Diving and Snorkeling with Kids in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt

Choosing the right tour

Sharm el Sheikh is a world famous snorkeling and diving destination. Consequently, if you come here, you want to make sure you and your kids try either diving or snorkeling or both.

The easiest way to do this is at your hotel. Many hotels have diving clubs and beaches where you’ll find coral reefs in the water. The water is so clear that you don’t even need a mask – you can see beautiful fish and other sea creatures just swimming by you. This is especially nice when you have little kids with you. You can introduce them to the sea creatures in a very seamless way.

Not all hotels are the same, and your experience will greatly vary. If you want some ideas of hotels where you can stay, check out my post: Best Hotels and Resorts in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt.

While diving and snorkeling opportunities are available right outside your hotel room, most visitors will go on at least one tour to sail around the Red Sea. Being out in the open sea is a very different experience from being at the beach.

There are many tours to choose from, offered by different companies. Every morning, buses pick up passengers from various hotels and take them on the snorkeling/diving adventure of their choosing.

You can get the list of tours at the reception or at a diving club at your hotel. You will likely also be approached about diving tours while you are sunning yourself at the beach. In addition, there are also various options available online. If you are going for the first time, it’s probably better to book the tour face to face as opposed to online (just to make sure you can ask all the questions you might have).

If you are going diving and snorkeling with kids, you definitely need to find out a lot of details. Most tours will suit adults, but for families with kids, you need extra care. First, you get a larger boat which is less likely to make kids sea sick. Second, you need to make sure the boat makes an extra stop in the harbor where the water is less rough and small kids can get in the water.

The start of our tour

We paid for a kids friendly snorkeling tour with Liberty Catamaran at our hotel a couple of days in advance. The Liberty Catamaran is the largest boat in Sharm el Sheikh. It’s perfect for a diving and snorkeling tour for families with kids. The cost was $120 for 1 adult and 1 child. The night before, we received information about the starting time and what to bring (hat, sunscreen, towel, swimming suits).

We started the day at 8:15 am by being picked up at the hotel and taken by bus to the boat station (Wataneya Marina) about 20 minutes from our hotel.

We found the process of getting on the boat a bit hectic. Be aware: there are thousands of tourists coming to the station every morning and there are rows and rows of similarly looking boats, so it’s quite easy to get lost there. We tried to stay close to our guide, although it seemed quite a challenge given the need to go through security and people moving in all directions.

Finally, we made it to the Liberty Catamaran (or Liberty Cat for short). As it turned out, it was essential to hold on to your voucher as we needed to present it at the entrance on the boat. No voucher = no entry.

The boat was already quite packed, and more people came after us. All together, I think we were about a hundred people, with lots of kids among us, including some very small ones. Clearly, all the families picked this tour for the same reasons we did.

On the boat

As we quickly realized, Liberty Cat was quite large and comfortable. It had four levels which included a restaurant, children’s play area, a deck, and also a lower level from which you could watch the sea creatures through the glass.

In terms of food and drinks, the tour included lunch and some free drinks (juice and water). You could also buy additional drinks, cookies, ice-cream etc. for extra charge. Lunch was complementary and included fresh vegetables, bread, soup, chicken and shrimp. Kids’ area included a TV with cartoons and various games (legos etc.) There was a lady available to supervise the kids at all times. Overall, I felt that everything was organized quite well. The friendly staff took a good care of the passengers. Lunch line was a little long, but in the end, everyone got served and nobody ended up hungry. Food was quite delicious, in my view.

Stop 1

We made the first stop at Egypts renowned national park, Ras Mohammed. The stop lasted about 2 hours.

For those people who wanted to try diving, there was equipment and instruction available. Quite a few people in the group were first time divers and instructors worked with each one of them to get the basics right. As we found out, there was no requirement to know how to swim. You could still learn diving.

Those who just wanted to snorkel were able to do that too. Masks, life jackets, and flippers were available free of charge for people who needed them. Those who wanted a wet suit needed to pay extra for that.

The coral reefs were quite amazing with many colorful fish in sight.

Truth to be told, the first stop was not very suitable for small kids. Some went into the water, wearing masks and life jackets. But many did not want to go due to fear. The water did look a little rough.

After some deliberation, we decided that it was not the right activity for my 8-year old daughter. Since the boat could not get very close to the shore, the water was very deep and there were waves. While the life jacket would obviously keep her floating, she still did not feel safe.

Stop 2

Luckily, the second stop was much more suited for little kids. We were quite close to the shore and the water was relatively still.

Most of the kids from our boat went snorkeling. Instructors were available to go into the water with the smallest/most scared kids. In addition to life jackets, kids were also holding on to life savers. I felt quite comfortable with my daughter going into the water this time. I was right next to her and she held on to the life saver. Our instructor was with us every step of the way, pulling the lifesaver. My daughter was very happy and felt highly accomplished after the experience was over.

The Final Word

I was very happy to find out the it was possible to go on a good diving and snorkeling tour with kids in Sharm el Sheikh. We were definitely not disappointed and will cherish these memories for a long time. I feel that the experience of being on the boat and seeing the limitless Red Sea was valuable for any child who was on our boat. For adults, it was also a lot of fun exploring the Red Sea and learning about the amazing sea creatures who live there.