Hurghada Snorkelling Trips

Hurghada Snorkelling Trips provide various activities for enjoying the sea and practising scuba diving to discover the underwater world. You can also choose between the best snorkelling boat trips in Hurghada for families, couples, and individuals with different snorkelling backgrounds.

Hurghada is considered one of the most famous tourist cities in the Red Sea of Egypt. This resort allows you to enjoy a wonderful holiday with family and friends, swimming in the best Hurghada snorkelling spots to see the most beautiful coral reefs, rare colourful fish and dolphins.

Hurghada’s climate allows for different types of recreation and relaxation under the wonderful moderate sunshine throughout the year, especially in the morning. It is undoubtedly suitable for enjoying snorkelling activities from the most beautiful beaches of the Hurghada islands.

Frequently Asked Questions

The answers provided below are based on responses from experience regarding snorkelling in the Red Sea Hurghada:

What to Expect When Snorkelling in Hurghada

Hurghada’s reefs are breathtaking, featuring many holes, walls, and drop-offs. Every inch of the reef is adorned with many stunning corals, sponges, and anemones, displaying various colours, from soft pastels to bold reds, oranges, and yellows.

Diving into the waters above the reef reveals an impressive variety of marine life. From tiny sea goldies to massive groupers weighing several hundred kilograms, there’s no shortage of fascinating species to observe.

Swimming near the reef, you’ll be captivated by the vibrant butterfly fish, playful clownfish, regal emperor angelfish, and many more. Additionally, the reef is home to brilliantly coloured wrasse, such as the unmistakable Napoleon wrasse and the beautiful yet dangerous lionfish.

One species of reef fish that stands out is the triggerfish, including the stunning Red Sea Picasso Pusher. These fish possess intricate patterns and designs that appear to be painted by an artist. Snorkelling in Hurghada is genuinely a dream come true.

While exploring the reefs, you may also come across turtles and various species of rays, including the impressive manta ray with a wingspan of over six meters.

Venturing into the deeper waters and drop-offs, you may encounter predatory fish such as jacks, trevallies, dorado, tuna, and Spanish mackerel. Among these predators is the notorious barracuda, which is often solitary and has a menacing appearance due to its dagger-like teeth. However, these fish are not typically dangerous to humans if left unprovoked.

Fishermen typically release barracuda into the water because they can carry ciguatera poison. This toxin accumulates in the fish’s body as it feeds on other small reef fish that have consumed dinoflagellates from the coral. The larger the fish, the higher the concentration of poison, which is why barracuda is not commonly found on restaurant menus.

What are the best Snorkeling Trips in Hurghada?

The best Snorkeling in Hurghada are:

What Snorkeling in Hurghada is Good for Avoiding Crowds?

These hidden gems in Hurghada may have limited interaction with crowds:

  • Orange and Giftun Islands Snorkeling Trip from Hurghada with Lunch
  • Orange Bay Island VIP Full-Day Snorkeling Sea Trip and Water Sports

Snorkeling in Hurghada

Hurghada Snorkelling in the Red Sea offers visitors many underwater sites. Hurghada snorkelling offers many reef sites, both near and far from shore, from little islands to submerged pinnacles. Once a tiny fishing village, Hurghada has transformed into a bustling tourist metropolis with huge beachside hotels and an even more enormous roster of potential excursions.

Marine Life in Hurghada

As some of you probably know, the Red Sea offers a variety of corals. The Red Sea includes over 5% of the world’s coral reefs. There’s more coral to observe for scuba divers, but snorkelers can enjoy portions near the shore. The same goes for fish species. There are a good amount of schools of fish in the shallow areas of the ocean. Some popular fish within the Red Sea are barracuda, goatfish, mackerel, surgeonfish, tuna, angelfish, butterflyfish, clownfish, triggerfish, parrotfish and lovely turtles.

A snorkel trip to Hurghada puts you face to face with the Red Sea Riviera’s extraordinary marine life in almost impossibly clear waters. Egypt snorkel spots are world-famous for visibility, reaching up to 70 meters in some places. The country’s sea coast and islands differ dramatically from its underwater landscape, which explodes in diversity and abundance of colourful creatures and topography.

The Hurghada reefs are typically shallow and sloping, making them suitable for beginner snorkelers. All a snorkeler’s favourite reef inhabitants can be found in Hurghada waters/ The variety of fish you could meet are parrotfish, surgeonfish, butterflyfish, anemonefish, pufferfish, sweetlips, colourful wrasses, morays, stingrays, and turtles. As a bonus, seeing dolphins on Hurghada boat trips between the shore and your snorkel sites is common.

Best Snorkel Sites in Hurghada

Giftun Islands, with Paradise Beach and Orange Bay, especially Mahmya Beach, is one of the most-visited snorkel sites in Hurghada. This sea island lies a 45-minute boat ride from the Egyptian coast. The clear waters around Giftun hold multiple reefs for snorkelling, where calm conditions and easy access allow everyone to enjoy the plentiful fish and colourful corals with dolphin-frequented. Sunbathing on the beach is engaging and complementary for many visitors.

A snorkel excursion in Hurghada may include Abu Ramada Island and the Magawish Islands, where divers and snorkelers can find morays, nudibranchs, rays, barracudas and turtles. There are multiple reefs, some areas with excellent coral, and a chance to see notable sights like Napoleon Wrasse.

Hurghada Nearby Snorkelling Sites

Along the coastline south of Hurghada City are the bays which offer the best snorkelling in Hurghada’s mainland area. Makadi Bay is the snorkel site of these bays, which you can reach from Hurghada and is most renowned for its coral reefs. In Makadi, you will find the pink, purple, and blue stubby branching corals (Pocillopora sp.), which typify healthy reefs of the area, along with massive corals and swaying soft corals, all decorated with a rainbow of flittering reef fish. Makadi’s clear waters also hold turtles, rays, puffers, barracuda, octopus, and morays.

Soma Bay is another area with comprehensive offerings for snorkelers; the colourful corals in Soma also host the full range of fish life, including gatherings of Raccoon Butterflyfish with their black eye patches, Blue-spotted Stingrays, sweetlips, and multi-patterned wrasses. Just offshore, Soma Bay also holds a couple of coral pinnacles that divers and snorkelers can enjoy.

Sahl Hasheesh Bay has a lagoon filled with reef creatures and coral, including lionfish and octopus. Tours to this area often include dolphin watching and may even give you a chance to swim safely and cautiously with these fantastic animals.

Best Time to Snorkel in Hurghada

Visitors can enjoy Hurghada snorkelling year-round. The primary seasonal variation in Egypt concerns water temperature, which can cool to 21 Celsius in the winter and heat to 30 Celsius in the summer. However, as a snorkeler, you will always be in the ocean’s surface layer, which is the most warmed by the sun. If you are concerned about getting cold, consider bringing a wetsuit along on vacation. Buying or renting a wetsuit in Egypt is straightforward and much less bulky.

Some recommend avoiding the hottest time of year in July and August. If you do not like to sweat or are prone to heat exhaustion, May and June during Springtime or September through November during Autumn are the best seasons to visit.