From El Gouna: Orange Bay Island Trip with Snorkeling & Lunch
Swap El Gouna's lagoons for open reef. Two snorkeling stops, two hours on Orange Bay's white sand, buffet lunch on deck and transfers both ways.
Overview
El Gouna gives you water on every side and almost none of it deep. So the interesting thing about this day is the leaving: a car through the causeways after breakfast, then a marina, then a boat pointing at open sea for the first time all holiday.
Orange Bay arrives as a change in colour rather than a landmark. The blue thins, goes green, then turquoise, and underneath it is sand instead of seabed. Shuttle boats land you there for two hours. The lagoon runs shallow for a hundred metres, so the water is warm the whole way out and there is nowhere you cannot stand.
The reef stops come with the boat at anchor and a guide in the water. It is undramatic in the best way — you put your face in and there is a city down there: fans and brain coral, clownfish in the anemones, parrotfish working the rock. Between the two stops, a buffet lunch on deck and drinks that keep arriving.
You are home before the light goes. El Gouna's restaurants will still be filling up, and you will have salt in your hair and the specific tiredness that only comes from a full day outdoors doing nothing strenuous at all.
Highlights
- Two hours standing in the Orange Bay shallows, a hundred metres of lagoon that never reaches your chest
- Anchored twice above protected reef, with someone in the water showing you what you are looking at
- A buffet set out on deck at midday, cold drinks running from departure to return
- Open deck for the sun, covered lounge for the shade, tenders shuttling you ashore
- Car to the marina from your El Gouna hotel and back again afterwards
Included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off in El Gouna in an air-conditioned vehicle
- Boat cruise to Orange Bay with snorkeling at two coral reef sites
- Two hours of beach time at Orange Bay with shuttle boats to and from the island
- Orange Bay entry fees and permits
- Professional guides and a pre-snorkel safety briefing
- Full snorkeling gear — mask, fins, life jacket
- Buffet lunch onboard with seasonal fruit
- Unlimited soft drinks, hot drinks, and mineral water
- All taxes and service charges
Not included
- Hotel pickup from outside El Gouna
- Optional extras such as the introductory dive, photo & video package and birthday cake (available as paid add-ons)
- Lunch and drinks on the Private Speedboat option — Orange Bay has cafes and restaurants ashore
- Towels (please bring your own)
Good to know
- Child price: ages 2-11 · Infants under 2
- Sunglasses
- Sun hat
- Swimwear
- Towel
- Camera
- No swimming experience needed — our guides stay close at every snorkeling stop, and life jackets and buoyancy vests are on board for everyone.
- Children are welcome, but must stay under a parent's or guardian's supervision at all times — on the boat and in the water.
- The cruise and private yacht options run about 7 hours door to door, with buffet lunch and drinks served on board. The Private Speedboat is a shorter, faster trip — around 4 hours, with the same time ashore and two reef stops, but no lunch or drinks aboard.
- Our guides work in English, German, Arabic and Russian. Let us know your preference when you book and we will match you to the right guide.
- Please don't touch or stand on the coral, and don't touch or feed the fish. The reef is a living, protected habitat — look, don't touch.
- Pickup is at 08:30, and free cancellation applies up to 12 hours before the tour starts. In windy weather the captain may swap the reef stops for calmer sites.