Keeping a Yacht in Egypt

How the market is developing

El Gouna is the closest thing Egypt has to a full-service marina cluster. Abu Tig Marina, the Red Sea's first yacht marina, opened in 2005 and expanded in 2009 to add megayacht capacity: it now runs over 130 original berths plus 154 added berths for vessels up to 60m, two ship lifts to 30m and 250 tonnes, a diesel fuel station and a maintenance centre. Marina El Gouna and Abydos Marina fill out the town-centre cluster, with Abydos welcoming both leisure and commercial vessels since 1990.

A second, more seasonal scene sits on the Mediterranean side. Marassi Marina & Yacht Club berths over 245 yachts up to 155m across a 1.16 million square metre port, and Porto Marina bills itself as the first international yacht marina in eastern North Africa with capacity for over 1,400 yachts. Both read as summer, beach-club-driven leisure boating rather than year-round liveaboard cruising: worth confirming current operating berths directly with each marina before you plan around them.

Marinas along the coast

Formalities matter as much as facilities here: foreign yachts must make first landfall at an official port of entry before visiting anywhere else. See our best marinas in Africa guide for how these compare with the rest of the continent.

Registration and bringing a boat in

The Egyptian Authority for Maritime Safety, EAMS, sits under the Ministry of Transport and runs the Yachts Single Window foreign yachts clear through: vessel, crew and prior-port-clearance data must reach it at least 72 hours before the first Egyptian port of entry. Most cruising foreign yachts keep their home flag and clear in on temporary admission through a licensed agent rather than re-flagging, and long-stay owners typically renew that clearance on each re-entry. Confirm with a licensed maritime agent whether repeat renewals suit your cruising pattern.

A specific published duty schedule for pleasure yachts was not confirmed in our research, and mandatory registration of maritime imports only began on 1 October 2021, newer ground than South Africa's rules. Get current HS-code duty figures and Egypt's VAT treatment from an EAMS-licensed agent or a customs broker before quoting a number. Foreign yachts must land first at an official port, Port Said, Alexandria, Suez, Hurghada, Port Ghalib, Safaga, Sharm El Sheikh or Taba, and clear customs, immigration and health formalities before moving on.

Which boats suit the Red Sea

The brands that actually show up in Egypt's own brokerage listings are the sensible starting point rather than a generic international shortlist. The Azimut 55, Princess V58 and Sunseeker Portofino 53 are three of the five brands most listed here, all flybridge or sports-cruiser designs suited to the motor-yacht-heavy Red Sea fleet. As planing hulls, budget for fuel burn as the main running cost, well above any sailing model.

For the dive and snorkel day-trip trade that actually drives Egypt's boating economy, a Jeanneau Cap Camarat 9.0 center console or walk-around fits Hurghada and El Gouna's short offshore hops better than a flybridge cruiser, with outboard power keeping service complexity well below any inboard-diesel model.