Giftun Island and Nearby Reefs: An Underwater Introduction to Hurghada’s Most Dived Coral Playground

For many divers who arrive in Hurghada, the first name they hear is Giftun. The Giftun Islands lie a short boat ride from town — usually well under an hour, depending on the jetty and the sea state — and they anchor the northern Red Sea’s day-diving circuit. What makes the area such a good introduction to Red Sea diving is its variety within a compact space: sandy lagoons for first breaths underwater, gently sloping coral gardens for training dives, and steeper walls and drop-offs where more experienced divers can watch the current carry the fish. Water stays warm for most of the year, visibility is often generous, and because many reefs sit sheltered on their leeward sides, a good number of sites can be dived even when the wind picks up. This is a practical underwater introduction to Giftun and the reefs around it: what the sites look like, what lives on them, and how to choose dives that match your certification and your comfort in the water.

The Giftun Islands: A Protected Coral Playground on Hurghada’s Doorstep

Giftun is not a single island but a small archipelago. Great Giftun is the larger of the two main islands, with low sandy shores and sparse desert vegetation; Small Giftun sits nearby with its own lagoon and reef fringe. Both lie within a protected zone, which shapes how diving here works. Anchors are generally not dropped on coral — boats use fixed mooring buoys where they are available, fishing and shell collecting are off limits, and visitors are asked to keep their distance from the reef structure itself. That protection is one reason the coral around Giftun still looks the way it does.

The diving, however, is only partly about the islands themselves. Most of the best-known sites are satellite reefs scattered around the Giftun group, each with a different personality. Abu Ramada is the classic example, and it is effectively two sites in one. Gota Abu Ramada is a shallow, rounded reef with coral gardens, sandy patches and plenty of light — the kind of terrain that suits a first open-water dive or a relaxed second dive of the day. Shaab Abu Ramada, further along the same system, presents a longer wall where the reef drops away and the coral changes character. Nearby, Erg Somaya shows off the Red Sea’s signature topography: an “erg” is a coral tower rising from the seabed like an underwater minaret, its flanks draped in soft coral and its top close enough to the surface to be circled at the end of a dive.

Further out, Carless Reef is the site that experienced divers tend to ask about, with steep coral pinnacles and a reputation for current and bigger fish. Shaab Sabina and Umm Gamar are also within reach of most day boats, and together these reefs give Hurghada an unusually complete menu: sheltered shallows for training and snorkelling, mid-depth gardens for leisurely navigation dives, and exposed outer walls for divers with more time in their logbooks. Add flat, calm surface intervals on the island side and it becomes clear why so many itineraries return to Giftun day after day.

What Lives There: Corals and Marine Life Around Giftun’s Reefs

The reef itself is the first attraction. Around Giftun you can expect a mix of hard and soft corals: table corals spreading like plates, brain corals, branching staghorn and finger corals, and soft coral trees that glow orange and pink under a torch. Gorgonian fans stand out on the walls, and anemones with their resident clownfish dot the shallower reef flats. Divers should learn to recognise fire coral early — it is common on reef tops and in swim-throughs, and a careless brush against it is an unpleasant way to end a dive. Good buoyancy is not just etiquette here; it is the single best protection the reef has.

Fish life is dense and, for a first-time Red Sea diver, almost overwhelming. Swarms of orange anthias hover above the coral heads, sergeant majors guard their nests, and parrotfish and surgeonfish work the reef in constant motion. Groupers sit in ambush under overhangs, giant morays peek from crevices, and lionfish and scorpionfish reward slow, careful looking. On the sand you may spot a blue-spotted stingray gliding away or a crocodilefish lying perfectly still; in the rubble, octopus and nudibranchs hide in plain sight. Larger encounters are never guaranteed, but green and hawksbill turtles are regularly seen grazing on the reefs, and eagle rays and reef sharks are possible on the deeper outer sites.

Some of Giftun’s neighbouring areas are also known for dolphins, and a handful of reefs in the wider Hurghada area have become famous for dolphin sightings — which is precisely why responsible behaviour matters. Chasing, cornering or crowding marine mammals disrupts their rest and feeding, and a brief, distant encounter is always the better outcome. The same logic applies to everything else: no touching, no feeding, no standing on coral, and no collecting. Photographers should keep their strobes and bodies clear of the reef, and divers carrying a camera often benefit from diving without it for the first day to get their trim sorted before adding a housing. Night dives around the shallower reefs are a different world altogether, with sleeping parrotfish in their mucus cocoons, hunting octopus and coral polyps open in full bloom.

Choosing Your Sites, Training and Safety Around Giftun Island

One of the great strengths of the Giftun area is that it can be matched to almost any level. Complete beginners on an introductory programme can start in a sandy lagoon or on a shallow reef flat, kneeling on sand rather than coral, with an instructor close by. Open Water divers can build confidence on the calmer inner reefs, practising mask clearing, buoyancy and navigation over terrain that is forgiving. As training progresses, sites like Shaab Abu Ramada and Erg Somaya open up walls and coral towers, while Advanced Open Water divers can begin exploring deeper sections and drift dives on the outer reefs.

Specialty training pays off here. Enriched Air (Nitrox) is popular for multi-day trips because it can extend no-decompression limits and reduce fatigue on repetitive diving. Deep Diver training is useful for the outer walls, Night Diver for the shallower reefs after dark, and Wreck Diver for those who want to combine Giftun’s reef diving with Hurghada’s historic wrecks. Whatever the course, the planning rules stay the same: stay within the limits of your certification, dive with a buddy or a guide, follow the briefing exactly, and treat the divemaster’s site description as essential information rather than background noise. Carry a surface marker buoy where the briefing calls for one, and be aware that boat traffic around popular reefs is real.

Conditions around Giftun are usually kind, but “usually” is not “always”. Currents can build on the exposed outer reefs, surface conditions can change with the wind, and visibility or access may shift from day to day. Reputable operators plan around this rather than pushing a fixed schedule, and centres such as Hurghada Diving will adjust site choice to the group’s experience and the day’s sea state. Divers should also hydrate properly, avoid alcohol before diving, use reef-safe sun protection, and respect the no-fly rule — most agencies advise waiting at least 18 to 24 hours after the last dive before flying, and a conservative approach is always the safer one. Costs for guided dives, courses and snorkelling trips vary with the number of dives, the course level and the season, so it is worth checking a current price list and confirming what is included before booking. Bring an open mind about the itinerary, arrive with your certification card, and let the reefs do the rest.

Théo Legrand

Marseille street-photographer turned Montréal tech columnist. Théo deciphers AI ethics one day and reviews artisan cheese the next. He fences épée for adrenaline, collects transit maps, and claims every good headline needs a soundtrack.