Snorkelling in Sharm is not a lesser version of diving. The Red Sea reefs here start close to the surface and drop away steeply, so the busiest part of the wall — the coral, the schooling fish, the light — is in the first few metres, exactly where a snorkeller floats. What you give up is depth and time, not the scenery.
Which three boats run snorkelling days?
| Trip | Operator | Price | Where it goes | Kit included |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White Island & Ras Mohammed | Shark Divers | €25 pp | Sandbank + national park | Not listed as included |
| Tiran Island | Cinderella Eldawley | €40 pp (from €50) | Jackson, Woodhouse, Thomas, Gordon | Not stated |
| Full-day snorkelling | Dive In Sharm | €45 web / €50 on site | Day boat from Ras Um Sid | Lunch, fins and mask |
All three run eight hours — a full day out with a morning departure — and none of them needs a certificate or a tank.
Which one, if you only have one day?
Shark Divers' €25 day is the only one that visits two very different places: White Island, a bare sandbank that appears and disappears with the tide, and Ras Mohammed, the national park at the tip of Sinai. It is also the cheapest way into the park. The catch is stated openly by the operator: snorkelling equipment is not listed as included, so bring your own mask.
Cinderella's Tiran day at €40 takes the other route — north, into the strait, over the four named reefs standing in open water. It is a different kind of day: fewer stops, more open sea, reefs that rise from deep water with no shallow approach. Cinderella is the largest of these Sharm centres by review count, 4.9 from 2,860 reviews as of 3 September 2026.
And if lunch and kit matter more?
Dive In's day at €45 on the web (€50 at the desk) is the one that has thought about the eight hours rather than only the reef: lunch, fins and mask are included, and the team works in English and Italian.
Why is the €25 ticket not automatically the cheapest day?
Count the whole day. On the €25 trip you add a mask — your own, or rented — and your own food and water for eight hours. On the €45 trip lunch and kit are already inside. The marine park fee is charged separately on all three, and Dive In also names a boarding fee. Where an operator does not publish the amount, we ask them in writing before your booking and pass on the current figure.
Count the whole day, not the ticket. On the €25 trip you add a mask, food and water; on the €45 trip they are already inside. The marine park fee is collected separately on all three boats.
What should you bring?
- Your own mask, if you have one that fits. It is the single item that changes a snorkelling day most, and only one of the three boats supplies it.
- Sun cover for eight hours. A long-sleeved rash top does more than repeated sunscreen; your back is up and out of the water the entire time you are looking down.
- Cash for the fees, collected at the jetty or the park gate rather than online.
- Water and something to eat unless you are on the Dive In boat.
And if you do not want to get in the water at all?
Then the reef is still available. The glass boat is $13 per person, and you see the coral and the fish through a panel in the hull — no mask, no fins, no swimming. Note that Horizon does not include a hotel transfer, so you make your own way to the boarding point near the Old Market and marina.
And if you want to go under?
The step from snorkelling to a first dive is smaller than it looks. Nemo's PADI Discover Scuba Diving is €100 for the whole session — theory, a confined-water session and one open-water dive, about four hours — with no certificate needed beforehand. Hero also sells a Ras Mohamed yacht day with an introduction dive as a separate product at $45 per person.
All prices are the operators' own published figures as of 3 September 2026, in each operator's currency. Where a fee is named without an amount, we confirm the current figure in writing before your booking.
Updated 3 September 2026.
