Utopia Island (Bianca Island): the sandy island near Soma Bay

Utopia Island Hurghada is the name on the trip, but the island is a long way from Hurghada's marina. It lies in the Tobia islets between Soma Bay and Safaga, about 45 km south, so a day there from Hurghada starts with a bus. For guests staying in Soma Bay, Safaga or Makadi it is the opposite: the nearest sandy island to their hotel, and an easier day than crossing to Giftun.

The island is sold under two names. Utopia runs its own day programme; a second brand, Bianca Island, sells "a sandy island near Soma Bay", and Headout's listing joins the two as "Bianca Island Utopia". Whether Bianca is the same island under another brand has not been established, so check which brand your trip lands at — the piers and inclusions differ by seller.

Where is Utopia Island Hurghada? Map and distances

On a map Utopia sits in the Tobia group, a cluster of islets and reefs off the coast between the Soma Bay peninsula and Safaga port. It is nowhere near Giftun, Orange Bay or Paradise, whatever some trip pages suggest.

From Hurghada the drive to Soma Bay or Safaga takes about 50 minutes in free-flowing traffic, plus 15–40 minutes while the bus collects guests from other hotels. The boat to the island then takes about 40 minutes, the figure on Utopia's own programme page.

The departure pier depends on the seller:

• Utopia's own boats leave from Memnon Marina.
• Headout's Bianca Island Utopia listing boards at Amarina Soma Bay Marina.
• Other sellers bus guests to Safaga port.

Your voucher names the meeting point. If you are booking from a Soma Bay or Safaga hotel, ask which pier the boat uses — it may be a short taxi ride rather than a long transfer.

Utopia or Bianca Island Hurghada: one island or two?

Both brands describe a sandy island near Soma Bay, about 45 km from Hurghada, and both have live websites with their own operator:

Neither site mentions the other. Our advice: treat them as two products. Ask the seller "Utopia or Bianca?", which pier, and what is included, and compare on that basis. "Fanadir" the company has nothing to do with El Fanadir, a reef off north Hurghada.

Bianca Island Utopia trip from Hurghada on Headout

The one platform listing with Hurghada pick-up is on Headout: From Hurghada: Bianca Island Utopia Cruise with Glass-Bottom Boat, Snorkeling, Lunch & Transfers, from $100 per person for about 8 hours. It is new and has no reviews yet, so you are buying on the description rather than other travellers' experience.

What the listing includes:

• Round-trip transfer from Hurghada hotels to Amarina Soma Bay Marina; $10 extra per person from Makadi Bay, El Gouna, El Qoseir, Soma Bay and Sahl Hasheesh.
• The boat to the island with a glass-bottom boat tour, and one snorkeling stop with fins, mask and lifejacket.
• "Free entrance to Bianca Island", a seafood buffet lunch, sunbeds and shade, water sports, beach volleyball and a kids' club with face painting.
• An open bar with wine, beer, local spirits and soft drinks. Have your drink after the snorkeling, not before.

Free cancellation runs to 24 hours before on this listing. Headout refunds once the supplier has refunded it, and its guarantee does not cover weather. Pay-later is only offered on bookings made at least 96 hours ahead.

◐ Yacht

GetYourGuideFull dayParadise Island

From Hurghada: Paradise Island Snorkeling Cruise with Lunch

4.6 (1,247)

from $44Check dates

◔ Semi-submarine

HeadoutFull dayUtopia Island

From Hurghada: Bianca Island Utopia Cruise with Glass-Bottom Boat, Snorkeling, Lunch & Transfers

No reviews yet

from $100Check dates

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

Check dates for Bianca Island Utopiafrom $100Affiliate link: if you book, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Utopia is not sold on GetYourGuide. Another booking site, Civitatis, lists a Utopia excursion from Hurghada from €55 with hotel pick-up, a bus to Safaga port, about an hour of snorkeling and a buffet lunch, 8 hours 30 minutes in total, drinks extra. Among the local agencies, Hurghada Lovers lists a Bianca Island beach trip on its site at €70.

Utopia Island's own day programme and prices

Utopia publishes a clear day programme, which is more than most Hurghada beach clubs do:

• USD 50 per adult, USD 25 for children 6–11. Younger children are free, but the page gives two different age limits (under 6 and under 4), so confirm when you book.
• Included: the boat, lunch, water and soft drinks, and snorkel equipment.
• Not included: the transfer to the pier, photography, restaurant orders, and the extras — sea bike, a try-dive and a separate snorkeling trip.

For a Soma Bay or Safaga guest with a short ride to the pier, USD 50 for a full island day with lunch and two guided snorkel sessions is fair value. For a Hurghada guest, the transfer is the problem: you have to arrange it yourself, which is why the packaged listings with pick-up cost more.

Utopia island Hurghada snorkeling

The island has sandy shallows on one side and reef on the other, so it suits two kinds of guests at once: children and non-swimmers paddle on the sand side while snorkelers go to the reef. On Utopia's own programme the snorkeling is two guided sessions at two reefs, at 11:00 and 14:00. Bianca's day-use-with-lunch option also lists two guided snorkel stops; the Headout listing has one.

The waters around the Tobia islets are known more as dive sites than snorkel spots. Of the reefs nearby:

• Shallow Gamul and Tobia Soraya (around 15 m) are the snorkel-friendly sites that local dive boats visit, with coral blocks, garden eels and seagrass.
• Tobia Arbaa (the "Seven Pillars") rises from about 10–12 m, with stonefish, scorpionfish and a chance of Napoleon wrasse and turtles. It is for strong snorkelers on calm days only.

Wear reef shoes or fins, don't put hands or feet down on the reef, and never stand on coral. Wear the lifejacket: it keeps you floating above the reef rather than on it. For the reefs in Hurghada itself, see the best snorkeling spots.

Utopia from Soma Bay, Safaga, Makadi or Hurghada?

Where you sleep decides whether Utopia is a good day or a long one.

If you are in Hurghada and simply want a sandy island, Giftun is the nearer one: Orange Bay, Paradise and Mahmya are all beaches on it. More on the southern resorts in our Safaga and Soma Bay guide and Makadi Bay guide.

Bianca Island Hurghada weather and the best time

Safaga and Soma Bay are windsurf and kite country: a north to north-westerly wind blows in every month, and afternoons are windier. On the boat out and at the reef, the wind decides how comfortable the day is. If you get seasick, sit mid-boat and look at the horizon.

When the Red Sea Ports Authority suspends boat trips for bad weather, that has included trips from Safaga as well as Hurghada. Closures are occasional and usually last one to three days, so keep a spare day early in the holiday. On Headout a weather refund comes only after the supplier has refunded it.

The sea around Hurghada 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; for the month-by-month picture, see the best time to go.

Utopia island Hurghada reviews and alternatives

There is little to go on yet: the Headout listing is new and has no reviews. Book on the facts you can check — the pier, the brand, the inclusions and the cancellation terms.

If you are based in Hurghada and want a proven island day instead, the nearest equivalent is a Giftun beach. The Paradise Island snorkeling cruise (From Hurghada: Paradise Island Snorkeling Cruise with Lunch) is not Utopia — it goes to the southern tip of Giftun Kebir — but it is a well-reviewed sandy-beach day from Hurghada Marina, rated 4.6 from 1,247 reviews.

The same Paradise trip is listed from $44 on GetYourGuide and $29 on Tiqets today. The Tiqets price is lower, but that listing has very few reviews, and boat, beach, pick-up area and inclusions may differ — read both before you choose. For other beach islands, see Hula Hula and Magawish; for family tips, Hurghada with children.