The Egyptian currency has suffered a lot, so now it’s time for a bargain on the coast of the Red Sea

There are many glorious reasons to come to Egypt. The awesome pyramids of Giza. The mighty temples of Karnak, Luxor, Phillae, Abu Simbel.

The Valley of the Kings where the pharaohs slept for 30 centuries. The cataract of Aswan where Agatha Christie let her imagination run wild with G&Ts. The shimmering shores where the windsurfing can be as fine as the sea bass.

And now you can add another big attraction to that fantastic list: you can get a cold beer for around £1.

Yes, £1. Or £1.50 if they really push it. Why so cheap? Because in a turbulent time when the British pound has taken quite a beating – against the US dollar, the euro, the Swiss franc – several other currencies have taken an even bigger blow, including the Egyptian pound, which has repeatedly plunged deeper and deeper – such as diving experts looking for sunken archeology off the coast of Alexandria.

All this means that a sun, sand and sunset holiday in Egypt is one of the best global bargains for UK holidaymakers.

A great and specific example is the streamlined, modernist and quickly refurbished TUI BLUE Crystal Bay resort, halfway along the long Red Sea coast in the tourism city of Hurghada.

Handily, you can fly here directly from multiple cities in the UK, avoiding messy transfers in Cairo and the like.

To be honest, Crystal Bay Hurghada is not the place to come if you want pharaonic tombs next door, or a sense of communion with the god Anubis. Indeed, you can spend much of your time here without even being in Egypt.

However, it’s pretty much the perfect place to come if your not-too-expensive vacation needs are: guaranteed sun, fun, music, chill-out zones, gyms, sweet lagoons, nice beaches, cabanas, good hummus, full breakfast buffet, tennis, iced coffee , windsurfing, scuba diving, Cheshire-sized pools and brilliant minty mojito cocktails for around £1.98. You’ll only notice the price if you inquire, as the Tui Blue brand is all-inclusive, from booze to food: Egypt’s low price here is reflected in the overall budget-friendly cost of your package. Hurrah!

Tui Blue Crystal Bay offers guests “Cheshire-sized swimming pools,” reveals Sean

Sean says Tui Blue Crystal Bay is “pretty much the perfect place to come” if your vacation needs include guaranteed sun, beautiful beaches and cabanas

The Tui Blue brand is all-inclusive, from drinks to food. Upstairs is one of Tui Blue Crystal Bay’s guest rooms

There are other attractions outside the large luxury hotel complex if you get bored of throwing around paying pennies for pints.

A long, scenic day trip (about £79 per person) takes you to some fine snorkelling. It starts at the hotel and takes you to Hurghada’s jovial scruffy little harbour, with its friendly shisha cafes: then the boat paddles out and the bustling city beaches give way to beautifully pale, golden-sand archipelagos of islets, with almost Ibiza laid-back vibes (think beanbags on the sand) and all surrounded by almost Maldivian turquoise waters.

Snorkeling here is really excellent. In the summer the visibility is as good as it gets: you’ll be surrounded by nemos, parrotfish, schools of zebrafish, shooting schools of silver this and iridescent that, occasional turtles and flamboyant fairy lionfish, and you’ll find them amidst large, thriving, legally protected corals, where you soar above blue-lipped giant clams and below wandering bald eagles.

Then it’s a short jaunt to the island for sweet rum cocktails and a variety of salads, calamari and fish fillets.

Hurghada is known for its marine life. Sean says ‘snorkelling here is really excellent’

My advice, though, is to save your appetite for that evening’s BBQ at Crystal Bay: succulent kofta kebabs, perfectly pink lamb chops, chicken and pepper skewers, all served with dips, salads, fuuls (Somali stew) and fluffy rice. under a luminous Red Sea moon. Very pleasant.

What else?

Well, the dancing goes on until 3am. The water park next door opens at 10am. The kids club lazes around all day. There are more expensive rooms if you want a pool right in front of your sliding glass door.

These also entitle you to use of the private cabanas, where waiters come and go with an embarrassment of daiquiris and delicious watermelon, bowls of cheesy fries and thick club sandwiches.

You can also take another journey inland, to the real Sahara, where you can meet Bedouin families, marvel at semi-feral camels, race over the bumpy dunes, rescue injured falcons, try your hand at making flatbread, and — peak moment – laze on pillows on a rocky plateau and watch the sun god Ra slip behind the jagged mountainscapes, as the warm wind hums lyrically through the dim void.

Then it’s back to the hotel, to watch the days come and go, under the generously unforgiving sun, amidst the lapping poolside umbrellas, until you lose all sense of hours and days.

If you stayed here long enough, you’d probably forget the month or even the year. And maybe that makes it quite Egyptian in a timeless place like Egypt. As well as really good value.