Hurghada with kids: snorkel boats, the Grand Aquarium and what to skip

Hurghada with kids works well if you match the day to the child. Toddlers and children who will not put their face in the water see more coral through the windows of a semi-submarine than from any beach. Confident swimmers of eight or nine can manage a full snorkel day with a lifejacket and a patient guide. And when the wind closes the port, an afternoon at the Grand Aquarium beats a day by the pool.

What follows is the honest family version: which boats suit which ages, what children pay, what to pack, and why we would skip Dolphin World.

Hurghada activities with kids: the short list

Ranked for families with children under ten:

1. A semi-submarine trip. Two hours, a 15-minute sail, about 45 minutes looking at the reef from a cabin about 3 m below the surface and a short snorkel stop for anyone who wants it. The gentlest way to see a reef. More in the semi-submarine guide.
2. A morning snorkel yacht to Orange Bay. The shortest crossing to Giftun, shade and toilets on the boat, two guided reef stops and a sandy beach. See Orange Bay.
3. The Grand Aquarium, for a windy day, a rest day or under-fours: a 24 m underwater tunnel, a rainforest, a mini zoo and a sound-and-light show around the replica of an ancient whale.
4. Shore snorkeling at a house reef if your hotel has one, especially the shallow seagrass of west Makadi Bay, where you can see blue-spotted rays.
5. Mahmya, a private beach club on Giftun with reserved shade and a fixed timetable, for families who want a calmer, pricier beach day.

Semi-submarine: the best reef view for toddlers and non-swimmers

The yellow Royal Seascope boats of Egypt Sun Marine are semi-submarines: the hull stays on the surface and you sit in an air-conditioned, windowed cabin about 3 m down. They never dive. The operator describes the trip as suitable for all ages and ideal for non-swimmers, and it is the obvious choice for a family with a toddler, a nervous swimmer or someone prone to seasickness, because the sail to the reef takes only about 15 minutes.

The trip takes two hours: about 45 minutes of viewing, then a 30-minute snorkel stop with lifejackets, gear and a snorkel guide. There are departures at about 09:00, 11:00 and 15:00; the afternoon slot is handy after a morning on the beach. Boats take 40–77 guests and have toilets but no lunch. Bring passports or ID, and expect a photographer selling pictures on board.

Booked direct, Royal Seascope costs $15 from Hurghada without a transfer; the platform listings at about $22 include hotel pick-up, so the difference is the taxi. Semi-submarines also run in Makadi Bay, with pick-up from Safaga and Sahl Hasheesh, and Royal Seascope sails from El Gouna too, which saves families in the outer resorts the drive to Hurghada Marina. Our Egypt Sun Marine review has the details.

The only real passenger submarine that used to dive off Hurghada sank on 27 March 2025, and no real submarine trip runs now. Everything sold as a "submarine" today is a semi-submarine.

Snorkel boat trips with kids: which boat, which island

Choose the shortest crossing. Orange Bay faces Hurghada and is about 30–45 minutes by yacht; Paradise and Mahmya, on the southern tip of Giftun, take about 45–60 minutes. Dolphin House is about 1.5 hours north over the most exposed water of any day trip, which is a lot to ask of a child who gets seasick. Sit mid-boat, look at the horizon and avoid a heavy breakfast; the NHS advises seasickness patches only for children over 10; pharmacies also sell tablets, some made for children.

Choose a yacht over a speedboat. A yacht has shade, toilets and lunch on board; a speedboat is faster but slams in a north wind, and sellers warn that it is not suitable for people with back problems. With small children, comfort beats speed.

Ask about guides and lifejackets. The Chamber of Diving and Water Sports, which licenses snorkel boats, allows at most 12 snorkelers per guide, counted from the boat list: 25 on board means at least three guides. Each operator sets its own age rules (one seller bars children under five from its Orange Bay yacht days), so ask about children's lifejacket sizes when you book. Some sellers, Zanetta among them, advertise help for non-swimmers in the water.

Mahmya for a calmer beach. Mahmya's own boats leave from Mahmya Beach Marina by Sheraton Beach at 08:30 and return at 16:00, and even its cheapest ticket includes a reserved shaded seat, a real advantage with small children when shade elsewhere is first-come. The catch: children from 7 pay the adult price (EUR 38 for Day Use), and the hotel transfer is not included. See our Mahmya guide.

◔ Semi-submarine

GetYourGuide2 h

Hurghada: Royal Seascope Submarine Cruise with Snorkel Stop

4.4 (5,599)

from $22Check dates

◔ Semi-submarine

GetYourGuide3 h

Hurghada: Panoramic Semi-Submarine Cruise with Snorkeling

4.5 (1,353)

from $18Check dates

◐ Yacht

GetYourGuideFull dayOrange Bay

Hurghada: Royal Luxury VIP Cruise to Orange Bay with Lunch

4.8 (718)

from $53Check dates

◔ Semi-submarine

GetYourGuide2 hFrom Makadi Bay

Safaga/Makadi Bay: Panorama Submarine with Snorkeling Tour

4.5 (853)

from $18Check dates

◑ Catamaran

GetYourGuideFull day

Hurghada:Luxury Catamaran Semi Submarine & Sunset Late Start

4.7 (550)

from $28Check dates

◐ Yacht

GetYourGuideFull day

Hurghada: Yacht Trip 2 islands, Dolphin & Snorkeling W Lunch

4.6 (518)

from $59Check dates

See all trips on GetYourGuide →Also on Headout →Prices checked on 20 October 2026

Hurghada Grand Aquarium: tickets, prices and opening hours

The Hurghada Grand Aquarium is on Villages Road in south Hurghada, between the Mercure and Rixos hotels. It is more than an aquarium: the ticket covers the marine tanks and a 24 m underwater tunnel with sharks, rays and Red Sea reef fish, a rainforest, a mini zoo, a rope bridge and Whales Valley, a replica of the ancient whale Basilosaurus with a sound-and-light show. A visit takes one to two hours.

• Prices: adults (10 and over) $35 at the gate or $32 online; children 4–9 $17.50; under 4 free. Resident rates exist with a residence ID.
• Hours: opens 09:00, last entry 18:00.
• Shark feeding: 11:00–12:00 and 15:00–16:00 (may change).
• Practical: wheelchair accessible except the rope bridge, but there are no wheelchairs to borrow; twin prams are not allowed; you may bring your own food; no pets; pay in EGP, USD, EUR or GBP, cash or card. A hotel transfer can be booked and is paid in cash to the driver.

The platform ticket costs about the same as the gate, so there is no saving in booking ahead on GetYourGuide. Two listings to avoid: one GetYourGuide product sells only the transfer to the aquarium, without the entry ticket, and a cheap "city tour with optional Red Sea Aquarium" visits a different, small aquarium in town. Our Grand Aquarium review has the rest.

Dolphin World Hurghada: what it is before you buy tickets

Dolphin World is a captive dolphinarium on land in Makadi Bay, beside Mini Egypt. It is not Dolphin House, the wild-dolphin reef north of Hurghada, and it is not snorkeling. It keeps dolphins, sea lions and a walrus and stages a 60-minute show at 10:30 (the venue says daily; confirm Saturdays). It also sells short pool swims: about 5 minutes for one person, 10 for two, 15 for a family. Phones are not allowed during swim sessions; photos are sold by the venue's photographers.

Its own packages: the Family Day Out at $35 adult / $18 child (show, a Bedouin lunch, a camel ride and a Royal Seascope semi-submarine trip, with transfers) and the Dolphin Swimming Package at $70 adult / $60 child aged 4–12. Under 6s are free and 6–12s pay half for the show and transfers. Headout's show and pool-swim listings are non-cancellable.

The welfare case against it is concrete. HEPCA, the Hurghada environmental association, reported in 2013 that two dolphins were flown in to replace animals that had died at the venue, and it campaigns to ban dolphinaria in the Red Sea. GetYourGuide's own animal-welfare policy prohibits wild-animal shows, so its Dolphin World listing may not stay on sale. The venue also advertises "dolphin therapy" for children; we would not book anything on that promise. Read HEPCA's campaign and our Dolphin World review before deciding.

Our advice: if your children want dolphins, take a calm morning boat to Dolphin House with a crew that follows HEPCA's code, and tell them in advance that wild dolphins are sometimes there and sometimes not. If they want animals up close, the Grand Aquarium shows sharks and rays without the show.

Children in the water: gear, sun and safety

Masks. Use a classic mask and snorkel. A paediatric case series has linked full-face snorkel masks to drownings in young children, because the mask's dead air space can be too large for a small child's breath. If your child needs glasses, bring a prescription mask; they are rarely available to rent.

Wetsuits. The sea is about 22.5 °C in February and March, barely warmer in April, and still only about 25 °C in May and December. Small children get cold after 15–20 minutes, so a shorty wetsuit makes a big difference from December to April; boats often rent them as an extra. From May to November a rash guard is enough.

Sun and heat. July and August reach 37 °C at midday. Book morning or half-day trips with children in summer, and keep them in shade between 10:00 and 16:00. A rash guard and leggings beat sunscreen for a child snorkeling face-down; use mineral sunscreen on the rest.

Shore entries. At house reefs, enter only through the buoy-marked gaps and never let children stand on the reef flat. Stonefish, scorpionfish and lionfish live in the shallows; shoes or fins on, hands off. The beach snorkeling guide lists the resorts with real house reefs.

Beach closures. Rare fatal shark attacks near Hurghada, in July 2022 off Sahl Hasheesh and on 8 June 2023 off a Hurghada beach, involved swimmers off resort beaches; the authorities closed the coast for days afterwards. Swim in marked areas and obey red flags and closures.

Try dives. PADI's Bubblemaker starts at age 8 in water no deeper than 2 m; Discover Scuba starts at 10. Under CDWS rules an intro dive from a boat is one instructor per diver. See snorkeling with a try dive.

What children pay, and other family costs

Most snorkel boats charge roughly half price for children from about 3 or 4 up to 9 or 12, with the youngest free, but the bands are each operator's own. Some exceptions to plan around:

• Mahmya charges the adult price from age 7; infants under 3 are free.
• Utopia island, far to the south, charges USD 25 for children aged 6–11 on its own programme.
• The Grand Aquarium counts 10 and over as adults.
• Royal Seascope booked through Dolphin World costs $20 adult and $10 for a child aged 4–12, transfer included.

Cash extras apply to children too: the national-park fee for Giftun is USD 5 per foreign visitor, but children under 7 are exempt. Pick-up from the outer resorts usually costs extra per person.

Aqua parks. Makadi Water World sells single-entry tickets at EGP 2,500 per adult and EGP 1,250 per child aged 6–11. Sindbad Aqua Park is the aqua park inside the Sindbad Club hotel and publishes no day-ticket information for non-guests; ask the hotel.

Hurghada with kids: questions