the Red Sea region, including Soma Bay, allows for year-round diving. Water temperatures are about 29c. in the summer and 20c. in the winter. Dry desert winds keep humidity levels low, and sea breezes take some of the edge off the heat in the summer months. Soma Bay enjoys year-round sunshine and rainfall is extremely rare. Winters are temperate, with daytime temperatures in the winter months in the low 20s, rising to the high 20s to low 30s in the spring and autumn. The winter months are a good time to plan to go on holidays to Soma Bay, although it does occasionally rain. The perfect time for a Soma Bay holiday is therefore in the spring or autumn. If you are going to holiday in Soma Bay in the summer, you should be aware that temperatures are likely to be well over 40c. If you can afford to, you should certainly plan to go on holidays to Soma Bay. This is an idyllic Red Sea resort where you will be made to feel like a queen (or a king). It is also conveniently located far enough from the crowded beaches and dive sites of resort towns like Hurghada, yet near enough for you to avail yourself of the restaurants, bars and shops they have to offer.