Most Red Sea boat trips out of Hurghada are built around the water — a mooring point, a reef wall, masks and fins passed around the deck. Mahmya Island flips that arrangement. It is a stretch of white sand inside the Giftun Islands protected marine park, developed specifically as a beach destination: sunbeds, shaded seating, a buffet restaurant, and a shoreline shallow enough to wade into rather than dive off. Snorkeling is there if you want it, just offshore, but it is not the reason most people come.
A boat-based snorkeling trip to the Giftun Islands keeps you moving between anchor points on the captain's schedule. A day at Mahmya is closer to a beach club with a boat ride attached — you land, you stay, and the only thing that changes through the afternoon is how far you've walked down the sand. The beach itself runs roughly 400 meters of coral sand along a sheltered bay, which is enough room for the sunbed rows to spread out even when several boatloads of day-trippers arrive within the same hour.
How Far Is Mahmya, and How Do You Get There?
Mahmya sits within the Giftun Islands marine park, reached by boat from Hurghada marina. Transfer time runs roughly 20-45 minutes depending on which marina you leave from and the boat's speed — day-trip operators generally quote "about half an hour to 45 minutes" rather than a fixed distance, since routes vary by departure point.
Most shared day trips depart mid-morning and return mid-to-late afternoon. Arriving on one of the first boats, or booking a slightly later afternoon slot, means less time sharing the beach with the full volume of arriving tour groups.
What Does a Mahmya Day Trip or Private Charter Actually Cost?
A standard shared-boat day trip to Mahmya is typically priced per person, around $25-40 USD, and usually includes the boat transfer and a buffet lunch; snorkeling gear rental may be extra. On top of that, the Giftun Islands protected-area entrance fee is charged separately on arrival, generally a modest amount in Egyptian pounds that operators collect on your behalf or point you to pay directly.
A private speedboat charter is priced per boat rather than per person, typically a few hundred US dollars total for 4-5 hours with a captain included, so it becomes more cost-effective the larger your own group is. Fuel, snorkeling gear and soft drinks are usually included; alcohol, a full restaurant meal, and the Mahmya entrance fee (if you stop there) are sometimes extra, so confirm inclusions before booking.
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The turquoise shallows and sandbars of the Giftun Islands marine park, seen from above the Red Sea coast near Hurghada.
See It From the Water Yourself
Mahmya Island and the open water around the Giftun Islands are easiest to appreciate in person. These Egypt Sun Travel options cover both — a day on Mahmya's beach, or a private speedboat with the schedule left entirely up to you.
What Makes Mahmya Different From Orange Bay or a Standard Island Hop?
Mahmya was built out as a managed concession — wood walkways, solar power, a restaurant kitchen, fixed sunbed rows — because its beach is wide, flat, and sheltered enough to support that kind of infrastructure. Other stops in the marine park are closer to undeveloped sandbars, which have their own appeal but nowhere to sit down for lunch.
The trade-off is that Mahmya draws a volume of day-trip boats proportional to how well-known it has become, so the beach can feel busy in high season, particularly in late morning when most group tours arrive at once.
What Does the Name Mahmya Mean, and How Old Is the Protected Area?
"Mahmya" is the Arabic word for "protected area," and the beach takes its name directly from the status of the ground it sits on. Technically, Mahmya is not its own island at all — it is a fenced, managed beach sector on the southern shore of Small Giftun (Giftun Soraya), one of the two main islands in the Giftun group a short boat ride from Hurghada marina. The wider national park around it was designated in 1986, making it Egypt's oldest marine protected area and one of the first in the Red Sea to formally restrict anchoring and fishing to preserve its reefs.
That early protection is part of why the surrounding reef still supports an unusually dense mix of marine life for a site this close to a major resort city: more than 200 recorded coral species and upwards of 1,000 fish species across the wider Giftun park, according to park surveys cited by regional tour operators. Giftun Island itself has no permanent settlement, and overnight stays are not permitted anywhere in the park — every visitor, whether on a shared day trip or a private charter, returns to the mainland before nightfall, which keeps nighttime disturbance off the reef entirely.
Why Is the Area Protected, and What Does That Mean for Visitors?
Both Mahmya and the wider Giftun Islands sit inside a designated marine protected area, which is why the water stays clear and the reef intact this close to a city of Hurghada's size. Anchoring is restricted to permitted mooring buoys to avoid damaging coral, and the entrance fee funds the park's management rather than a single operator's margin.
For visitors this shows up as small procedural details — a park fee on arrival, a captain who won't drop anchor wherever convenient, a daily cap on how many visitors the beach concession admits, and a plastic-free catering policy on-site. Motorized water sports are kept away from the reef itself for the same reason. None of it is an inconvenience worth dwelling on, and it explains why the Giftun Islands have held up better than some more heavily developed stretches of coastline.
Mahmya Day Trip or Private Charter: Which Should You Choose?
A day trip to Mahmya is the simpler, cheaper-per-person choice for a group that wants a beach, a buffet, and undemanding swimming without managing logistics. A private speedboat charter costs more overall but buys back control over where the boat goes and how long it stays — useful if you want to combine a shorter stop at Mahmya's beach with time snorkeling over a reef wall elsewhere in the park, something a fixed-schedule shared trip generally will not offer. For wider snorkeling options on the same coast, see our Red Sea snorkeling guide, and for a chance at open-water dolphins on the way, see our Red Sea dolphin encounters guide.
Either option is a half-day to full-day commitment once transfer time is included, so it pairs naturally with one other low-key activity rather than a second boat trip on the same day. Families traveling with young children or non-swimmers tend to prefer the shared day trip specifically because the beach infrastructure — shade, sunbeds, a shoreline you can wade into gradually — is already set up and staffed, whereas a private charter's value is really about flexibility for divers, photographers, or groups who want to choose their own stops.
Часто задаваемые вопросы
How far is Mahmya Island from Hurghada?
It is reached by boat in roughly 20-45 minutes from Hurghada marina, depending on your departure point; operators generally quote a time range rather than a fixed distance.
Is there an entrance fee for Mahmya?
Yes, a separate Giftun Islands protected-area entrance fee applies on top of the boat-trip price, typically collected on the boat or at the jetty.
Is a private speedboat charter expensive?
It is priced per boat, not per person, so a group of four to eight splitting a few-hundred-dollar charter often pays a similar or lower amount per person than a shared day trip, while getting full control of the itinerary.
Is Mahmya good for non-swimmers and families?
Yes. The shoreline is shallow enough to wade into, sunbeds and shade are available on land, and snorkeling just offshore is optional rather than the main activity.
When is Mahmya least crowded?
Early morning, before most shared group boats arrive, or mid-to-late afternoon after the main convoy has left, are generally quieter than the late-morning peak.
