Photo : Darek Sołtysiński — CC BY-SA 3.0 — Licence Wikimedia Commons
Hurghada · Safaga Road (Village Road), south of Hurghada
Jungle Aqua Park — Neverland
Forty-five pools and eighty slides — but it is a hotel's park, and the day ticket takes some finding.
The park of the Pickalbatros resort, on the Safaga road ten minutes from the airport: its operator bills it as the largest water park in Egypt and the Middle East — forty-five pools, more than eighty slides, a wave pool, a lazy river, a pirate-themed area for small children, mini-golf and a kids' club. A lift spares you the stairs of the tallest towers, and a lifeguard is posted at every slide, which is not the rule along this coast. A whole day fits inside without going back out. But it is a hotel's park first: residents come in on their stay, everyone else buys a ticket from a reseller, and the property itself publishes neither prices nor opening hours.
The extra bit
The day ticket is not sold at the gate but through resellers: book the day before, and get written confirmation that the date is actually open to outside visitors. Once inside, take the lift up to the towers first — it is the one place in the park where you do not lose the morning on a staircase.
Know before you go
Access for outside visitors depends on how full the resort is: it can be closed on a busy day, with no warning beforehand. The hotel publishes neither price nor hours — what you find online comes from resellers, and goes stale. In summer the concrete between the pools burns bare feet and shade is rationed: pool sandals, and aim for late afternoon. Some slides may be shut for maintenance with nothing to say so at the gate. And it is well out of town: agree the return with your driver before you set off, because a taxi is not to be found at the gate.
