• Multicoloured slides above a pool, under the palms

    Makadi Water World

    Our favourite

    The biggest water park on the coast, with food and drinks included in the ticket.

    HurghadaMakadi Bay, south of Hurghada

    €€€ High endFamily-friendly
  • Aqua Park — Jaz Resort

    Two parks on one ticket, and above all: almost no queue for the slides.

    HurghadaMakadi Bay, south of Hurghada

    €€€ High endFamily-friendly
  • Ski Egypt

    Seven thousand tonnes of snow at minus two degrees, inside a mall west of Cairo.

    Sheikh Zayed & 6th October6th of October City

    €€€ High endFamily-friendly
  • A child's pedal fire engine parked on a driveway in front of a lawn.

    KidZania Cairo

    A children's city inside a mall: they hold down a job, they get paid — and the parents wait.

    CairoNew Cairo

    €€€ High endFamily-friendly
  • Four coloured slides running down to a pool, under thatched roofs.

    Jungle Aqua Park — Neverland

    Forty-five pools and eighty slides — but it is a hotel's park, and the day ticket takes some finding.

    HurghadaSafaga Road (Village Road), south of Hurghada

    €€€ High endFamily-friendly
  • Three dolphins in mid-leap above the blue pool.

    Dolphin World

    Dolphins, sea lions and a walrus, an hour of show — and captive animals, whether or not that sits well with you.

    HurghadaMakadi Bay, some thirty kilometres south of Hurghada

    €€€ High endFamily-friendly
  • A striped inflatable ring on the clear water of a pool.

    Sliders Cable Park

    An inflatable course floating on the lagoon, and a cable tow for beginners — from age six and 110 cm.

    HurghadaEl Gouna, Sabina area

    €€€ High endFamily-friendly
  • An infinity pool at the edge of a garden, two empty loungers and the blue sea on the horizon.

    Four Seasons San Stefano — pool day passes

    The one hotel in Alexandria that publishes, in black and white, the price of a day at the pool with no room booked.

    AlexandriaSan Stefano, on the Corniche

    €€€ High endFamily-friendly
  • The three pools at Address Marassi

    Three pools facing the Mediterranean — behind the gate of a closed compound.

    Marsa Matrouh and SiwaMarassi, Km 129 Matrouh Road, El Alamein

    €€€ High endFamily-friendly
  • Two stainless-steel handrails at the entrance to a pool, clear water in front.

    The pools at Rixos Premium Alamein

    The only one on this coast to advertise indoor pools: you can still swim when the coast has shut.

    Marsa Matrouh and SiwaNew Alamein, Km 107 North Coastal Road

    €€€ High endFamily-friendly
  • Kempinski Nile Hotel — the Rooftop Pool

    A ten-metre pool on the roof, above the corniche: a day pass at EGP 1,940, gym and jacuzzi included.

    CairoGarden City

    €€€ High endPaid entry
  • Palms and clouds mirrored in the blue water of a pool, white loungers along the edge.

    Sofitel Cairo Nile El Gezirah — pool day use

    EGP 3,000 for the day — pool, sauna, hammam and gym included — and the hotel publishes the price itself, which is rare.

    CairoZamalek, Gezira Island

    €€€ High endFamily-friendly
  • A large resort pool, white loungers and closed parasols among the date palms.

    Four Seasons Sharm El Sheikh — the day pass

    The only Red Sea day pass where the resort itself sets out the price, the hours and what is included.

    Sharm el-SheikhSharm El Sheikh, seafront

    €€€ High endFamily-friendly