Turkey vs Egypt Vacation: Prices, Visas, Beaches and Which to Choose

Turkey or Egypt? In short: Egypt is usually cheaper and warm all year, while Turkey is closer, simpler and more varied: no visa for many nationalities, about 4 hours from Moscow to Antalya, and beyond the beach there are Istanbul, Cappadocia and Pamukkale. According to the Russian travel magazine Tonkosti (April 2026), a week's package to Egypt cost from 70,000 roubles per person, and to Turkey from 90,000. For travellers who want sightseeing as well as sea, we put together Turkey tour packages with a guide in your language, and 4 days in Istanbul starts from $699.

We have worked in Istanbul since 2010 and every season we host travellers, many of them from Russia and Eastern Europe, who were choosing between these two countries. Below is an honest comparison: where Egypt really wins, and where Turkey does.

Turkey or Egypt: which is cheaper for a holiday?

On package price, Egypt usually wins, especially from November to March, when Turkey is out of season and Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh are warm. In April 2026 Tonkosti compared 7-day packages: Egypt from 70,000–80,000 roubles per person in 4- and 5-star hotels, Turkey usually no less than 90,000–100,000, especially in high season. These are tour operator prices at one moment and change quickly, so compare the same dates and the same hotel category.

On the ground the picture changes. In Turkey, taxis, food outside the hotel and independent trips cost less, and the choice of excursions is far wider. In Egypt nearly everything is bought through the hotel or a guide, with excursion prices in dollars. Keep in mind too that Turkey's museums have become much more expensive for foreigners: entry tickets in Istanbul are now priced in euros.

Our own prices for reference: Istanbul 4 days with hotel and guide from $699, premium Istanbul and Cappadocia 6 days from $1,250, Istanbul and Antalya 8 days from $1,980 per person. The exact price depends on season and hotel; message us and we will quote for your dates.

Visa, flights, money and time difference

Turkey: Russian citizens with an international passport need no visa for up to 60 days of tourism, according to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Aeroflot flies Moscow–Istanbul daily, and because of the detour around closed airspace the flight takes about 5.5 hours. Many Russian airlines and charters fly to Antalya, about 4 hours. There is no time difference with Moscow all year.

Egypt: Russians need a visa on arrival, issued at the airport; travellers staying only in Sharm el-Sheikh can get a free Sinai stamp instead. Check the fee and rules with your tour operator before you fly. The flight to Hurghada or Sharm takes 5–6 hours. In winter Egypt is an hour behind Moscow; in summer the clocks match.

Money: Russian Mir, Visa and Mastercard cards do not work in Turkey, and the same is true in Egypt. Bring dollars or euros in cash and change them at exchange offices (in Turkey they are called döviz). Our tours can be booked with no deposit: you pay on the spot.

Sea and beaches: the Red Sea or the Mediterranean?

For diving and snorkelling, Egypt has no rival: the Red Sea's coral reefs start right at the shore, especially in Sharm el-Sheikh and Marsa Alam. For many people that settles it, and Turkey has nothing comparable.

The Turkish coast wins on other things: long beaches from Kemer to Alanya, mountains, pine trees down to the sea, clean Blue Flag water and good boat trips, for example to Suluada island or the sunken city of Kekova. For children, the gentle sandy entry at Side and Belek is easier; in Egypt many hotels have entry from a pontoon because of the reefs, and children need reef shoes.

Both have downsides: Egypt is windy in winter and very hot in summer, and in Turkey the beaches of popular hotels are packed in July and August.

When to go: the weather by month

• November to March: Egypt. Hurghada sees around 22–25°C by day, and you can swim. Antalya is too cool for the beach then, but Istanbul and Cappadocia are good for a sightseeing trip, and Cappadocia under snow is especially beautiful.
• April to May: either. The sea in Turkey is still cool, but the weather is ideal for Istanbul, Pamukkale and Ephesus.
• June to September: Turkey is easier. Egypt can reach 40°C in summer, which is hard with children.
• October: the best month for Turkey: warm sea and fewer people. Egypt is good too.

We run separate Istanbul programmes for the May holidays and New Year, and in summer many travellers combine a beach in Antalya with two days in Istanbul.

Hotels and all-inclusive: where is the service better?

The Turkish all-inclusive format is widely seen as the benchmark: large grounds, water parks, kids' clubs, entertainment in several languages and many à la carte restaurants. In Antalya, Kemer, Belek and Side, staff almost everywhere speak Russian and English.

Egyptian hotels offer less choice but cost less at a similar star rating, and newer hotels in Sahl Hasheesh and El Gouna match the Turkish ones. Guest reviews of food and cleanliness vary more in Egypt, so choosing a proven hotel matters more there.

If you are going to Istanbul, all-inclusive hardly exists: it is a city where people eat in restaurants and cafés. We choose hotels in the Old City and on the Bosphorus at different price levels.

Excursions: the pyramids, or Cappadocia and Istanbul

Egypt's headline excursions are few: the Giza pyramids and Cairo, Luxor with the Karnak temple, and Sinai. They are impressive, but from Hurghada and Sharm they are long trips: hours on a bus to Cairo or Luxor, or a domestic flight.

Turkey's choice is wider and closer. From Antalya you can reach Pamukkale, Perge and Aspendos or Kekova in a day. Above all there is Istanbul, with Hagia Sophia, Topkapı and the Bosphorus, and Cappadocia with its balloon flights. We run Istanbul tours with a Russian-speaking guide on request, and from Antalya we offer Antalya tours such as the Suluada boat trip from $50 or a Pamukkale day trip from $90 with lunch.

Turkey is more than a beach: Istanbul and the sea in one trip

Turkey's main advantage over Egypt is that one trip can give you both a city and the sea. A popular plan among our Russian guests: 3–4 days in Istanbul, then a domestic flight of about an hour to Antalya for a week on the beach. Or the other way round: sea first, then Istanbul before flying home.

Our Istanbul and Antalya 8-day package starts from $1,980 per person with hotels, transfers and a guide, and all the options are on our Turkey tour packages page. If you have two extra days, add Cappadocia: a balloon flight at sunrise stays with people longer than any other excursion.

Turkey or Egypt: which one suits you

• Travelling in winter and want to swim: Egypt.
• Love diving and reefs: Egypt.
• Travelling in summer with children: Turkey, on the Antalya coast.
• Want sea and sightseeing, not just the hotel: Turkey.
• Don't want visa paperwork or a long flight: Turkey.
• Want to see a great city: Istanbul, which nothing in Egypt replaces.

If you choose Turkey, look at our Istanbul tours and Antalya tours, and for any question message us on WhatsApp: we reply in Russian or English, suggest a programme and quote for your dates. No deposit is needed.

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