Hurghada International Airport to Makadi Bay

Makadi Bay is where a lot of families point the whole holiday: a sheltered south-coast bay ringed by big all-inclusive resorts, a coral house reef off the beach and the Makadi Water World aqua park to burn off the kids' energy. There is no town to wander into, which is rather the point — you check in, put the wristbands on and stay put. It sits about 30 km south of Hurghada airport, roughly 35 minutes down the coastal highway.

One bay, a row of resorts, and no high street

Understanding Makadi's layout makes the airport run easier to picture. It is not a town with a centre; it is a string of hotels lined along the bay, each with its own gate off the main road. Your driver needs the specific resort name, because "Makadi Bay" alone covers a couple of kilometres of frontage and a dozen lobbies. Whatever you arrive in will pull straight up to your hotel's reception — this far out, everything is door to door, and nobody is walking anywhere with a suitcase.

The shuttle most package families never even notice

Because Makadi is almost wholly package territory, the majority of arrivals already have a transfer folded into the holiday and simply follow the rep. After baggage reclaim you look for the name-marked stands where tour-operator reps gather guests, then wait for the group to fill before the minibus rolls out. It is the cheapest route by far — often effectively free, since it is baked into what you paid months ago.

The trade-off is time and patience. A shared minibus works its way along the bay dropping each hotel in turn, so if yours is last on the list you will sit through several other lobbies first — the run stretches to about 40 minutes plus stops. With tired, over-excited children that final leg can feel long. If you are booking a shared transfer on its own rather than through a package, budget around €10–15 per person.

Booking your own car — where child seats actually matter

For a family travelling with little ones, a pre-booked private transfer pulls its weight on the practical stuff: you can request child seats in advance, there is room for the full holiday's worth of cases and buggies, and the price is fixed before you fly so there is no fumbling for notes at the barrier with a toddler on your hip. The driver meets you at the arrivals barrier and walks you to an air-conditioned car that is yours alone.

The real win over the shuttle is the direct run. No circling the bay dropping five other hotels before yours, it is a straight 35-minute shot to your gate, with the aircon on and chilled water in the door. Call it about €20–30 for the whole vehicle, which for a family of four splits down to very little per head and buys you a calmer arrival. If anyone in the group is arriving frazzled, this is the option that gets everyone poolside soonest.

Taxis: possible, but the odds thin out down here

Local taxis do wait on the forecourt outside arrivals, and independent travellers can grab one for roughly 650–1,100 EGP, around €11–19 — after some firm bargaining. The problem is that fewer drivers fancy the longer southern haul for a walk-up fare, so you may find slimmer pickings and stiffer opening prices than for the short hops into town. There are no meters, so settle the number before the bags go in the boot.

One thing to plan for: getting a taxi back to the airport from inside Makadi is noticeably harder, since drivers do not naturally cruise the resort gates. If you do use a taxi, keep the driver's number and arrange your return run before you part ways — otherwise your hotel desk will sort a car, usually at a set resort rate.

Landing after the kids' bedtime

Plenty of charter flights into Hurghada touch down late, and Makadi's distance from the airport makes a pre-arranged pickup the sensible call for a night arrival. A booked transfer or your operator's shuttle will be waiting whatever the hour, whereas hunting a fair-priced taxi in the dark with sleepy children is nobody's idea of a start. An insider note: the resorts are used to midnight arrivals and almost all keep a late check-in desk and a cold buffet or snack going, so even if you roll in past everyone's bedtime, there will be somewhere to feed a hungry five-year-old before the wristbands go on.

Bottom line: if a transfer came with your package, just follow the rep and accept the few extra stops. If you are booking it yourself with young children, the private car — child seats, all your bags, one fixed price, straight to the gate — is worth the modest extra over a taxi, especially arriving late.