Our guide to El Gouna

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With a stiff breeze blowing and shallow seas before me, I can see why El Gouna attracts kitesurfers of all levels. I’m trying it for the first time at the Duotone watersports centre inside the Casa Cook hotel – though with the kite only, as it takes a few days to gain the skills needed to hit the water. Omar, my instructor, is a model of patience as he teaches me how to guide the kite from 12 o’clock to 10 o’clock and two o’clock, then back to 12.

This beginner-friendliness is one of the defining characteristics of El Gouna. I encounter it again as I whack the green during my golf lesson at the Steigenberger Golf Resort, sending sods of grass flying. Golf instructor Danny just laughs and squashes them back into the ground with his foot. “Good! That’s a good swing!” As an adventurous traveller, my holidays usually entail far less tuition, but El Gouna’s gentle approach is winning me over.

History of El Gouna