Discover the best Red Sea Snorkelling spots in Egypt, from Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh to Marsa Alam. Explore colorful coral reefs, marine life, and unforgettable snorkeling trips.
Why this sea is special (one minute of geography)
The Red Sea is young, deep, warm and unusually salty, almost enclosed between desert coasts, with no rivers muddying it. The result is water of famous clarity and corals that thrive close to the surface, which is precisely why snorkellers here see what divers elsewhere travel for. It is also why the reefs stay swimmable in every season.
See our Hurghada Weather Month by Month guide
The cast, honestly billed
The certainties. Clouds of orange anthias over the coral, sergeant majors, parrotfish crunching audibly on the reef, butterflyfish in pairs, and the Red Sea’s own celebrities: masked butterflyfish and the magnificent lionfish (look, never touch). On any Giftun or Orange Bay reef stop, this cast shows up.
The very likely. Blue-spotted rays on sandy patches, clownfish in their anemones, moray eels peering from holes, and at Abu Dabbab Bay near Marsa Alam, green sea turtles the size of a dining table grazing the seagrass metres from a sandy beach. Turtle sightings there are close to daily.
The wild lottery, Spinner dolphins rest in the reef lagoons of Samadai and Sataya near Marsa Alam; most trips meet them, no honest operator promises them. Abu Dabbab’s resident dugong appears when it appears. Whale sharks pass through some summers. These are wild animals in a wild sea; that is exactly what makes meeting them worth something. We follow the reserve rules absolutely: no chasing, no touching, no exceptions, and we do not offer captive dolphin shows, full stop.
Where to go for what
- First-timers and children: Orange Bay and Giftun Island from Hurghada; shallow, sandy, teeming
[ Full Hurghada guide here things to do in hurghada]
- Turtles: Abu Dabbab, from a beach, no boat needed.
- Wild dolphins: Samadai for the easy half-day, Sataya for the far-south spectacular.
[Our Marsa Alam Excursions guide explains the crucial difference.]
- Reef walls: Ras Mohammed from Sharm.
Snorkel kindly
The reef is alive and slower to grow than it looks: stand only on sand, choose reef-safe sunscreen, take nothing, leave nothing. Guides on our boats brief every group, provide equipment and life jackets, and get in the water with you, including with guests who cannot swim.
Tell us who is coming and what you dream of seeing on WhatsApp (+20 110 016 3333), and we will match you to the right water honestly. No deposit, pay on arrival. Our word is our bond, since 1998.
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