Giftun Island

The Giftun Islands are the heart of every full-day Hurghada boat trip. They sit 10 to 25 kilometers off the Hurghada coast and were declared a protected marine park decades ago. If you've ever seen a photograph of a white sandbar with turquoise water on both sides, taken from Hurghada, it was almost certainly somewhere in this archipelago.

What the Giftun archipelago actually is

Giftun is a small group of low, sandy, reef-fringed islands rather than a single landmass. The big island, locally called Big Giftun, runs roughly north-south and shelters several lagoons and a famous sandbar on its western tip. The smaller islands and reefs around it include Hula Hula, Mahmya, Paradise, Disco Beach and a constellation of named coral patches the captains know by heart. All of them are inside the marine protected area.

Orange Bay, Hula Hula and Mahmya are all "Giftun"

This is what surprises most first-time visitors. Orange Bay, the most photographed beach in Hurghada, is on the western edge of Big Giftun. Hula Hula is a separate, much smaller island in the same archipelago, reached by our smaller motor boats. Mahmya is another island within the same protected zone, with a different setup. They are all part of the same Giftun system, but the day on each one feels very different because the boats, the crowds and the beach layout differ.

How long it takes to get there

From Hurghada Marina or El Mamsha pier, the closest Giftun spots are 20 to 30 minutes by boat and about 60 to 90 minutes by traditional motor boat. Orange Bay specifically takes around 90 minutes by traditional boat because it sits on the far western tip of Big Giftun.

The reefs

Between the islands sit some of the best beginner-friendly snorkeling reefs on the Red Sea. The water is shallow (1-5 meters in most stops we use), the visibility is consistently above 15 meters, and the reef life is dense: parrotfish, lionfish, butterflyfish, sergeant major schools, the occasional small reef shark, and (on lucky days) a hawksbill turtle.

Marine park rules

Everything you visit inside the Giftun archipelago is part of the Hurghada marine protected area. The rules: no anchoring on the coral (boats use moorings), no fishing, no collecting shells or coral, no chasing or touching marine life, no littering. Marine park fees are already included in every Yala Hurghada trip price.

Trips that visit the Giftun archipelago

Our Orange Bay Island full-day boat trip, the Hula Hula boat trip and most of our private charter routes all spend time inside the Giftun marine park. If you want the classic Hurghada snorkeling photograph, any of these will get you there.