Hurghada: Orange Island Diving & Snorkeling Trip with Lunch
Snorkel or dive two protected reef stops off Orange Bay. A full day from Hurghada to the Giftun Islands National Park, with two hours on the white sand and a buffet lunch served on board.
Overview
You came to the Red Sea for what's underneath it. Not the buffet, not the sun-lounger — the water. This is the day you actually get in: a boat out of Hurghada marina, two reef stops inside the Giftun Islands National Park, and the choice of staying on the surface with a snorkel or going under properly with a tank and an instructor beside you.
The first stop settles it. You go over the side, the cold catches for a second, and then the surface closes over your ears. Engine noise gone, conversation gone. What's left is a wall of coral dropping away beneath you and a few hundred fish going about their morning as though you weren't there. Time goes strange down there — you'll surface certain it was ten minutes and the boat will tell you it was forty.
That reef is protected water, and it shows. Giftun is a national park; the fee is already in your ticket, the boats are kept off the coral, and what you're swimming over is a system still doing what it's meant to do. That is the difference between looking at a reef and being let into one.
In between there is Orange Bay itself — two hours of white sand and shallow turquoise, warm enough to wade out to your waist and stand there doing nothing at all. Lunch is a proper buffet cooked on board, eaten with wet hair and salt still on your arms, and by mid-afternoon you're back at your hotel with one patch of sunburn you missed and a very clear idea of when you want to get back in the water.
Highlights
- Two reef stops inside the Giftun Islands National Park — snorkel the surface or go under with an instructor.
- Two hours on the white sand at Orange Bay, in water shallow enough to stand up in.
- A first dive here needs no certificate and no experience — just a briefing on the boat.
- Buffet lunch cooked on board, with soft drinks and mineral water.
- Park and island entry fees already in the price — nothing to pay at the jetty.
- Hotel pickup and drop-off in Hurghada, with all snorkelling gear provided.
Included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off in Hurghada
- Boat trip to Orange Bay and the Giftun Islands
- Two reef stops with a guide in the water with you
- Snorkelling equipment: mask, snorkel, fins and flotation vest
- Scuba equipment and a certified instructor (on the two diving options)
- Buffet lunch cooked on board
- Soft drinks and mineral water
- Giftun National Park and Orange Bay entry fees
Not included
- Scuba diving on the Snorkelling option — choose a diving option instead
- Pick-up and drop-off from Makadi Bay, Sahl Hasheesh, and El Gouna (available as a paid add-on)
- Pick-up and drop-off from Safaga and Soma Bay (available as a paid add-on)
- Parasailing (available as an optional add-on)
- Onboard photos and videos (available as an optional add-on)
- Spa and hammam treatments in Hurghada (available as optional add-ons)
- Gratuities and personal expenses
Good to know
- Child price: ages 2-11 · Infants under 2
- What to bring: swimwear, towel, sun hat, sunglasses, reef-safe sunscreen and a camera
- You should be comfortable in deep water — the reef stops are entered from the boat, not from a beach
- Discover Scuba dives are open to ages 10 and above; no certificate or previous experience is needed
- The Certified Diver option requires a valid certification card and your logbook
- Tell us when you book if you are pregnant or have heart, lung, ear or sinus conditions — diving may not be suitable
- Do not book a diving option within 24 hours of a flight; snorkelling is not affected
- Pickup is 15–60 minutes before departure depending on your hotel; we confirm your exact time after booking
- Free cancellation up to 12 hours before departure, and you can reserve now and pay later