By type of trip
Nile Cruises Luxor to Aswan: Routes, Boats and Prices
Classic Egypt Tours: Cairo, Luxor and Aswan Itineraries
Nile Cruise and Red Sea Holidays: Two-Week Egypt Trips
White Desert Tours from Cairo: Oases and Desert Camping
Short Breaks in Egypt: Three and Four Day Cairo Trips
Tailor-made Egypt Tours: Private Trips Built Around You
Hurghada · Red Sea
Giftun is the best island trip from Hurghada for most people, and most of the island names you see for sale are beaches on it. Orange Bay and Mahmya both say on their own websites that they sit on Giftun Island. The islands are a protected area, so a park fee is collected in cash on the boat. The day runs about an hour out by boat, with two or three snorkelling stops and a few hours on a beach. Pick your trip by what it includes, not by the island name.
Giftun is a pair of desert islands off Hurghada. Most of the boat trips sold in the resort head there. The water around them is clear and shallow, with coral close to the surface.
The islands are a protectorate. In 2004 a presidential decree kept Giftun protected after a campaign against a large resort plan there. The conservation group HEPCA, which led that campaign, calls Giftun a major nesting ground for green turtles. It also says at least 40% of Hurghada's dive sites lie close by.
Protection is why the reef still looks good. It is also why you pay a park fee and why building on the islands is limited.
For most visitors the answer is Giftun. It is close, the snorkelling is easy, and there is a beach to rest on afterwards.
Many names on the sales boards point to the same place. Orange Bay and Mahmya both describe themselves as beaches on Giftun Island, on their own websites. So choosing between them means choosing a beach operator and a ticket. The reef around you is the same group either way.
You will also see trips sold as Paradise Island or Utopia Island. We could not confirm where every one of these boats lands. Before you pay, ask which island and which beach the boat stops at, who runs the beach, and what is included.
Mahmya runs its own boats every day from its own base, Mahmya Beach Marina in Hurghada. It sells three day programmes. The first covers the boat and beach use. The second adds a buffet lunch. The third adds a snorkelling trip to Sabina Reef, with kit.
Orange Bay's website places it on Giftun Island, with boats from Hurghada Marina. When we checked, it listed no programmes or prices. Book it through someone who can tell you exactly what the day includes.
A snorkelling boat day is the other option. You get two or three reef stops and a shorter beach stop. Pick this if the fish matter more to you than the sun lounger.
The beach half is where quality swings. A licensed beach on the larger island charges separately and is comfortable. Free landing spots get crowded and have very little shade.
You can only go by boat. Most trips collect you from your hotel early in the morning and drive you to the marina. The boat ride out takes about an hour.
A typical day has two or three snorkelling stops, lunch on board and a couple of hours on a beach. You are back by late afternoon.
Ask how many people the boat takes before you ask the price. A crowded boat makes for a crowded reef and a long queue for the ladder.
Strong wind cancels boats on this coast, and it blows hardest in spring. Leave a spare day in your week in case your trip is called off.
Giftun is a protected area, and a park fee is charged per person. It is normally collected in cash on the boat, on top of the price you were quoted. Bring small notes in Egyptian pounds and ask your operator for the current amount when you book.
Pack reef-safe sun cream, a hat and a rash vest or old T-shirt for snorkelling. The sun on deck is strong. Bring water, a towel and cash for drinks and a tip for the crew.
If you have your own mask, bring it. Ask whether snorkelling kit is included, as some programmes charge for it.
The reefs are shallow, bright and full of fish. They suit people who have never used a mask before. Expect reef fish in big numbers, hard and soft coral, and sometimes a turtle.
Dolphins are sometimes seen from the boats. If they come close, follow the local code: boats stay at least 30 metres away, swimmers enter gently and never chase or touch them.
Bigger visitors are rare. In 2018 Red Sea protectorate officials reported a whale shark between the two Giftun islands, and it made the news because it is unusual. Treat anything like that as luck.
Never stand or walk on the coral. It breaks the reef and cuts your feet. Get in and out from the boat ladder, and wear fins so you do not need to stand.
Yes, with planning. The snorkelling is calm and shallow, and children love it. The day is long, though: an hour out, an hour back and a lot of sun in between.
For small children, a managed beach with shade and lunch, such as Mahmya, is the easier choice. Life jackets help nervous swimmers relax on the reef stops.
We sell the tours of one Egyptian operator, Memphis Tours. Three of its set itineraries end with free days in Hurghada. Island trips there are optional and sold locally at your own cost.
The Nile Cruise and Hurghada tour, 10 days, starts from US$2,310 per person. Cairo, a Nile Cruise and Hurghada, 11 days, starts from US$2,560. Cairo, Luxor and the Red Sea, 8 days, starts from US$2,040. Send a request and we can help you plan a Giftun day into your free time.
Giftun, for most people. It is about an hour by boat, the snorkelling is easy and there are beaches to rest on. Orange Bay and Mahmya are both beaches on Giftun, so choose by what the ticket includes.
Orange Bay is a beach on Giftun Island, according to its own website. Its boats leave from Hurghada Marina.
Yes. Mahmya describes itself as a beach on Giftun Island and runs its own boats from Mahmya Beach Marina in Hurghada.
It is a protected area, often called a national park. A 2004 presidential decree kept the Giftun protectorate in place, and a park fee is charged per person.
We could not find an official published figure. The fee is collected per person in cash on the boat, so ask your operator for the current amount and bring small Egyptian pound notes.
About an hour each way from Hurghada. Most day trips leave in the morning and return by late afternoon.
There are no hotels on the islands. Building there is limited because they are a protected area, so Giftun is a day trip.
Yes, if you wear a life jacket and stay with a guide on the reef stops. The beach part needs no swimming at all.
Entry rules, opening hours, security advice and exchange rates all move. Check them at the source, not here.
Written and checked by the Nile Trip Guide editorial team · Last reviewed . Entry rules, prices and opening hours change — check anything critical against the official sources linked on this page.
Plan this trip
A real itinerary with real prices, usually within 24 hours. Nothing is booked and nothing is charged until you say yes.
10 days · Nile & Red Sea
Egypt in three parts: two days in Cairo, three nights sailing Aswan to Luxor, then three nights on the Red Sea with nothing scheduled. The temples first, the sea afterwards.
from US$2,310 / per person
11 days · Nile & Red Sea
The 10 day Nile-and-Red-Sea route with one more day in Cairo at the end, spent on the Citadel, Coptic Cairo and the Royal Mummies. Two days in Cairo, three nights on the river, three on the sea.
from US$2,560 / per person
8 days · Nile & Red Sea
No boat on this one. Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum, a night in Luxor for both banks, two nights on the Red Sea, then back to Cairo for the Citadel, Coptic Cairo and the Royal Mummies.
from US$2,040 / per person
