Snorkeling Hurghada prices: what a boat day really costs

The short answer on snorkeling Hurghada prices: a full day on a shared yacht to Orange Bay or another Giftun beach costs from about $24–33 per person, lunch and snorkel gear included. Comfort costs more, but not in the way the titles suggest. A $53 "luxury" day gives you a massage and unlimited hot and soft drinks, not more time on the beach. And the price on the screen is rarely the last money you spend: the park fee, a transfer supplement from the outer resorts, drinks on the island, photos and tips are paid in cash.

Snorkeling Hurghada price list: what each trip costs

Platform prices move from week to week; the bands below come from live listings and the cards show today's price.

Budget shared yachts ($24–33) are the mass-market day: two reef stops, one beach, lunch on board. The best-reviewed, Zanetta's Orange Bay day, is among the cheapest yet gives about two hours ashore; many budget boats give about one. Check "time on the island".

Mid-range yachts ($37–45) often add a dolphin search or another beach. The most-reviewed snorkel trip in Hurghada on GetYourGuide, the 3 islands and dolphins yacht, sits here at about $45. The listing does not name the boat company.

VIP and "luxury" yachts ($50–80) add things on board: a massage, an intro dive or a barbecue. "Luxury" is the seller's word. Royal Cruise's Orange Bay luxury cruise includes one massage per guest and 75 minutes on Orange Bay, which is less beach time than Zanetta's budget boat.

Sea taxis ($27–28) are a fast shared ride to a beach, with four- or eight-hour stays on some: transport, not a guided snorkel tour.

Best value at each budget

1

Lowest price for a full Orange Bay day

Up to 35 guests, about two hours on the beach, island entry fees covered; the same price direct and on the platform.

◐ Full day

GetYourGuideFull dayOrange Bay

HRG: Orange Bay Island with Snorkeling, Lunch and Drinks

4.9 (6,122)

from $26Check dates

2

A more comfortable yacht day

Buffet lunch, unlimited soft and hot drinks, one massage per guest, tax and marine fee included; 75 minutes on the beach.

◐ Yacht

GetYourGuideFull dayOrange Bay

Hurghada: Luxury Cruise Trip to Orange Bay with Lunch

4.9 (7,075)

from $53Check dates

3

Families or groups of four or more

Priced per boat: split between four, it can cost less per head than four VIP-yacht seats. Check how many guests the price covers.

◔ Speedboat

GetYourGuide3 h

Hurghada: Private Speedboat Adventure with Fruits & Pick-up

4.7 (858)

from $117 per boatCheck dates

4

Non-swimmers and small children

Two hours, a 15-minute sail and a window cabin about 3 m below the surface, plus a short snorkel stop.

◔ Semi-submarine

GetYourGuide2 h

Hurghada: Royal Seascope Submarine Cruise with Snorkel Stop

4.4 (5,599)

from $22Check dates

What the price includes — and the cash you pay on the day

On a full-day trip the price nearly always covers the boat, mask, snorkel and usually fins, a lifejacket, a snorkel guide, lunch on board, soft drinks or water, and a hotel transfer within Hurghada. What varies is everything around it.

The park fee. Giftun lies inside the Northern Red Sea Islands protectorate, and the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) charges USD 5 per foreign visitor (Egyptians EGP 25; children under 7 free; double if you stay after sunset). Sellers usually ask about €5 in cash when it is not in the price, which is the same fee rounded into euros. A rise to USD 10 has been decreed but postponed more than once for the Northern Islands, and no new start date is published. The current rates are on the EEAA protectorate fee page.

Other cash charges you may meet:

• A coast-guard fee of about €5 per person on some trips. No official Hurghada Marina fee for day passengers is published, so ask what each charge is for.
• "National Park fees and VAT, €10 per person, cash": this is how some Headout and Tiqets listings word their exclusions. It is what those listings charge, not the official fee.
• An Orange Bay entry charge listed as not included on some trips. The amount is not published, so check the listing.
• Dolphin House: the EEAA lists USD 10 per foreign visitor for the Erg and Fanous zones. Some listings include "marine fees", others add a cash fee.
• Transfers from outside Hurghada: €8–15 or $15–23 per person on many trips (see the children and pick-up section below).
• Lunch where it is excluded: Go Shalabi's 6-islands speedboat charges $20 for lunch on the island; Blue Paradise's snorkel day charges €6.
• Drinks on the island, photo packages and tips are extra on almost every trip.

Assume you cannot pay by card on the boat: bring small dollar or euro notes. Tipping the crew is customary and modest — small Egyptian-pound notes into the crew box at the end of the day.

Pick-up runs 07:00–08:15, boats leave 08:30–09:00 and return 15:30–16:30; the order of reef, lunch and beach varies by boat.

Orange Bay trip Hurghada price

Orange Bay is a sandy beach on the west shore of Giftun Kebir, facing Hurghada. It is not a separate island, whatever "Orange island" in a title suggests. Almost every seller runs it, so it is also where prices are easiest to compare.

Today GetYourGuide is the cheapest of the three, and the Tiqets listing excludes an Orange Bay entry fee. Boat, beach time and pick-up area may differ, so compare "not included", not only the headline.

Paying more buys extras, not beach time: Royal Cruise's "6 x 1" bundle adds an instructor-led intro dive for $55 direct ($69 on GetYourGuide). A speedboat seat ($35–50) cuts the crossing to about 20 minutes, against 30–45 by yacht, but slams in a north wind. A private speedboat lets you land before the late-morning wave of yachts.

There are no overnight stays on Giftun, and staying after sunset doubles the park fee. Beach drink prices are not published; bring cash. The Orange Bay guide covers the beach, the crowds and the time ashore.

Speedboat prices: per seat or per boat?

On GetYourGuide a supplier can price a trip "per group", and speedboat listings from about $170 are usually priced for the whole boat. A private speedboat to Orange Bay and White Island from about $202 is the price for your group. Check the group size on the listing.

Shared seats work the other way: Go Shalabi's 6-islands speedboat costs about $45 per person, and so does the 2-islands speedboat with dolphin search. "6 islands" means beaches, sandbanks and reef stops around Giftun, Magawish and the Abu Minqar sandbank; on Go Shalabi's own page lunch ($20) and a €5 nature-reserve fee are extra.

Headout is different again. Its "private" speedboats are priced per person, for example the private speedboat to Orange Bay and Magawish from about $76 each. Some add "National Park fees and VAT" of €10 and outer-resort transfers of €10 in cash.

For four or more people the per-boat price is often the better deal: the private speedboat adventure from about $117 per boat, split four ways, costs far less per head than four VIP-yacht seats at $50 or more. Ask how many guests the price covers, whether park and coast-guard fees are included, and which pick-up area.

Direct benchmarks: Always Hurghada sells private four-hour speedboats from €160 per boat for up to six; Egypt Divers charges EUR 600 for a full-day private boat for up to nine (EUR 650 for 10–19, EUR 800 for 20–30); private yachts run $425 at Egypt Sun Marine and $1,350 at Royal Cruise. See the private boats guide.

Dolphin House, semi-submarine and island-club prices

Dolphin House trip price. Dolphin House is Sha'ab El Erg, a horseshoe reef about 20 km north-north-east of the marina. It is about 1.5 hours by day yacht, one of the longest runs, yet prices sit close to the Orange Bay range.

Headout is the cheapest of the three today; boats, pick-up areas and fee handling may differ — some include the USD 10 zone fee, others want it in cash. At the top end, Royal Cruise's Elite VIP Dolphin House day costs the same $50 direct and on GetYourGuide. Go Shalabi's Dolphin House speedboat is $41.60 direct against about $45 on the platform. Dolphins are wild and no operator can promise them. The Dolphin House guide explains the rules boats must follow.

Semi-submarine. Royal Seascope, Egypt Sun Marine's semi-submarine, costs $15 direct from Hurghada without transfer, or $20 per adult and $10 per child with transfer through Dolphin World's site. The Royal Seascope listing costs about $22 with hotel pick-up, so the difference is the taxi. The Panoramic semi-submarine from about $18 is a different boat; the listing does not name the company. A semi-submarine never dives; the cabin sits about 3 m below the surface. Sindbad, the only real passenger submarine, sank and is not running. See the submarine guide.

Mahmya is the one Giftun beach club with a public price list, and its boats leave from Mahmya Beach Marina by Sheraton Beach, not Hurghada Marina: Day Use EUR 38, with lunch EUR 60, Full Program with a Sabina Reef snorkel EUR 85 (children EUR 19 / 30 / 42.50; 7 and over pay adult, under 3 free). All fees and a reserved shaded seat are included; the hotel transfer is not. Prices are on Mahmya's programme page. The Mahmya sailing listing on GetYourGuide costs more than the Full Program, from about $105, and it does not say whether club entry is included. More on the Mahmya page.

Utopia, a sandy island between Soma Bay and Safaga about 45 km south, sells its own day programme at USD 50 per adult and USD 25 for children 6–11. Younger children are free (the site gives two different age limits — confirm); transfer extra. The Headout listing costs more, includes transfers and has no reviews yet. See the Utopia guide.

Half-day and sunset trips cost about $24–44. A genuinely short one, such as the 3-hour sunset yacht from about $26, skips the early pick-up. Read the duration: several "sunset" island trips run 5–9 hours. The half-day and sunset guide sorts them out.

Hurghada diving prices on a snorkel day

If you want a first breath underwater, the cheapest route is a snorkel boat with an intro-dive option, at about $30–53 per person on the platforms. From a boat, Egypt's Chamber of Diving and Water Sports (CDWS) allows one instructor per beginner. Ask "is it one-to-one?" before you pay. Some "intro dives" on short trips last only 10–15 minutes.

Dive centres publish their own prices, each with a daily tax of €5–7:

Dive-centre boats are smaller and calmer than the big Orange Bay yachts, but divers come first in the timetable. The diving guide covers try dives, age limits and the flying rule.

Direct, platform or hotel desk: a price comparison

There is no single cheapest channel; it depends on the company.

• Royal Cruise Hurghada: $45 direct with Hurghada pick-up ($50 from the outer resorts) against about $53 on GetYourGuide. Booking direct saves about $8. The Royal Cruise review has the details.
• Zanetta: the same $26.35 direct and on GetYourGuide, shown as a discount on a list price of $31. There is no saving in booking direct.
• Royal Seascope: $15 direct without transfer against about $22 with pick-up on the platforms.
• Egypt Excursions Online is an agent and costs more than the same-titled platform listings: $40 for its Orange Bay yacht against from about $26, and $63 for the 6-islands speedboat against about $45. It gives a full refund only 7 or more days ahead, and none inside 3 days.
• Hurghada Lovers, a pay-on-the-day agency, lists a snorkel boat at €25 (€15 for children 5–12), paid in cash to the guide. Its site says taxes and entrance fees are included.
• Hotel desks: TUI UK publishes its Hurghada prices, for example a Mahmya-Giftun snorkel cruise from £41, an Elite VIP cruise from £67 and a private boat from £93. The ~€5 environmental fee is paid in cash on top. TUI includes insurance and a 24-hour full refund. Anex publishes no prices online. See the hotel desks review.

A platform price mostly buys protection. On GetYourGuide the contract is with the boat company, GetYourGuide acting as its agent; most listings allow free cancellation up to 24 hours before (the default — a listing can differ), "reserve now, pay later" charges the card 72 hours ahead, and a weather cancellation by the supplier brings a new date or a full refund. Its terms warn its price can be higher than elsewhere, and Best Price Matching covers only the same supplier's public price. Headout refunds once the supplier has refunded it; its guarantee excludes weather.

The Red Sea Ports Authority closes Hurghada port in bad weather, usually for one to three days, mostly in winter and spring. Then a cash seller is the one you chase for a refund, and cancellation terms matter more than a few dollars. Before paying a local seller, check it against the CDWS black list. The UK government's Egypt travel advice recommends booking through your resort or approved agents. The platforms guide compares the booking terms in full.

Children's prices and pick-up from Makadi, El Gouna or Soma Bay

Children. Most sellers charge roughly half for children of about 3 or 4 up to 9–12, with the youngest free, but each sets its own bands: Mahmya charges adult price from 7, Hurghada Lovers €15 for 5–12, Utopia USD 25 for 6–11. One Orange Bay yacht seller bars children under 5 — check before booking with toddlers. The Grand Aquarium, a good plan for a windy day, costs $35 per adult at the gate ($32 online) and $17.50 for children aged 4–9.

Pick-up surcharges. A pick-up within Hurghada is normally free. The outer resorts pay extra, and published examples show how much it varies:

Hurghada Marina is about 30 minutes' drive from Sahl Hasheesh, 40 from El Gouna and Makadi and 50 from Soma Bay and Safaga, plus 15–40 minutes collecting guests; expect a pick-up window of up to 90 minutes. Many "Makadi" or "Safaga" titles are Hurghada departures with a longer pick-up. The resorts guide lists the trips that really start nearby.

Is Hurghada expensive? Working out a boat-day budget

Sea trips are not expensive: a full day on the water with lunch costs from about $24. The trick is to price the whole day. On a $26 trip, a €10 transfer and a €5 fee are a large share of the total, so a trip that includes them can be cheaper despite a higher headline.

◐ Full day

GetYourGuideFull dayOrange Bay

HRG: Orange Bay Island with Snorkeling, Lunch and Drinks

4.9 (6,122)

from $26Check dates

◐ Full day

GetYourGuide5.5 h

Hurghada: Day Snorkeling with Dolphins

4.2 (50)

from $22Check dates

◔ Semi-submarine

Headout2.5 h

Hurghada Semi-Submarine Tour with Snorkeling Stop

No reviews yet

from $8Check dates

◑ Sunset

GetYourGuide4 hDolphin House (Sha’ab El Erg)

Hurghada: 3-Hours Sunset Dolphin, Snorkeling with Lunch

4.7 (92)

from $24Check dates

◐ Yacht

GetYourGuideFull dayMagawish

Hurghada: Yacht trip to Magawish Island & Snorkeling & Lunch

4.7 (56)

from $24Check dates

◔ Yacht

GetYourGuide4 h

Hurghada: Snorkeling Yacht Trip with Breakfast & Lunch

4.1 (6)

from $24Check dates

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