AlUla or Hurghada?

There is no comparison here. AlUla is a desert oasis with no sea or lake within reach, and the Red Sea coast is too far for a day out, so water means a pool at your resort or camp.

Hurghada is built around the beach, with warm, clear water and swimming through the year. The catch is that the sand belongs to the hotels, and in front of many of them reef flats mean entering the water from a jetty. For the best beaches, take the boat to the Giftun islands or stay in the quieter bays towards Makadi and Sahl Hasheesh.

Neither place is worth the trip for its food, though Hurghada gives a curious eater a little more to find. In El Dahar there are simple places serving koshary, ful and taameya, and at the fishing harbour you choose your fish from the ice and have it grilled, while the resorts lean on the buffet.

AlUla eats mostly at its resorts, with chef-led menus, and on a few Old Town terraces serving Saudi and Levantine grills. There is no street food to explore. What stays with you is the oasis produce, especially the dates and cardamom coffee offered in welcome.

AlUla is far ahead. Hegra's carved Nabataean tombs rise from open desert, Dadan has lion tombs cut high into the cliff, and the canyon walls of Jabal Ikmah are covered in ancient inscriptions. The abandoned mud-brick Old Town below its fort adds a more recent layer. The sites are spread out and visited on guided tours, so expect a few deep visits rather than a dense itinerary.

Hurghada grew from a fishing village and has little historic fabric. The Hurghada Museum's pharaonic pieces, the El Mina mosque and a walk through El Dahar's market streets fill a morning, and anything ancient means the long trip to Luxor.

If you want a night out, go to Hurghada. Along Sheraton Road in Sakkala and around the marina, bars, shisha lounges and large beach clubs stay open into the small hours, with themed and foam parties in high season. The scene is aimed at tourists rather than locals, but it is lively.

AlUla has no bars or clubs at all. Evenings mean a late dinner, a stroll through the lit Old Town lanes and stargazing outside town, with some concerts and events in winter.

Both places are outstanding for nature, but one is on land and the other underwater. In AlUla you walk, climb and ride through sandstone: palm groves below cliffs, Elephant Rock alone on its plain, the lava plateau of Harrat Uwayrid and the red-rock canyons of the Sharaan reserve. Via ferrata, canyon hikes and balloon flights over the valley are the highlights.

Hurghada's best scenery is beneath the surface, with coral reefs, turtles, dolphins and the occasional dugong, plus wrecks and walls for divers. The steady wind makes El Gouna and Soma Bay strong kitesurfing spots. Its bare mountains are seen mostly from a quad bike or jeep, and hiking is limited.

Hurghada offers a little more beyond the hotel. Luxor's Karnak and Valley of the Kings are first-rank sights, though four hours each way makes an overnight stay sensible, and El Gouna's lagoon marina is only half an hour north. The Roman granite quarries in the eastern desert make a less common guided outing.

From AlUla the options are the oasis towns of Tayma, with its great stone well, and Khaybar, with its basalt fortress. Each is a full day across open desert, and little else lies within reach, since most of the interest is in the valley itself.

Hurghada is much easier with children, provided you stay mostly within the resort. Kids' clubs, splash pools, full water parks and shallow sheltered beaches cover the days, and glass-bottom boats, semi-submarines, dolphin trips and the town aquarium give easy outings.

AlUla suits older children who like adventure, with rock scrambling, camel rides, ziplines and the sheer size of Hegra's tombs. Nothing is built for small children, and long drives and walks in the sun make it hard work outside winter.

Both are spread out and neither is walkable, but Hurghada is a little simpler. Everything lies along one coast road, served by cheap shared minibuses, plentiful taxis and hotel shuttles, and excursions include transfers. The road itself is unpleasant to cross on foot.

AlUla has no ordinary public transport. The Old Town, Dadan, Elephant Rock and Hegra are often 20km or more apart, the main sites are reached by ticketed shuttle buses, and everything else requires a hire car, a driver or a tour.

Neither is a shopping destination, though Hurghada has more stalls to browse. El Dahar's market streets and Sheraton Road sell spices, papyrus, alabaster, perfume oils and galabeyas, with haggling and insistent sellers, and a few malls cover everyday needs.

AlUla has only a few calm Old Town craft shops selling weaving, pottery, jewellery and local perfumes. The oasis dates are the best thing to take home.

The gap is wide. Hurghada is one of the cheapest places anywhere for a warm-sea vacation: all-inclusive packages cover rooms, meals and many drinks, and diving and boat trips are inexpensive. The extra costs come mainly from hotel-sold excursions and marina restaurants.

AlUla costs far more. Accommodation is mostly luxury resorts and upmarket camps, the main sites are visited on paid guided tours, and you will usually need a hire car or driver. Only the Old Town terraces and cheap petrol ease the bill.

AlUla has the more interesting offer, though it is limited to winter. Maraya, the mirror-clad concert hall in a desert canyon, hosts international singers and orchestras in the festival season, alongside outdoor music and traditional Saudi dance among the rocks. If live performance matters, plan your trip around that calendar.

Hurghada has no theatre or concert life of its own. What you can see is tourist entertainment, such as hotel animation, belly dancing and the spinning tanoura dancers at folklore dinners.

The two are evenly matched for rest, but the mood is quite different. AlUla offers silence: sunrise yoga, pools set among the rocks, resort spas and evenings by a fire under a dark sky, with nothing outside the gates to disturb you.

Hurghada's version is a sunbed and a pool, with hotel spas offering Turkish-style hammams and Red Sea salt rituals at low cost. Quality varies from hotel to hotel, and the town outside is noisy. Neither place has a bathing tradition of its own.