14 Days Exploring Some of the Best Reefs of the Red Sea
September 27 – October 11, 2025
May 16-30, 2026
This is a unique opportunity to snorkel the Red Sea that you won’t want to miss! Join this snorkeling only group to experience the abundant coral reefs and sea life of the Red Sea, from both a seaside Egyptian resort and a liveaboard yacht.
This is a popular trip and folks have really enjoyed it. One of our community contributors also regularly visits this area, staying at the same seaside resort, and has glowing reviews about it. The Red Sea is certainly on our radar for having some of the most alive and interesting reefs in the world.
Watch This Short Video About The Trip
This trip is being run by our partner and friend Ben and his team. Based in the U.K., they are experts at running amazing excursions, and have a great appreciation for the underwater world. You will be accompanied by a guide from Ben’s team for the entire trip who has spent many years working in Egypt, and is also an underwater photography pro. There will be local guides from the resort and liveaboard always with the group, too.
Where Is the Red Sea and Where Will You Be Staying?
The Red Sea lies between Egypt, Sudan, and Eritrea in Africa, and the Arabian Peninsula, with the Sinai Peninsula at the northern end. This trip will be focused on the reefs of the Egyptian coastline, in the northern part of the Red Sea.
The tours start at Cairo International Airport. After arrival, you will be transferred to a nearby hotel where you will meet and have dinner with your guide and group. You will spend the night here and fly with the group the next morning to either Marsa Alam or Hurghada Airport, and then be transferred to Marsa Shagra Village Resort. You will spend six nights there, snorkeling every day.
Next you will travel a short distance to Port Ghalib and board the Red Sea Aggressor IV Liveaboard yacht for a seven night cruise filled with snorkeling.
Finally your group will transfer from Port Ghalib to Marsa Alam Airport to fly together back to Cairo where the tour ends.
About Marsa Shagra Village Resort and Snorkeling
Marsa Shagra Village Resort is perfectly located to access some of the very best snorkeling available in the Red Sea, and you will have six nights there.
The resort has a vast house reef in a bay that is so large, and so interesting, that you will have two days of guided explorations of different parts of it.
You’ll have unlimited access to explore the house reef any time you choose, too. With a myriad of colorful damselfish and reef dwellers using the hard corals as shelter from larger predatory fish like trevally or jacks cruising up and down the reef walls, there is always something new to find.
It’s not uncommon to come across larger creatures, like resident sea turtles feasting on soft corals, giant moray eels, and blue-spotted rays digging for crustaceans or hanging out on the sandy patches between the coral bommies.
The resort does have tender boats that can drop you further along the house reef and then snorkel back to the resort, or, you can always just walk in from the beach!
In addition to exploring the house reef, your group will also have the exclusive use of the resort’s snorkeling boats, that you will use to visit some of the many fantastic reefs in the area.
There’s also a solid possibility of being taken to a spot where dolphins or dugongs have been seen as they are frequently in the area. Marsa Shagra is really adept at reacting quickly to changing situations, such as a pod of dolphins being spotted in a nearby bay, so it’s not unusual for the plan to suddenly alter because an exciting creature has decided to make an impromptu appearance in a bay somewhere.
On one of the nights, an organized excursion into the desert to see the night sky without any light pollution will be included.
Your room at Marsa Shagra will be a Deluxe Chalet, their finest rooms. These upscale rooms have everything you would expect with air-conditioning, a TV, safe, and large bathrooms. Each has a private terrace with views of the sea and mountains.
All meals are included, and are freshly prepared. They are served buffet style and dinners offer alternating cuisine theme nights. Dietary restrictions (vegan, gluten free, etc.) can be accommodated. The restaurant, pictured below, is an outdoor terrace with wonderful views in all directions.
There are snacks, tea, coffee, water, and bottled soft drinks always available. You are encouraged to bring your own water bottle to be refilled to help reduce plastic waste. Alcohol and other specialty items are not included.
What the Red Sea Aggressor IV Liveaboard and Snorkeling Will Be Like
The Red Sea Aggressor IV Liveaboard will be your home base for this part of the trip. It is a wonderful platform for exploring the more remote and stunning reefs of the Red Sea. This yacht has been exclusively chartered for your snorkel group, so all the sites visited will be chosen for ideal snorkeling depths and sea life encounters.
Your group will enjoy at least three daily guided snorkel trips, stopping at different spots. There will also be additional opportunities for night and sunset snorkeling.
For most scheduled snorkel sessions the liveaboard’s rigid inflatable tender boats will drop you right at the sites, but there will also be opportunities to snorkel directly from the big boat where the reefs are close.
The yacht’s route will be dependent on weather conditions, but it will be sailing south from Port Ghalib, circling around the St. John’s area of reefs. It is a vast collection of small reefs offering some of the most remote and rewarding snorkeling in the Red Sea. This incredibly beautiful reef lies a short distance north of the Sudanese border. The reef covers a huge area and many snorkel sessions would be needed to explore the numerous coral heads and islands.
Habili Ali offers giant gorgonians and black corals with an abundance of schooling fish often seen in the blue. Habili Gafaar is a mass of soft corals teaming with shoals of snappers, butterflyfish, and barracudas. Mantas and reef sharks can often be seen in the blue.
You will also explore another area of about 20 reefs, known as the Fury Shoals, which offers a nice variety of underwater topography from walls and seamounts, to shallow plateaus. The shallow reef system makes it great for lots of varied snorkeling with colorful anemones, clownfish, barracudas, moray eels, huge groupers, giant trevallies, and dogtooth tuna attracted to the hard and soft corals and can be spotted here.
Between snorkeling outings you can enjoy stunning views of the sunrises and sunsets and have lots of opportunity to kick back and relax, taking advantage of the comforts of the yacht and the great service of the staff.
There are two cabin options on the yacht. There are three Master Staterooms, one on the upper deck and two on the middle deck, each with a queen bed, and 10 Deluxe Staterooms on the upper, middle, and lower decks, each with two single beds. All cabins are ensuite with individual air-conditioning.
The menu aboard is varied and plentiful, with a variety of Egyptian feasts and local cuisine. You will wake up to fresh fruits, hot entrees, cereals and juices. Lunches feature hot soups, homemade breads, salads and sandwiches and/or entrees. Dinners are chef prepared and served each evening and include salads, vegetables, seafood, beef or chicken with a fresh homemade dessert. Dietary restrictions can be accommodated.
Aggressor’s beverage selection includes fruit juices, soft drinks, iced water, tea, coffee, and a limited selection of local beer and wine, which are complimentary.
Snorkel Boats
During this adventure both at the resort and on the liveaboard the group will at times be transferred to and from snorkel spots on Zodiac rigid inflatable boats that have ladders for access out of the water.
Trip Details and How to Sign Up
These are small group charters and we expect them to fill quickly. Your spot is reserved with your deposit. Contact Ben below for deposit instructions.
Trip Dates:
September 27 – October 11, 2025 – Available.
May 16-30, 2026 – Available.
Trip Price:
$6450 US per person (Twin/Double Share) (Deluxe Chalet Marsa Shagra, Deluxe Stateroom Red Sea Aggressor IV)
Red Sea Aggressor IV Supplements:
Master Stateroom: $300 US per person
Single Supplement: $1500 US
The initial deposit for this trip is $800 US per person. At 12 months before departure there is a $600 US per person interim deposit, and at six months there is another $1000 US per person interim deposit. The final balance will be due three months before departure. A few payment options are available including debit and credit cards.
Individual travelers – Ben will happily find someone of the same sex for you to share a room with. If he cannot find you someone, no single supplement surcharge will apply.
Inclusions:
- Transfers from/to Cairo Airport – Cairo hotel
- 1 night Cairo hotel with dinner and breakfast
- Domestic flights: Cairo – Marsa Alam/Hurghada – Cairo
- Transfers: Marsa Alam Airport – Marsa Shagra Resort – Red Sea Aggressor IV – Marsa Alam Airport
- 6 nights Marsa Shagra Deluxe Chalet with full board
- 2 days Marsa Shagra house reef snorkeling + 3 days boat snorkeling
- Star Gazing Tour from Marsa Shagra
- 7 nights Liveaboard Red Sea Aggressor IV with full board (including local beer and wine at dinner)
- Unlimited snorkeling from the Red Sea Aggressor IV (up to 4 sessions per day)
Exclusions:
- International flights
- Alcoholic drinks
- Snorkel equipment rental
- Tips
- Travel and health insurance
Trip Organizers
Ben and his U.K. based team are the organizers and leaders of this trip (more about them below). Galen & Nicole from TropicalSnorkeling.com are promoting this trip, but all signups, trip organization and payments are made to and managed by Ben’s team. TropicalSnorkeling.com does receive a referral fee in exchange for promoting the trip, at no extra cost to attendees.
How to Sign Up or Learn More?
Use the contact form below to contact Ben and his team to request more information about them and express your interest in signing up. They will get back to you shortly with full details.
More About Ben and Our Partnership
Ben (pictured with Nicole) is our friend and snorkeling trips partner. He and his team are based in the U.K. and have over 20 years of experience guiding in Asia and beyond. He has been running his own business since 2010 and is primarily offering guided snorkeling trips, but he started with diving. He began offering snorkeling specific trips because he was aware that snorkelers often get the short end of the stick when thrown in with divers. He and his team love the freedom and low stress of snorkeling, and are very aware of the different needs of snorkelers versus divers, in terms of the reef depth, and calm surface conditions needed.
From our experience going on some of his snorkeling trips we found them very well organized, the guides were fantastic and very helpful, and the underwater experiences were exceptional. Snorkeling groups really get the benefit of all of Ben and his guides’ years of experience in the water, and with different resorts and liveaboards.
All of his trips are small groups of 12-18 guests, or with a similar ratio of snorkelers to guides. These are premium trips including nearly everything you will need, accommodation, meals, transportation, and more.
His company is licensed and insured. Barring extreme circumstances they do not cancel trips.
Learn More About the Hotel, Resort and Liveaboard
Red Sea Aggressor IV Liveaboard
Completed Trip Dates
Slightly different itinerary:
May 6-19, 2022
October 28 – November 10, 2022
May 12-25, 2023
2024
May 5-18
September 29 – October 12