Colona Divers Hurghada is a long-running dive centre with its own beach, jetty and house reef on Zahabia Beach, north of the marina. Our verdict: one of the most transparent places in Hurghada to book a snorkel day or a first dive, and a quieter alternative to the big party yachts, provided you are happy to book directly rather than through a platform. Colona sells nothing on GetYourGuide, Headout or Tiqets, so the trips we link below are comparable listings from other companies, and we say so.
- Type
- PADI 5 Star IDC dive centre with snorkel boat days and a house reef
- Base
- Zahabia Beach, about 2 km north of Hurghada New Marina; boats from its own jetty
- Operating since
- Hurghada centre 1999 (group 1992); left El Gouna for Hurghada in 2022
- Boats
- Day boats not named; liveaboard New Francesca
- What they sell
- Boat snorkel day with lunch, dolphin-spotting add-on, house-reef snorkelling, PADI courses
- Where to book
- Own site only
- Prices
- Boat snorkel day €28 (13+), €18 (3–12); house reef €15; Discover Scuba €90; reef tax €5/day extra
- Status
- Operating; listed by CDWS as Colona Diving Center, Zahabia Resort
Own website: colona.com ↗ · 20 October 2026
Our scores
- Transparency on extras
- 5/5Reef tax, transfers, wetsuits and private guides all priced
- Value
- 4/5€28 boat day with lunch and drinks, plus €5 reef tax
- Licence and training
- 5/5CDWS-listed; PADI 5 Star Instructor Development Centre
- Non-boat option
- 5/5House reef from about 1 m deep, right off the beach
- Boats
- 3/5Day boats not named or described
- Booking ease
- 3/5Own site only; ask about cancellation before you pay
What Colona does well
- Clear published prices, including 14 % sales tax
- Snorkel boat day with lunch and soft drinks at €28, children 3–12 at €18
- House reef for days when you would rather not get on a boat
- Long track record and an instructor-training rating from PADI
What to check
- Mandatory reef tax of €5 a day on top of every price
- Transfers from El Gouna, Sahl Hasheesh or Makadi cost €7 a day
- Not on any booking platform, so no platform refund rules apply
- Guide languages and day-boat details are not published
Who Colona Divers are
Colona's story, as the company tells it, starts in Sharm El Sheikh in 1992, when the Norwegian Freddy Storheil, who had run liveaboards since the 1970s and named the business after his first boat, opened his first dive centre there. A Hurghada centre followed in 1999, El Gouna in 2001 and Marsa Alam in 2010. After the pandemic closures, Colona moved its El Gouna operation to Hurghada in 2022, so older guides that place it in El Gouna are out of date.
Today the Hurghada base is on Zahabia Beach, about 2 km north of Hurghada New Marina, and the boats leave from Colona's own jetty in front of the beach. The CDWS, the Egyptian chamber that licenses dive and snorkel centres, lists it as Colona Diving Center at the Zahabia Resort. Colona holds PADI's 5 Star IDC rating, which means it trains instructors as well as beginners. Its fleet page shows only a liveaboard, the New Francesca; the day boats are not named.
What Colona sells for snorkelers and first-time divers
Boat snorkel day. A full day on the boat with two snorkel stops, lunch, water, soft drinks, tea and coffee. On a dive-centre boat the day is organised around the divers, and the boat is usually quieter than the big party yachts.
Dolphin-spotting day. A supplement of €20 turns a boat day into a dolphin-spotting trip. Colona's own wording is that you will see dolphins "if you're lucky", which is the honest way to put it: wild dolphins are never guaranteed. Our Dolphin House guide explains the rules boats and swimmers must follow.
House reef. The reef starts at about 1 m right off the beach and drops past 30 m within about two minutes' swim. A full day of house-reef snorkeling costs €15, or €10 for children aged 3–12. For anyone who gets seasick, this is the best value on the price list. Our guide to snorkeling from the beach covers the other house reefs around Hurghada.
Try dives and courses. PADI Discover Scuba Diving, with two dives, costs €90. PADI Scuba Diver costs €165 and Open Water €310, plus €90 for PADI's e-learning material. Ask where the first dives happen: from a boat, Egyptian rules require one instructor per intro diver (1:1), while PADI's Discover Scuba ratio of one instructor to two students is allowed only from the shore. PADI sets Discover Scuba from age 10 and its Bubblemaker programme (to 2 m) from 8; Colona's price list does not show Bubblemaker, so ask.
Boat diving for certified divers. Two dives a day cost €60 for one or two days, falling to €50 a day for eight to ten days. Transfers within Hurghada are included for boat diving.
Colona Divers Hurghada prices: direct vs platform
| Item | Price (Colona's own site) |
|---|---|
| Boat snorkel day with lunch | €28 (13+), €18 (3–12) |
| Dolphin-spotting supplement | €20 |
| House-reef snorkeling, full day | €15 (13+), €10 (3–12) |
| PADI Discover Scuba Diving (2 dives) | €90 |
| Mandatory reef tax | €5 per day |
| Transfer from El Gouna, Sahl Hasheesh or Makadi | €7 per day |
| Wetsuit hire | €4 (2.5 mm shorty) to €5 (5 mm) per day |
| Private guide | €40 per day |
Colona's prices include 14 % sales tax, and it notes that government fees and taxes may change without notice. The real cost of an adult boat snorkel day is therefore €33 with the reef tax, plus €7 if you are collected from El Gouna, Sahl Hasheesh or Makadi. Other dive centres charge similar daily taxes:
| What | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Colona Divers — mandatory reef tax | EUR 5 | Per day, on top of boat and dive prices. colona.com ↗ |
| Blue Paradise — environmental & entertainment tax | EUR 6 | Per person per day, paid on the spot; lunch (€6) is also extra on its snorkel day. blueparadise.be ↗ |
| James & Mac — permit fee | EUR 7 | Per day for non-divers and divers on its boats. james-mac.com ↗ |
Checked on 20 October 2026. Many boat trips include the island or park fee, many don't: read the listing.
On the platforms, shared snorkel yachts from Hurghada start from about $24, and combined "snorkel or beginner dive" days from about $30. They come with a written cancellation policy, but they are other companies' boats, often with larger groups. For first dives, the platform prices look like this today:
| Platform | Listing | Rating | Price | Where |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Headout | Red Sea Scuba Diving for Beginners With Round-Trip Transfers and Lunch · Full day | 4.6 (218) | $38 Lowest | See on Headout |
| GetYourGuide | Intro Diving Beginner and Discover Red Sea Underwater · Full day | 4.8 (1,485) | $52 | See on GetYourGuide |
Lowest price per person in US dollars, checked on 20 October 2026. Boat, island, lunch, pick-up area and what is included differ between listings: open each one before you pay.
Headout's beginners' scuba day starts from $38 and GetYourGuide's most-reviewed intro dive from $52; neither listing names the dive company and neither is Colona. A short intro dive from a snorkel yacht is a taster, not the same as Colona's two-dive Discover Scuba programme: compare the number of dives, the depth and the instructor ratio before you decide.
What travellers say about Colona Divers
We have no verified review themes for Colona, so we do not repeat ratings from other sites. Check instead: the CDWS listing (it is there, as Colona Diving Center), a written confirmation of the price including the €5 reef tax, the pick-up arrangement for your hotel, which languages the guides speak, and what happens if the port closes for wind. Port closures are decided by the Red Sea Ports Authority, not the dive centre.
How to book Colona Divers
Colona takes bookings through its own website, colona.com, which carries the full price list. It does not sell on GetYourGuide, Headout or Tiqets. Ask before you pay how cancellation and weather refunds work, and keep the confirmation email.
If you would rather book on a platform with a written cancellation policy, a comparable day is Hurghada: 2 Dives for Beginner OR Snorkeling Trip with lunch, from $30 per person, which describes itself as run from a certified PADI dive resort. The listing does not name the dive centre, and nothing links it to Colona.
GetYourGuideFull day
Hurghada: 2 Dives for Beginner OR Snorkeling Trip with lunch
4.8 (615)
from $30Check dates
GetYourGuideFull day
Hurghada: Snorkelling or Diving for Beginners & Certified
4.8 (147)
from $33Check dates
GetYourGuideFull day
Intro Diving Beginner and Discover Red Sea Underwater
4.8 (1,485)
from $52Check dates
GetYourGuideFull day
Hurghada: Snorkeling or Try Dive Luxury Yacht Trip
4.9 (184)
from $44Check dates
Prices checked on 20 October 2026
All four listings above are comparable trips by other companies, not Colona. GetYourGuide's default is free cancellation up to 24 hours before, unless the listing says otherwise.
Alternatives to Colona in Hurghada
- James & Mac: a German-speaking centre at the Giftun Azur Resort; non-divers join its boats for €25 plus a €7 permit, and its try dive is 1:1.
- Blue Paradise: a centre on the Corniche whose snorkel day is €30–33 without lunch, plus €6 tax.
- Emperor Divers: often listed for El Gouna in old guides, but it no longer has a day centre in Hurghada or El Gouna.
- Easy Divers: the former Hilton Plaza centre, effectively closed.
For a full overview of try dives, ratios and medical rules, read our diving and try-dive guide, and for every company we review, the operators directory.
Colona Divers Hurghada: questions
Where is Colona Diving Center in Hurghada?
On Zahabia Beach, about 2 km north of Hurghada New Marina, with its own jetty and house reef. It is no longer in El Gouna: Colona moved that operation to Hurghada in 2022.
How much is a snorkeling trip with Colona Divers?
A full boat snorkel day with lunch and soft drinks costs €28 for ages 13 and over and €18 for children 3–12, plus a mandatory reef tax of €5 a day. House-reef snorkeling costs €15 a day.
Can you book Colona Divers on GetYourGuide?
No. Colona sells through its own website only. Snorkel and intro-dive days on the platforms are run by other companies.
Is diving in Egypt safe?
Diving is a licensed activity: centres must belong to the CDWS, which sets ratios such as one instructor per intro diver from a boat. Standards vary between operators, so check the CDWS directory, fill in the medical form honestly and make sure your insurance covers diving. After diving, wait at least 12 hours before flying (18 after several dives).
Is Colona good for children?
Children aged 3–12 pay €18 on the boat day and €10 on the house reef, and the shallow start of the house reef suits young snorkelers. PADI's Discover Scuba starts at age 10; ask whether Colona runs the Bubblemaker programme for 8- and 9-year-olds, and about children's wetsuit and lifejacket sizes.