Hula Hula Island, Magawish and the small islands of Hurghada

Hula Hula Island Hurghada is one of the best-sold boat days in town and one of the hardest to pin down. No map or working company website shows an island called Hula Hula. You buy a day at a beach club with hammocks, sunbeds and beach games, and the island depends on who sells the trip. The trips are cheap, the crossings short, and with the right questions you get a decent beach-and-snorkel day.

This page also covers Magawish, Abu Minqar, White Island, Nemo Beach and Turtle Bay. For the big island with Orange Bay, Paradise and Mahmya, see Giftun Island.

Where is Hula Hula Island Hurghada?

Sellers disagree. One dive centre sells a "Hula Hula (Paradise) Island" trip that actually stops at Giftun Saghir (Small Giftun) and Giftun Kebir. Several GetYourGuide and agency listings put Hula Hula together with Magawish, and one local agency files its Magawish day under a "hula-hula" web address. The island's own domain does not answer.

So: Hula Hula is a beach club sold as Hula Hula Island; sellers place it on Giftun or pair it with Magawish. Before you pay, ask which island the boat lands on, and get the answer in writing.

• Paradise is not Hula Hula. Paradise Island is a beach on the southern tip of Giftun Kebir. Some sellers use the two names loosely.
• "Paradise Island Hurghada" is a seller, not a place. The biggest Hula Hula listing (Hurghada: Hula Hula Cruise with Lunch, Massage, & Snorkeling) is sold under the Paradise Island Hurghada name, and that seller has no working website — see our Paradise Island Hurghada review.

Hula Hula has no pin because nobody has located it. Magawish lies off south Hurghada and is not one of the Giftun islands.

Hula Hula island trip: what the day looks like

Hula Hula days follow the standard Hurghada pattern: pick-up, two reef stops, lunch, beach club. Yacht versions run about 8 hours; speedboat versions 4–6 hours.

• Massage on the sand. The two largest Hula Hula yacht listings (Hurghada: Hula Hula Cruise with Lunch, Massage, & Snorkeling and Hurghada: Hula Hula Island Boat Trip with Snorkeling & Lunch) put a massage in the title or the description. Ask what it involves and whether it costs extra.
• Water sports. Water sports appear in the descriptions; ask which are included and which you pay for in cash.
• Speedboat with optional snorkeling. Hurghada: Hula Hula Speedboat w/ Optional Snorkeling & Lunch makes snorkeling and lunch options, so the cheapest price may not include both. Read the option you pick.
• "Sunset Hula Hula" (Hurghada: Sunset Hula Hula Island W/ Snorkeling & Lunch) runs 5–9 hours. It is a late island day, not a short evening cruise — for that, see our half-day and sunset trips.
• "With dolphins" (From Hurghada: Hula Hula Island Speedboat Tour with Dolphins) means a look for wild dolphins on the way. No operator can promise them, and boats must follow the HEPCA dolphin code: 30 m away, no chasing. See wild dolphin trips.

◐ Yacht

GetYourGuideFull day

Hurghada: Hula Hula Cruise with Lunch, Massage, & Snorkeling

4.4 (2,094)

from $27Check dates

◑ Sunset

GetYourGuideFull day

Hurghada: Sunset Hula Hula Island W/ Snorkeling & Lunch

4.5 (284)

from $25Check dates

◐ Speedboat

GetYourGuide6 h

From Hurghada: Hula Hula Island Speedboat Tour with Dolphins

4.3 (178)

from $42Check dates

◐ Full day

GetYourGuideFull dayMagawish

Magawish island with multi options

4.5 (71)

from $34Check dates

◔ Speedboat

GetYourGuide3 hAbu Minqar

Hurghada: Private Speedboat to Sandbank Abu Minqar Islands

4.7 (41)

from $151 per boatCheck dates

◐ Yacht

HeadoutMagawish

Magawish Island Boat Trip with Two Coral Reef Snorkeling Stops and Lunch

No reviews yet

from $16Check dates

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

Our Hula Hula and Magawish picks

1

Budget couples and families

The most-reviewed Hula Hula day, with lunch, snorkeling and a massage. Ask which island it lands on.

◐ Yacht

GetYourGuideFull day

Hurghada: Hula Hula Cruise with Lunch, Massage, & Snorkeling

4.4 (2,094)

from $27Check dates

2

Anyone who hates long hours on deck

Speedboat version, 4–6 hours; check which options your price covers.

◔ Speedboat

GetYourGuide5 h

Hurghada: Hula Hula Speedboat w/ Optional Snorkeling & Lunch

4.5 (1,594)

from $44Check dates

3

Snorkelers who want Magawish itself

A yacht day to a real, named island; the best rated of the group.

◐ Yacht

GetYourGuideFull dayMagawish

Hurghada: Yacht trip to Magawish Island & Snorkeling & Lunch

4.7 (56)

from $24Check dates

Hula Hula island Hurghada price and the cash extras

On GetYourGuide the shared Hula Hula yacht days start from $26 (Hurghada: Hula Hula Island Boat Trip with Snorkeling & Lunch) and $27 (Hurghada: Hula Hula Cruise with Lunch, Massage, & Snorkeling); the speedboat versions start from $42. Magawish yacht days start from $24, and the Magawish sea taxi from $28. These are per person.

The same Hula Hula trip is listed from $26 on GetYourGuide and $25 on Tiqets today. The Tiqets listing has no reviews yet, and boat, beach, pick-up area and inclusions may differ — compare the "included" lines. What the headline price often leaves out:

• The park fee. Giftun and Abu Minqar lie inside the Northern Red Sea Islands protectorate. The fee is USD 5 per foreign visitor; sellers usually ask about €5 in cash if it is not included. A rise to USD 10 has been decreed but postponed. The rate is on the EEAA fee page.
• "National Park fees and VAT". Some Headout and Tiqets listings exclude "National Park fees and VAT, €10 per person, cash". That is what those listings say, not the official fee.
• Coast-guard fee. Some operators add a coast-guard fee of about €5 per person. One dive centre's island-trip list adds transfers from Soma Bay or El Gouna (+€10) and Safaga (+€15), with children 3–9 at half price.
• Outer-resort pick-up, drinks on the island, photos and tips. Tipping the crew is customary and modest — small Egyptian-pound notes in the crew box at the end of the day. Bring small notes.

For the full ladder of boat prices, see what Hurghada boat trips cost.

Hula Hula island Hurghada reviews: what to expect

The big Hula Hula listings are well reviewed but not top of the class. Hurghada: Hula Hula Cruise with Lunch, Massage, & Snorkeling is rated 4.4 from 2,094 reviews and Hurghada: Hula Hula Speedboat w/ Optional Snorkeling & Lunch 4.5 from 1,594; ratings on Hula Hula listings run in the 4.3–4.5 range, below the Orange Bay leaders. The common complaint about Hula Hula days is short island time — about an hour ashore on some boats.

A $26 day pays for a big boat, a buffet, two reef stops and a beach slot, not three hours on the sand. If beach time matters most, pick a listing that states the time on the island, or go to Orange Bay with a seller that gives about 2 hours there.

Magawish island: the real island off south Hurghada

Magawish is the tourist name for Umm Agawish al-Kabir, an island of about 0.8 km² off the Magawish district of south Hurghada. It is close to the mainland and quicker to reach than Giftun: about 20 minutes by sea taxi, about 45 by yacht. Boats land on the beach at its south end.

The snorkeling is easy rather than dramatic: a level seabed around 10 m at the reef, with clownfish in their anemones, blue-spotted stingrays and goatfish. Turtles are reported more often at Abu Ramada and Magawish than at most stops, but they are never promised.

Magawish is not part of Giftun, and its protectorate status is not published. It is patrolled, though: the marine-park authority has fined a boat owner USD 34,000 for grounding on a reef near Magawish (Egypt Independent). Don't stand on or touch coral, take nothing, and expect boats to tie up to HEPCA moorings.

Three ways to do Magawish

• Sea taxi (Sea taxi to Magawish island by speedboat, from $28): a shared speedboat ride with a 4- or 8-hour stay on the island. No guide, no reef stops. A private sea-taxi option (Hurghada: Private SeaTaxi to Pristine Magawish Island, from $38) is a low price for a boat; check the group size.
• Yacht day (Hurghada: Yacht trip to Magawish Island & Snorkeling & Lunch, from $24): two reef stops, lunch, beach time.
• Private speedboat (Hurghada: Private Speedboat to Magawish Island, from $84 per boat; Hurghada: Magawish Island Speedboat with Snorkelling & Lunch, from $197 per boat with lunch). Good value for four or more — see private boat trips.

Magawish island or Orange Bay?

Both are about 8.5 km from Hurghada Marina and both sell as cheap beach days, but the days differ.

Our view: Orange Bay is the classic white-sand beach with the most facilities and the most people. Magawish suits a cheaper, simpler day and snorkelers who like rays and anemonefish. If you book the sea taxi "to Orange Bay or Magawish", choose the one you want when you book — on Headout's version the snorkeling happens only at Magawish. For speedboat options to Giftun, see Orange Bay by speedboat.

Nemo island, White Island, Turtle Bay and Abu Minqar

These names fill the "4 islands" and "6 islands" listings. Only Abu Minqar is a mapped island; the rest are trade names.

Nemo Island Hurghada and White Island. On a Hurghada speedboat, "White Island" or "Nemo Beach" is a sandbank reached a few minutes from the Giftun reef stops; the name is used loosely, and some sellers list "White Island" and "Nemo Bay" as two separate stops. One GetYourGuide listing changed its name from Nemo Beach to White Island (Hurghada: White Island Speedboat, Snorkeling & Fruits, from $172 per boat). It is not the White Island at Ras Mohammed near Sharm El Sheikh, which is several hundred kilometres away by road.

Abu Minqar. Juzur Abu Minqar is the mangrove island closest to Hurghada Marina, about 15 minutes by speedboat, inside the Northern Islands protectorate. No activities are allowed on the island itself; boats stop at its sandbank for a paddle in very shallow water. A private speedboat there (Hurghada: Private Speedboat to Sandbank Abu Minqar Islands) is from $151 per boat for about 3 hours.

Turtle Bay. Its location is not published. A private Turtle Bay speedboat exists (Hurghada: Turtle Bay Speedboat Tour with Snorkeling, from $266 per boat); ask the seller where it goes. Marsa Alam's Turtle Bay is a different place far to the south.

Hula Hula island Hurghada weather and the best time

A north to north-westerly wind blows in every month, stronger in the afternoon. Magawish and Abu Minqar are short hops, so you spend less time on open water. If you get seasick, sit mid-boat and look at the horizon.

In strong wind the Red Sea Ports Authority, not your operator, closes the port — occasionally, usually for one to three days, mostly in winter and spring. Keep a spare day early in your holiday.

The sea is coolest in February–March, at about 22.5 °C on average, and warmest in August, at about 29 °C. A shorty wetsuit helps from December to April. Month-by-month detail is in our best time to go guide.

Booking a Hula Hula or Magawish day

On GetYourGuide, free cancellation more than 24 hours before is the default unless the listing says otherwise, and a weather cancellation by the supplier gets you a new date or a full refund. If you buy from a beach seller or a messaging app instead, check the company in the CDWS directory of water-sports centres and get a receipt. See also our booking platforms guide and Hurghada with children.