As you can imagine, one of Egypt’s great tourist attractions is its history, especially ancient history: the Pharaonic era has an appeal that remains intact several thousand years after its emergence. However, fans of contemporary history will also find reasons to travel to this country. For example, to do tourism in El Alamein, a town on the Mediterranean coast known worldwide for the crucial battles that were fought here during the Second World War. Visiting its memorials and museums allows one to understand the importance of those battles . And even today it is easy to get excited about it.
But luckily, tourism in El Alamein currently offers another, much more pleasant attraction: in recent years major urban development projects have been developed to enjoy the benefits that the Mediterranean Sea offers here. The inauguration of the Marina in 2005 and, shortly after, the Borg El Arab airport laid the foundations for a new type of sun and beach tourism that is becoming increasingly popular, not only among Egyptians themselves but also among foreign travelers.
On this page we give you all the information you need to know to go sightseeing in El Alamein: what to see, how to get there and much more. And remember that Egipto Exclusivo can take care of planning all the details of your experience. This destination will surprise you!
El Alamein is located about 100 km west of Alexandria, right where the German and Italian troops were stopped in their advance towards the Nile Delta. A location that seemed crucial for the defensive strategy of the allies, since the only possible communication route between Libya and the Nile Delta ran along the Mediterranean coast.
But regardless of this episode, which changed El Alamein forever, this town is very privileged at a natural level, with beaches of fine white sand and clear waters that have now become a perfect bathing area for the numerous resorts that have opened in recent years.
The climate you will find on your trip to El Alamein is not very different from that which characterizes other places on the Mediterranean coast, such as Alexandria or Marsa Matruh. That is,
As you will see during your trip, historically everything in El Alamein has to do with the Second World War. Until the outbreak of this international conflict, this was just another corner of the Mediterranean coast, on the route between the Nile Delta and Libya, when it had not yet been opened to tourism.
El Alamein, however, was destined to play a fundamental role in contemporary history. In 1942, the German and Italian forces, known as Afrika Korps under the command of Erwin Rommel, ‘the Desert Fox’, were positioned in Libya with the strategy of advancing towards Egypt, a key bastion of the allies. In particular, against Alexandria because of the importance of its port, and Port Said, with the intention of taking control of the Suez Canal. All of this would be a key coup in the course of the conflict. The Allied troops, for their part, organized the defense in Egypt, from the British headquarters established in Cairo. Under his command, Bernard Montgomery.
The German and Italian troops began the advance, winning in Marsa Matruh, where Rommel established his command headquarters. But time was running against them, as one of the Allied strategies was to harass and boycott the supplies of the enemy troops by means of aerial bombardments. That caused Rommel to launch the offensive in the summer of 1942, in what is known as the First Battle of El Alamein, which the Allies managed to contain.
A battle that ended in a draw but gave a moral victory to the allies. And months later it encouraged the Allied troops to undertake a counterattack, known as the Second Battle of El Alamein, taking advantage of the shortage of supplies that the Afrika Korps troops continued to suffer. On this occasion, the Allied victory was clear and caused the German and Italian armies to retreat towards Libya.
A movement by Rommel that, apparently, did not yet have the approval of Adolf Hitler, but that served to avoid total annihilation. But, above all, the outcome of this battle was a turning point in the course of the Second World War, as reflected in a famous phrase by Wiston Churchill: “Before El Alamein, we never had a victory. After El Alamein, we never suffered a defeat.”
In any case, it did not prevent numerous casualties on both sides, as can be understood by visiting the cemeteries of El Alamein. Since the battles of El Alamein, this place has remained as a great memorial, a visual and emotional reminder of the horrors of war, visited by numerous people. Many of them are Europeans and, in some cases, descendants of soldiers or relatives who, in one way or another, were involved in that great world conflict. But above all, these memorials today are open to all who do tourism in El Alamein and wish to understand and remember that war episode.
Since then, every year in the month of October, official commemorations are held in El Alamein to remember the battle and the fatal victims, which were numerous: nearly 70,000 soldiers, according to some sources. But without extinguishing the flame of that memory, the tourism of El Alamein has been taking a new course, aimed at taking advantage of the natural beauty and the privileged climate offered by this piece of Mediterranean coast.
The proximity to Alexandria, the rest of the cities of the Nile Delta and the capital, Cairo, offered an opportunity for development that neither the Egyptian government nor private investors missed. In recent decades, private resorts and tourist developments have been built, modifying the coastal landscape with new breakwaters, artificial lakes and other elements that have emerged from scratch. Marina El Alamein is its greatest exponent, a large private resort with higher standards of exclusivity than those of Marsa Matruh.
Despite this, the size of this tourist settlement is not very large, especially if we compare it with others in the country: just over 10,000 people live here permanently, although this number increases during the summer holidays.
As we have seen, the present of El Alamein is very different from its past: the Second World War is just a memory for those who come here every year to enjoy their holidays. However, the future may also be very different, according to the plans that the Egyptian government has for the coming decades.
To face the population increase that the Egyptian society will experience in the coming decades, and with the intention of doing so in the best conditions of sustainability, the Mediterranean coast will very likely host important urban developments, in line with what is happening with New Cairo. Large investments in desalination plants and power plants based on solar energy will be two of the pillars that will sustain the city of New Al-Alamein, drawn on a plan in the arid terrain that opens to the south of El Alamein, giving shelter to one million inhabitants by the mid-21st century, as well as numerous administrative buildings of the State, according to government estimates.
Ambitious plans that are still far from materializing but that demonstrate the relevant role that is intended to be given to this area and that would have to coexist with the incipient tourism of El Alamein, which has already started with resorts and many other services.
Practically everything there is to see in El Alamein is related to the battles of the Second World War. Some spaces are intended to preserve the memory of the fallen and others, to teach how those battles were, with weapons and objects that have been preserved, in some cases really intact. This is a review of all of this.
This is the great museum of El Alamein, the one that offers the most complete visit about what happened in those momentous days of summer and autumn of 1942, and in general, to learn how the entire North African campaign in the Second World War developed. It dedicates a pavilion to each of the four major countries involved: United Kingdom, Egypt, Germany and Italy. And also another one to objects and documents of that conflict. In addition, tanks and war wagons that were used in the battles of El Alamein are exhibited outdoors.
It is probably the most overwhelming place of the three memorials to see in El Alamein. It is a carefully designed cemetery, especially in what has to do with the arrangement of the tombs: about 7,240 extend with an overwhelming symmetry and regularity among desert plants. Its name indicates that, although most of the soldiers buried here are British, it also hosts the graves of combatants from Australia and Canada, among other nations belonging to this supranational entity.
The German Memorial is one of the most impressive of those that stand here. It was designed with the appearance of a medieval fortress, on which the flags of Germany and Egypt fly, and is located about 7 km west of El Alamein. It houses the remains of about 4,000 soldiers and in the center of the cemetery stands an obelisk in memory of the fallen.
Located about 11 km west of El Alamein, it is a large space with a monumental entrance, under the name ‘Sacrario Militare Italiano El Alamein’. A large avenue flanked by vegetation leads to the main construction of the complex: a polygonal tower inside which windows open to the Mediterranean and an altar. On both sides, there are pavilions with interior walls covered in marble, as they are the tombstones that announce the remains of about 5,000 soldiers killed in battle, in many cases unidentified.
In the enclosure there are other constructions, including a small museum with maps, objects and documents about the battle of El Alamein. Its commemorative tumulus is also symbolic, with a large plaque where you can read: “Mancó la fortuna, non il valore” (“Luck was missing, not the value”).
Because it has remained for decades as a commemorative place of those battles, its coast enjoys a more clear appearance than other nearby places, despite the fact that in recent years many resorts of tourism in El Alamein have been built. The main beaches, in fact, are private and only allow access to their customers. The beaches of El Alamein stand out for their white and fine sand, bathed by waters much clearer and cleaner than other points in the country . Among the most prominent, it is worth mentioning:
If you are organizing a tourist trip to El Alamein, you can take note of the information we give you below, as it will be useful to you with all certainty: knowing how to get there and how to get around this destination will help you shape your holidays or your excursion, if you are only going to visit this place for a day.
As we said, one of the great reasons for the growth of tourism in El Alamein was the inauguration of the Borg El Arab airport. Although its main objective was to decongest the old airport of Alexandria, it has revealed itself as a springboard for this and other tourist projects of the Mediterranean coast of Egypt.
The Borg El Arab airport is located about 80 km from El Alamein, which means just over 1 hour by road. The direct connections it receives are very varied, especially from cities in the Middle East, but also with Cairo and with some European cities, such as Milan or Athens. On the page dedicated to Alexandria you can find a more detailed list with these destinations.
If you are going to travel to El Alamein from other parts of Egypt, you have an alternative to flights from Cairo: the road. Alexandria is just over 100 km away, which is approximately one and a half hours. And Cairo is only 250 km away by car, that is, about 2 and a half hours. From Marsa Matruh, the other great holiday destination on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt, the distance is about 200 km (just over two hours by car).
Despite the incipient tourism, El Alamein is still not large enough to have a large bus station, so if you want to come with this means of transport you will have to resort to a private one. For this service or for private taxis of different sizes, including the minivan, you can contact Egipto Exclusivo.
Similarly, the port of El Alamein is small and serves small boats, but not passenger ferries, so if you wish to arrive by boat, you will also need to use a private service.
A car is the best and practically the only way to get around El Alamein. If you want to get behind the wheel yourself, you will find several car rental offices here, in some cases from large chains that give you the option of returning the vehicle to another branch, for example at Borg El Arab airport.
On the other hand, the taxi service is usually private and on demand, very common in transfer services from the aforementioned airport. However, it is not a common ‘street-side’ service. Therefore, if you are looking for a vehicle with a driver and wide availability to do sightseeing in El Alamein, you can contact Egipto Exclusivo, as this is one of the many services we provide in this tourist destination.
For this and everything else, do not hesitate to contact Egipto Exclusivo. We will take care of designing a tailor-made travel program in El Alamein, as we have a lot of experience here and a wide portfolio of suppliers.
