Snorkeling plus a try dive in Hurghada: intro dives for beginners

Hurghada diving for beginners mostly happens on the same boats as snorkeling. You sail out to a Giftun reef, the snorkelers go in with a guide, and the try-divers go down one at a time with an instructor for a short first dive. It is a good way to find out whether you like breathing under water before you spend money on a course. The catch is that "intro dive" covers anything from a ten-minute splash under the boat to a proper first dive of 30–50 minutes, and the price rarely tells you which.

Intro dive Hurghada: what you actually get

On a Hurghada boat, a try dive is legally an intro dive. Egypt's Chamber of Diving and Water Sports (CDWS), which licenses every dive centre, sets the ratio at one instructor per intro diver from a boat. A PADI Discover Scuba Diving programme with two beginners per instructor is allowed only from the shore. So if an instructor takes three or four beginners down at once from a boat, the boat is breaking the rule.

Expect a briefing on board, then a shallow, guided swim along the reef with your instructor beside you. Depth is limited: PADI's own limit for Discover Scuba is 12 m in open water, and some centres stay shallower. Blue Paradise, for example, caps its try dives at 5 m.

Length varies most. A short sunset-trip intro dive can be 10–15 minutes; that is a taster, not a dive. A dive-centre try dive on a full-day boat is longer and often allows a second dive in the afternoon. Ask how many minutes under water before you book.

Scuba diving for beginners in Hurghada: who can do it

• Age. PADI Discover Scuba starts at 10, with no upper age limit. Children of 8 and 9 can do a Bubblemaker-type experience to a maximum of 2 m. Below 8, it is snorkeling.
• Health. CDWS requires every guest to sign the DAN medical questionnaire before any activity. Answer it honestly: asthma, heart conditions, recent surgery and pregnancy need a doctor's sign-off, and a "yes" on the form means you do not dive that day without one.
• Swimming. You need to be comfortable in the water with a mask on; the snorkel stop before the dive is a good test.
• Flying. Divers Alert Network (DAN) guidance is a minimum of 12 hours after a single dive and 18 hours after several dives before you fly. Book the try dive in the first half of your holiday, never on the last day.

Seasickness patches are only for over-10s, and if you get seasick on the crossing, tell the instructor before you kit up: diving queasy is miserable.

Hurghada diving prices: platform combos vs dive centres

There are two ways to buy a first dive, and they are not the same product.

Snorkel boats with an intro dive sell on the platforms from about $27 to $70. Most combine a snorkel day (lunch, two reef stops, sometimes a beach) with an optional dive. The listings rarely name the dive centre behind them, so the reviews and the "1:1" wording are your guide. Royal Cruise Hurghada's "6 x 1" day bundles an instructor-led intro dive with Orange Bay, snorkeling and a massage for $55 direct; on GetYourGuide it is from $69 (see the Royal Cruise review). Egypt Sun Marine sells an intro diving and snorkeling day with lunch and drinks directly from about $26.

Dive centres charge more for the try dive and give you a dive boat with divers on it rather than a party yacht:

Dive centres add €5–7 a day in reef or permit tax, paid in cash, and outer-resort transfers cost extra (Colona charges €7 a day from El Gouna, Sahl Hasheesh or Makadi). Wetsuits are often extra too, and you will want one from December to April, when the water is about 22–25 °C.

The platform combos are usually cheaper because the dive is shorter and the boat is a snorkel boat. Dive centres cost more and give you more time under water and a calmer boat. For a ten-minute taste, the combo is fine; to find out whether diving is for you, pay for the dive-centre day.

Best snorkel and try-dive trips in Hurghada

Our picks for a first dive

1

Couples who want a real 1:1 try dive

A yacht day where you choose snorkeling or a try dive with your own instructor (1:1), in a small group. Rated 4.9. Despite the "private" flag it is priced per person.

◐ Yacht

GetYourGuideFull day

Hurghada: Snorkeling or Try Dive Luxury Yacht Trip

4.9 (184)

from $44Check dates

2

First-timers who want the most-reviewed option

An intro dive with an instructor on a full-day boat, rated 4.8 from nearly 1,500 reviews. The listing does not name the dive centre.

◐ Full day

GetYourGuideFull day

Intro Diving Beginner and Discover Red Sea Underwater

4.8 (1,485)

from $52Check dates

3

Mixed groups on a budget

Choose two guided beginner dives or snorkeling on the same boat, with buffet lunch, run by what the listing calls a certified PADI Dive Resort. Each beginner dive should still be 1:1.

◐ Full day

GetYourGuideFull day

Hurghada: 2 Dives for Beginner OR Snorkeling Trip with lunch

4.8 (615)

from $30Check dates

4

Snorkelers who want Orange Bay too

Royal Cruise's "6 x 1": Orange Bay, snorkeling, an intro dive and a massage in one long day.

◐ Full day

GetYourGuideFull dayOrange Bay

Hurghada: Snorkeling 6 x 1 to Orange Bay w Diving & Massage

4.9 (1,398)

from $69Check dates

A comparable beginner dive day is sold on Headout, which is cheaper today; boat, pick-up area and inclusions may differ between the two listings:

More snorkel-and-dive days:

◐ Yacht

GetYourGuideFull day

Hurghada: Snorkeling or Try Dive Luxury Yacht Trip

4.9 (184)

from $44Check dates

◐ Full day

GetYourGuideFull dayOrange Bay

Hurghada: Luxury Orange Bay w/Snorkeling, Massage and Diving

4.9 (325)

from $59Check dates

◔ Semi-submarine

GetYourGuide2 hFrom Safaga

From Safaga: Royal Seascope Submarine with Snorkeling

4.5 (236)

from $22Check dates

◐ Full day

GetYourGuideFull day

Hurghada: Full-Day Scuba Diving Tour with 2 Sites and Lunch

4.7 (170)

from $67Check dates

◔ Half day

GetYourGuide3 hFrom Sahl Hasheesh

Sahl Hasheesh Elite Beach Dive & Coral Reef Experience

4.9 (125)

from $38Check dates

◐ Yacht

GetYourGuideFull day

Hurghada: 2 Islands, Diving, Dolphin & Snorkel Yacht Trip

4.8 (41)

from $50Check dates

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

Certified divers looking for two proper boat dives can book the full-day trip with two scuba dives and lunch (pick-up around 08:00, back between 14:30 and 15:30), or go straight to a dive centre.

How a try-dive boat day runs

Blue Paradise publishes its day-boat timetable, which is typical of a dive-centre day with snorkelers and try-divers on board:

Snorkelers on a dive boat wait for the divers. Emperor Divers' rule on its day boats elsewhere in Egypt shows how it works: snorkelers go in once the divers are back on board, with a dive guide and a flotation aid. Boat intro dives happen at the day's reef stops, often around Giftun. In Sahl Hasheesh you can do a shore intro dive from the beach instead, where no boat is involved.

Dive centres in Hurghada: who is where now

Several names in older guidebooks and forum threads have moved or closed. Check before you plan around one:

• Colona Divers is in Hurghada at Zahabia Beach, about 2 km north of the marina, with a house reef from the beach. It no longer has an El Gouna centre.
• James & Mac is at the Giftun Azur Resort; the CDWS lists it under its company name, Barakuda. Its site is mainly German.
• Blue Paradise is on El Korneesh (the Corniche). We could not find it under this name in the CDWS directory; ask for its membership.
• Emperor Divers no longer has a day centre in Hurghada or El Gouna; from the Hurghada area it sells only liveaboards.
• Divers' Lodge has had no working website for some time, though the CDWS still lists it at the Hilton Hurghada Resort: contact the hotel before you go.
• Easy Divers, formerly at the Hilton Plaza, is effectively closed.

The full reviews are in our operators directory. Any centre, and any WhatsApp or Facebook seller, can be checked in the CDWS diving-centre directory and against the CDWS black list of operators that are not trading legally.

Is diving in Egypt safe?

For a beginner with a licensed centre, yes, with sensible precautions. The UK government's advice notes that safety standards of Red Sea diving operators and boats "vary considerably", recommends a thorough safety briefing, and warns that air and sea rescue can cost more than US$4,000 an hour, with Egyptian rescue operations starting only once payment is guaranteed (FCDO safety advice). So:

The nearest hyperbaric chamber is the Diving and Hyperbaric Medical Centre at El Gouna Hospital, which treats up to nine patients at a time. Under water, follow the reef rules: no gloves and no fish feeding (both CDWS rules), and never touch coral.

Not ready for a regulator? A semi-submarine shows the reef from a dry cabin, and the best snorkeling spots page tells you which reefs are worth asking for.

Hurghada scuba course: after the try dive

A Discover Scuba dive can count towards a PADI Open Water course if you start within 12 months, but it is not a qualification on its own. If the try dive hooks you, Colona lists the PADI Scuba Diver course at €165 and Open Water at €310 (plus €90 for the e-learning), and James & Mac lists Open Water at €420. Ask how many days the course takes and plan it against your flight date.

Questions about diving for beginners in Hurghada