Red Sea: Orange Bay and Snorkeling Cruise Tour with Lunch
Sail to Orange Bay, the Red Sea's answer to the Maldives. Two hours on a powder-white sandbar, two reef snorkeling stops, buffet lunch on deck, and hotel transfers both ways.
Overview
You came to the Red Sea for a day exactly like this one. A little after breakfast, an air-conditioned car collects you from your Hurghada hotel and drops you at the marina, where a yacht is waiting - open sun decks above, a shaded lounge below. The mainland slides away behind you, and for the next seven hours the only plan is water.
An hour out, the sea shallows over Orange Bay - a sandbar island rimmed in powder-white sand, its lagoons barely waist-deep for a hundred metres. Shuttle boats run you ashore for two full hours: wade until the turquoise turns glass-clear, or do nothing at all on the sand. Back aboard, the yacht anchors over two coral reefs. After a short briefing you drop in with mask and fins - first-timers included, guides close by - and drift above brain and fan coral while parrotfish, butterflyfish and clownfish dart through the anemones. Lunch is a buffet on deck: grilled mains, salads, fresh fruit, and cold drinks all day.
This is the rare kind of beautiful that asks nothing of you. No long hike to a viewpoint, no dawn alarm, no skill to master before you're allowed to enjoy it - just warm shallow water, a slow lunch, and hours that refuse to be rushed. You booked a Red Sea holiday for exactly this feeling.
By the time the yacht turns back toward Hurghada you're sun-warmed, salt-dried, and unhurried in the way only a full day on the water leaves you - already deciding this was the day the whole trip was for.
Highlights
- Two hours on Orange Bay's "Maldives of the Red Sea" sandbar — powder-white sand and barely-waist-deep turquoise lagoons
- Two reef stops after the island — drift above brain and fan coral while parrotfish, butterflyfish and clownfish work the anemones
- Buffet lunch onboard with grilled mains, salads, fresh fruit, and unlimited drinks all day
- Open sun decks above and a shaded lounge below — room to dry off and spread out between dips
- Door-to-door transfers from Hurghada hotels in an air-conditioned vehicle, both ways
Included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off in an air-conditioned vehicle (Hurghada hotels)
- Yacht cruise to Orange Bay with snorkeling at two coral reef sites
- 2 hours of beach time at Orange Bay with shuttle boats to/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 transfers from Makadi Bay, Sahl Hasheesh, El Gouna, Safaga, or Soma Bay (available as paid add-ons)
- Optional extras such as parasailing and intro diving (available as paid add-ons)
- Lunch and drinks on the Private Speedboat option, and anything bought ashore at Orange Bay's cafes
- Towels (please bring your own)
Good to know
- Child price: ages 4-11 · Infants under 4
- 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 two cruise 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.
- 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.
- Free cancellation up to 12 hours before the tour starts. In windy weather the captain may swap the reef stops for calmer sites, and parasailing is often cancelled on windy days.