Hurghada: Magawish Island Boat Trip with Lunch & Transfers
Seven slow hours on the Red Sea — two guided reef stops, buffet lunch on deck, and two unhurried hours on Magawish Island's white sand. Hotel transfers, snorkel gear and island entry included.
Overview
You booked a week on the Red Sea for days exactly like this one. A driver collects you from your hotel at half past eight, and by mid-morning Hurghada's seafront is a thin white line behind the boat. Ahead of you there is nothing scheduled but water.
The first mooring is over open reef. You go in off the back of the boat and the noise of the deck simply stops — engine, voices, everything — replaced by your own breathing through the snorkel. Below you the coral runs off into blue: parrotfish working at the rock, a shoal turning all at once, light moving in bands across the sand. Your guide stays in the water beside you, which matters if it is your first time. People who meant to swim for ten minutes come up after forty. Spinner dolphins work this stretch of coast and often run alongside the boat between stops — nobody can promise them, and the crew will tell you so honestly.
Lunch is laid out on deck while the boat repositions, and then you get two hours on Magawish Island. The point of those two hours is that there is nothing in them. No queue, no ticket to show, no next thing to get to — the island tourist tax is already paid, so you simply walk off the boat. Most travel asks you to keep moving and keep photographing; a day like this asks you to stop, which is a rarer thing to buy than it sounds. It is why people book this trip twice in the same holiday.
There is one more reef on the way back, then chilled fruit on the deck while the boat turns for Hurghada. The crew handles the gear and the tidying. You sit in the sun with salt drying on your skin and watch the coastline come up, and you go back to your hotel tired in the good way — the particular unhurried calm that only a long day on open water leaves behind.
Highlights
- Two guided snorkelling stops on open reef, with an instructor in the water beside you
- Two full hours on Magawish Island — entry fee already paid, nothing to settle on arrival
- Buffet lunch served on deck between the reef and the island
- Snorkel gear, life jackets, unlimited soft drinks, water, tea and coffee included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off across Hurghada included in the price
- Spinner dolphins often run alongside the boat — sightings are never guaranteed
Included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off in Hurghada
- Air-conditioned transfer to and from the marina
- Boat trip with two snorkelling stops
- Snorkelling instructor in the water with you
- Professional guide
- Breakfast sandwiches
- Buffet lunch with salads and fruit
- Snorkelling gear and life jacket
- Unlimited soft drinks and mineral water
- Tea, coffee and milk
- Two hours on Magawish Island
- Magawish Island entry fee and tourist tax — nothing to pay on the day
- Chilled fruit served on the return leg
Not included
- Towels — please bring your own
- Underwater photos and video (available as an add-on below)
- Hotel pickup from Makadi Bay, Sahl Hasheesh and El Gouna — €10 per person, round trip (add below)
- Hotel pickup from Soma Bay and Safaga — €15 per person, round trip (add below)
Good to know
- Child price: ages 2-11 · Infants under 2
- Pickup starts at 08:30; the trip runs about 7 hours door to door
- Bring swimwear, a towel and high-factor sunscreen
- Bring sunglasses and a hat — there is shade on deck, but the sun is strong on the water
- Bring a camera, or add the photo package at checkout
- Snorkelling is optional. Life jackets are provided and the guide stays with first-timers
- Children are welcome; infants under 2 travel free
- Free cancellation up to 12 hours before departure