Tour Overview
This snorkeling trip takes you from your hotel in Marsa Alam to a boat and out to reef spots along the southern Red Sea coast. You spend the day moving between snorkeling stops, floating over coral and schools of colorful fish, with a chance of meeting dolphins on the way. Snorkeling equipment and lunch on board are part of the price, and an air-conditioned vehicle handles the transfers in both directions, so the only thing you plan is what to pack.
Tour Highlights
- Snorkel the reefs of the southern Red Sea, a quieter stretch of coast than the busy northern resorts, with more room in the water around you.
- Look down on hard and soft coral gardens and the reef fish that live around them, from single bright fish to small schools moving as one.
- Keep an eye on the open water between stops: dolphins live in these seas and are sometimes seen from the boat or in the water.
- Use the snorkeling equipment provided for the day, so you can travel light and skip renting or carrying your own gear.
- Have lunch on board between swims, with bottled water and soft drinks in the vehicle and every charge and tax already in the price.
Tour Route
Is snorkeling in Marsa Alam worth it?
Yes, if you want reefs without the crowds of the bigger resort towns. Marsa Alam sits on the southern Red Sea coast, far from large cities, and the sea here is known for healthy coral and clear water. A boat day lets you reach several spots instead of one beach.
What will you see underwater?
Mostly coral and the fish that depend on it. Expect branching and table corals, soft corals that sway in the current, and reef fish in many colors and sizes. Dolphins also live in this part of the Red Sea and are sometimes seen, but they are wild animals and never guaranteed.
The best way to see more is to move slowly. Float flat on the surface, keep your fins below the water and let the reef come to you. Fish that scatter when someone splashes will often return within a minute if you stay still.
What should you bring on the boat?
Snorkeling equipment, lunch and drinks are provided on the boat, so you only need to pack personal things, and a small bag is enough for the day. Bring swimwear and a towel, reef-safe sunscreen and a hat, a T-shirt to protect your back, and dry clothes and some cash for the drive home.
- Swimwear and a towel: wear swimwear under your clothes to save time on board.
- Reef-safe sunscreen and a hat: the sun on the water is strong, even on a breezy day.
- A T-shirt or rash guard: it protects your back while you snorkel face down.
- Dry clothes and cash: for the drive home, tips and anything you choose to buy.
How do you protect the reef while snorkeling?
Look but do not touch. Coral is a living animal that grows very slowly and breaks easily, so never stand on it, hold it or kick it with your fins. Do not feed or chase fish, and leave shells and coral pieces where they are, in the water and on the beach.
What else can you do from Marsa Alam?
A sea day pairs well with a day on land, either in the desert behind the coast or at the temples of the Nile Valley. You can also go below the surface with an instructor on the diving trip, and every one of these excursions picks you up from your hotel in Marsa Alam.
If you want to go below the surface with an instructor, see the Marsa Alam diving trip. For the mountains and a Bedouin dinner at sunset, book the Marsa Alam desert safari by quad. And for ancient Egypt, the private Luxor day trip from Marsa Alam covers the Valley of the Kings and Karnak in one day.
Tour Itinerary
A relaxed sea day: a transfer to the boat, time in the water at reef spots with lunch on deck, then the drive back to your hotel.
A modern air-conditioned vehicle collects you from your hotel in Marsa Alam. Hotels here are spread along a long coastline, so tell us your hotel name when you book and we confirm your pickup time before the day. Bottled water and soft drinks are waiting in the vehicle.
At the boat you are given snorkeling equipment. Take a few minutes to adjust the mask strap and check that everything fits before the first stop. If you have your own mask and prefer it, bring it along; a mask that seals well makes the whole day more comfortable.
The boat anchors near a reef and you slip into the water to explore. Coral rises from the sandy bottom, and the fish around it are used to snorkelers floating above. Stay close to the boat at first, find your rhythm with the snorkel, and then follow the edge of the reef.
Lunch is served on the boat, giving you time to dry off, rest in the shade and talk about what you saw. Let us know about allergies or diets when you book so the meal suits you. This is also a good moment to top up your sunscreen.
After lunch there is more snorkeling at the reef spots the crew picks for the day's sea conditions. Each stop looks a little different, with new coral shapes and other fish. While the boat moves, watch the water: this is when dolphins are most often spotted.
When the boat returns, the same air-conditioned vehicle takes you back to your hotel in Marsa Alam. Transfers, equipment, lunch, drinks, charges and taxes are already paid, so you only need cash for tips and anything you choose to buy.
What's Included
What the tour price covers, and what to plan for separately.
Paid
★
Your
Own
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers about this tour. For anything else, message us on WhatsApp — we reply fast.
You are collected from your hotel in Marsa Alam in a modern air-conditioned vehicle and driven to the boat, and you are brought back to the same hotel at the end of the day. Send us your hotel name when you book so we can confirm your pickup time before the day.
Hotel pickup and return in Marsa Alam, transfers in an air-conditioned vehicle, snorkeling equipment, lunch on the boat, bottled water and soft drinks in the vehicle, and all service charges and taxes. Tips and any tours outside the itinerary are not included in the price.
The per-person price depends on how many people book together and on the dates you travel. It falls as your party grows, and it changes between the summer, autumn, holiday and winter periods. The table on this page shows each rate, starting from {price} per person.
You might. Dolphins live in the southern Red Sea and are sometimes seen from the boat or while snorkeling, but they are wild and move freely, so no trip can promise them. The coral and reef fish are there every day, and they are the real focus of the trip.
Yes. Avicon Travel is a Class "A" travel agency licensed by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism under License No. 1962 and registered since 2010. Our office and team are in Karnak, Luxor, so the guides, drivers and cars on this tour are our own local team, not a booking desk abroad.
