Go Shalabi Hurghada review: the 6-islands speedboat and what it really includes

Go Shalabi is a solid pick for a busy, fast island day on a shared speedboat at a fair price, as long as you read the "not included" list: lunch, a nature-reserve fee and outer-resort transfers cost extra. Its 6-islands trip is rated 4.8 from more than 2,700 reviews on GetYourGuide. Its own website is the weak point — placeholder prices, contradictory fee lines and no departure marina named.

Who is Go Shalabi?

GoShalabi (also written Go Shalabi) is an excursion company with an office on the old Sheraton Road in Hurghada, in the Palma House building beside the Marriott. It sells speedboat and yacht trips to the Giftun islands, Magawish and Dolphin House, plus private boats. No departure marina is named on its pages — the trip pages only say the transfer takes you "to the marina" — and the voucher should name the meeting point.

The website says the company was established in 1993; that is its own claim, and the about page reads partly like a transfer-company template, with cars and airport transfers. No legal company name, licence or CDWS membership is published. Every snorkeling provider in Egypt has to be a member of CDWS, the Chamber of Diving and Water Sports, so check the CDWS directory and the black list before you pay locally.

Go Shalabi also reaches buyers through other sellers. Expedia names it as operator of its private speedboat trips, and Egypt Excursions Online resells its 6-islands day — its pick-up bus carries the GoShalabi logo (see our Egypt Excursions Online review).

What Go Shalabi sells

◐ Speedboat

GetYourGuideFull day

Hurghada: 6 Islands Speedboat, Dolphin watching & Snorkeling

4.8 (2,710)

from $45Check dates

◔ Speedboat

GetYourGuide5 hOrange Bay

Hurghada: Orange Bay & Magawish Island Speedboat with Fruits

4.7 (1,612)

from $240 per boatCheck dates

◔ Speedboat

GetYourGuide4 hDolphin House (Sha’ab El Erg)

Hurghada: Dolphin House Speedboat Trip & Swim with Dolphins

4.7 (95)

from $45Check dates

GoShalabi (Go Shalabi) on GetYourGuide →Prices checked on 20 October 2026

The 6-islands speedboat: what "6 islands" really means

The flagship Hurghada: 6 Islands Speedboat, Dolphin watching & Snorkeling is a 7–8-hour shared speedboat day, from $45 per person on GetYourGuide. Go Shalabi's own page lists the stops:

1. Orange Bay — the sandy beach on the west shore of Giftun Kebir, about 1 hour ashore.
2. A reef snorkel in the Giftun protected area — mask, snorkel and fins included.
3. Abu Minqar island — the mangrove island closest to Hurghada Marina; no activities are allowed on the island itself, so you see it from the boat.
4. Big Magawish — a real island off south Hurghada, about 1 hour.
5. Small Magawish lagoon — a second snorkel stop.
6. "White Island" — a sandbank, a name used loosely for sandbanks near the Giftun reefs.
7. The Abu Minqar sandbank — a walk on the sand before the return.

So the six "islands" are beaches, sandbanks and reef stops around a few real islands: Giftun Kebir, Magawish and Abu Minqar. That is normal for Hurghada speedboat days and not a bad day out — just not six islands. "Dolphin watching" means the crew looks for dolphins on the way; they are wild and are seen on some days, not others.

Included: hotel pick-up in Hurghada, speedboat, two snorkel stops with gear, guide and captain, Orange Bay and Magawish entry fees, lifejacket, soft drinks, water, fruit and a shade tent. Extra: lunch on the island $20, parasailing (about 5 minutes), tips, a €5 nature-reserve fee, and transfers from the outer resorts.

Orange Bay & Magawish speedboat

Hurghada: Orange Bay & Magawish Island Speedboat with Fruits is a shorter speedboat day to the same two beaches: about 1 hour at Orange Bay, two snorkel stops of about 20 minutes each, and about 1 hour at Magawish with lunch. Go Shalabi's own page shows $200 and GetYourGuide from about $240 — prices for the whole boat, not per person. The own page lists the €5 nature-reserve fee as both included and excluded; confirm before you pay.

A Giftun and Orange Bay speedboat with the same title as one on Go Shalabi's site is on GetYourGuide as Hurghada: Giftun Island Orange Bay Speedboat Cruise & Lunch, also priced per boat. For groups of four or more, a whole boat can cost less per head than VIP-yacht seats — see private boats.

Dolphin House speedboat

Hurghada: Dolphin House Speedboat Trip & Swim with Dolphins, the "Dolphin House Speedboat Trip & Swim with Dolphins", is $41.60 on Go Shalabi's site and from $45 on GetYourGuide. Dolphin House is the Sha'ab El Erg reef north of Hurghada, where dolphins rest by day. The title promises more than any boat can: you may swim near dolphins if they are there and calm, and the HEPCA dolphin code requires boats to keep 30 m away, never chase, and swimmers to wear a lifejacket. A speedboat makes this exposed reef a shorter ride, but a rougher one.

The sea taxi is not Go Shalabi's

The cheap "High-Speed Sea Taxi to Orange Bay or Magawish" is not on Go Shalabi's own site, so we do not link it to the company. Sea taxis are a ride and a beach day, not a guided snorkel trip.

Go Shalabi prices: direct vs GetYourGuide

On the 6-islands day, add lunch ($20) and the €5 nature-reserve fee, and the real cost is $65 plus €5 a head, before tips, photos or parasailing. Go Shalabi charges $15 per person for pick-ups from Makadi, Sahl Hasheesh and El Gouna and $23 from Safaga and Soma Bay; a private transfer is $40 for one to three people, $65 for four to eight and $85 for nine to 16.

The same 6-islands trip sold by Egypt Excursions Online costs $63, with entrance fees included but lunch and parasailing extra — dearer than GetYourGuide's from-price. On Headout a 6-islands speedboat is sold from $50; the listing does not name the boat company.

Go Shalabi's own prices are slightly lower on some trips. GetYourGuide's default free cancellation up to 24 hours before, and a new date or a full refund when the supplier cancels for weather, are worth a few dollars on a speedboat day, which depends heavily on the wind.

Speedboat or yacht: is Go Shalabi right for you?

A shared speedboat reaches Orange Bay in about 20 minutes, against 30–45 minutes by yacht, so more of your day is spent on beaches and reefs. The price is comfort: a yacht has shade, toilets and lunch on board, while a speedboat slams in chop, and sellers flag speedboat trips as not suitable for back problems or pregnancy. On a calm morning they are fun; in a fresh north-westerly the ride back can be wet and hard.

Choose Go Shalabi's speedboat if you want variety and short hops, and pick a calm day. Choose a yacht — such as Zanetta Tours for about 2 hours on Orange Bay, or Royal Cruise Hurghada for a fuller lunch and a massage — if you want shade, a toilet and a slower day. Our Orange Bay speedboat guide and boat tours by type cover the difference.

Go Shalabi Hurghada reviews: what travellers say

The platform scores are strong: 4.8 from more than 2,700 reviews on the 6-islands trip, 4.7 on the Orange Bay & Magawish speedboat, and 9.6 out of 10 on Expedia for the private speedboat. We found no Tripadvisor or Google profile to draw on, and we do not quote individual reviews. What to check before you book:

• How many guests share the boat, and how many guides swim with snorkelers (the rule is one guide per 12 snorkelers).
• What each cash charge is for — the €5 reserve fee, lunch, parasailing, photos.
• Where the boat leaves from, since the website names no marina.

How to book Go Shalabi

The Red Sea Ports Authority closes Hurghada port in strong wind, usually for one to three days. Book your speedboat day early in the holiday and keep a spare day.

Alternatives to Go Shalabi

• Zanetta Tours — budget yacht to Orange Bay with about 2 hours ashore and island fees covered.
• Royal Cruise Hurghada — full-day yacht with buffet, drinks, a massage and an Abu Ramada reef stop.
• All operators — every boat company, dive centre and agency we review.