Type ‘excursions in Hurghada’ into a search box and half of what comes back never touches salt water. The pyramids, Luxor, Cairo and the desert quad safaris are all sold under the same word as a speedboat to Orange Bay, and they are all bus days: an early coach, several hours of road, and a return after dark. Nothing wrong with them — they are simply a different holiday from the one you booked a Red Sea hotel for.
This page is about the other half. Four boat trips and two charters leave from marinas inside Hurghada, and every one of them is priced per boat rather than per seat.
What does a sea day from Hurghada cost?
Between €100 and €540 for the whole boat. The cheapest is a half day of up to five hours to Orange Bay with Bullet Speedboats at €100 per boat, with the island ticket already inside. The most expensive is a full day on a 28-metre yacht at €540 for up to fourteen. Because the unit is the boat, a couple pays what a full deck pays — which makes the per-head figure a question of how many of you there are, not of which trip you pick.
| Trip | Price per boat | Time | Max guests | Hotel transfer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orange Bay half day, Bullet | from €100 | up to 5 h | up to 9 on the largest hull in the fleet; limit for this trip not published | no |
| Dolphin House, Serenity | €150 | 4 h | 8 | yes |
| Dolphin spotting, Bullet | from €160 | 45–90 min of searching + 2 snorkel stops | up to 9 on the largest hull in the fleet; limit for this trip not published | no |
| Orange Bay, Serenity | from €160 | 4 h | 8 | yes |
| Speedboat ‘Thunder VIP’, Egyptboats | €240 | 4 h | 8 | yes |
| Yacht ‘Mirage Pool’, Egyptboats | €540 | 09:00–16:30 | 14 | yes |
Island day or dolphin search — which is which?
An island day has a destination. The boat crosses, you land, and the entry ticket to Orange Bay is what you are paying on top of the hull; both Bullet’s half day and Serenity’s four-hour trip include that ticket. A dolphin trip has no destination, only a search: Bullet sells 45 to 90 minutes of looking plus two snorkelling stops, and Serenity runs four hours out to the Dolphin House with a guide. Neither promises an animal, and that is the honest way to sell a wild one.
Why is a charter more expensive than a tour?
Because it buys the whole day and the route with it. ‘Thunder VIP’ is a 9-metre hull for four hours at €240, with hotel transfers, snorkelling gear, snacks, drinks and all fees and taxes included — €30 a head on a full boat of eight.
‘Mirage Pool’ is 28 metres from 09:00 to 16:30 at €540, and it adds lunch, fruit and a private snorkelling guide, which works out at €38.57 each when fourteen people are aboard. Egyptboats writes the unit on its own page: prices are per boat, not per person.
What is not in the price?
Food, mostly. Bullet lists soft drinks, fruit, snacks and lunch as excluded on both of its trips, and does not collect you from the hotel — you come to Hurghada Marina Boulevard for a 09:00 start. Serenity includes soft drinks and the hotel pickup on both trips but names lunch as excluded on the Orange Bay day.
Which extras are paid on the day?
On the two Egyptboats charters, food and drink are included and there are two extras: island entry — €10 per adult and €5 per child, paid when you land — and, on the yacht, a dive at €30. Carry that in cash.
Dolphins are never guaranteed. What you buy is boat time, a guide and two snorkelling stops — and every one of the six trips is priced per boat, not per person.
How do you tell a sea day from a bus day when you book?
Three questions do it. Where does it start — a marina or a hotel lobby at 05:00? What is the unit — a boat or a seat? And what is the entry fee for: an island, or a monument several hours inland? A trip that answers ‘marina, boat, island’ is the day you flew here for. Everything on this page answers that way.
Updated 3 September 2026. Prices, durations, age limits and inclusions are taken from the operators’ cards.
