Orange & Giftun: Ultimate Red Sea Snorkel & Island Escape

Amazing trip! Hotel pick up on time, day before time confirmation via WhatsApp. Boat nice and clean. We went to coral reef and there was so many fishes in between us… I didn’t know where to look. Warm food, water, tea, coffee included basic but wasn’t bad at all. Orange bay… beautiful views, water crystal clear… bear £6-7, cocktails £10-14

Amazing snorkeling experience in Hurghada! Crystal-clear water, colorful reefs, and a very professional crew. Everything was well organized and safe. Highly recommended!

We went on a day when it was ridiculously hot. The island was busy and not the cleanest. The sea was nice, not much chance of shade. Very busy and unfortunately us tourists don’t look after things so it’s a bit messy. (Not sure of how truthful this was but we were told the boats empty their toilet waste there which the fish eat) 🤢 kinda put me off.

I was disappointed with the description of this activity vs the reality. I booked this tour as it was written (and I did a screen shot) because the maximum amount of passengers was max 20. At the start if the boat trip it was 50!!!! So, basically this was not what i booked, of course once you are there, there is nothing to do. They pick us up at 7:30 am, arrived to the boat 8:15 and did not leave the harbor until 9:52. so more than 2 hours doing nothing. The snorkeling was nice, but i had similar things at the hotel, the crew were kind (not their fault). The cherry on the cake was to visit the “Orange Bay National Park” which was a huge bar, market, etc. from where you cant leave and walk around on your own. So you basically pay a fee to enter to a bay, totally regulated by them without any possibility to do something than consuming or making instagram pics by a photographer This was not what I had in mind … i hope this helps others.

Snorkelling tour with not enough snorkelling equipment…… we had one decent mask between 3 of us. Two pairs of goggles and one snorkel you had to hold. No flippers provided. No coffee left, but water plentiful. Lunch and fruit were good. Poor snorkelling - saw more off the pier at the hotel. Orange bay is beautiful but very expensive as you cannot take your own food and drink there. We saw some dolphins but I actually felt quite sorry for them as there were about 5 large boats and some speed boats zooming in and out. Water sports cancelled due to wind. Not great for people who will struggle with mobility as no boardwalks to get on/off boat - we had to climb up a tyre off the pier….. staff were ok. Some were very nice - some rude and did nothing but smoke. Also when we got to the pier in the morning we had no idea which boat to get on! Luckily we had a nice driver who wondered around with his phone trying to help us. Enjoyable day on the boat with family, beautiful views, but wouldn’t book again.

Fantastic day do it again . Snorkeling great . Staff super. Orange bay great . Food and drink always there if needed snorkeling guy was great helping my lad.

Only 1h in orange bay but 2h promise in réservation, why ? Départ marina at 10h30, pick up 7h , why ? Not soda in board only water, why ? And just 1 fun activity (banana) We are sad...

Well, I scheduled the experience for 08h30, the company call me asking me to be at 07h30 because the hotel was far and the boat will leave at 09h00. The driver arrived at 08h05, 35m delay, we arrived to the boat moreless at 08h45m. We stayed stopped until 10h05, the time the boat left, at about 11h00 the boat stopped and it stayed stopped for more than an 1 hour, I asked a crew member what was happening and he told me that there was a mechanic issue and the captain was trying to fix, we just arrive at orange bay at 13h50, left at 15h15, the return time was scheduled to be at 16h30, because of the delay only one stopped for snorkeling was made (moreless 30m) which in my opinion was very short, because I think this is the best part of this experience. Orange Bay island for me was a disappointment, lot of people, very commercial, the crystal-clear waters are at the beginning where the water level reached your knees, if you go a litle further there's no visibility because the water as a lot of sand mixed in. The clear waters are where the boats stop, in my opinion would be better to dive from the boat, the island is only worth if you really want to post a photo on you'r social media app.

The snorkelling was generally excellent, with plenty of beautiful coloured fish to swim through. It would have been better if they offered fins (it was mask ands snorkel only). The staff were all excellent and friendly, and the lunch on board was nice. The negatives: The actual trip to Orange Bay was very rushed. Only 1.5 hours was allowed, which meant, by the time you'd had a drink and worked out where things were, it was time to leave again. It would have been better to have more time to explore, relax, and enjoy the absolutely beautiful place. The trip also advertised "water sports" as part of the package. This was practically non-existent. When I asked about it, they brought out a banana boat and we had - literally - about 15 seconds of a slow pull, and that was it. In general this was a nice trip. I think they should remove "water sports" from the title though, as it is misleading.

The morning started with delays, boat not arriving, and a series of issues, but in the end the company found us a boat with nice crew and good snorkeling and diving. We had fun with the parasailing too.