The main purpose of my visit to Hurghada was to swim in its famous coral reef. The reef of the Red Sea is considered anyway one of the most beautiful in the world. Having swam in other spots of the Sinai Peninsula in the past (Ras Mohammed national park, Sharm el Sheikh & Dahab Blue Hole), I was very excited for the new underwater experience.
During my stay at the Desert Rose hotel, I booked two snorkeling tours: first one to the coral reef around the Giftun islands and a second one to swim with dolphins. In the Giftun tour we explored two different spots of the reef: initially, we swam and fed a moray eel and the famous Napoleon fish. Although this place was not that interesting regarding the corals, one small rock was the home of a huge moray eel (one of the most dangerous and aggressive fish of the reef), which, however, was unbelievably friendly with Alex, the diver/leader of our group. Alex was petting it while feeding with little bits of fish, alluring it finally to come out from the rock and swim with us!
Left: Hurghada, Top: Giftun island
Right after, two big Napoleon fish came closer (protected species under extinction, which can grow up to 2.5m long), which despite their peculiar appearance, they are extremely friendly to divers and even more when they feed them. At that spot, apart from the moray eel and the Napoleon fish, we had the chance to swim with other marine species as well, like stingrays, butterfly fish, sergeant fish, parrot fish, etc.
The second snorkeling spot was the reef in front of the big Giftun, where we would visit right after.
Unfortunately, swimming there was a huge disappointment, as the coral reef was almost destroyed, with broken and bleached corals and uninteresting fish, as you may see in the pictures. Apparently, the ships touring around the islands have damaged this part of the reef, but it seems that no one cares. Last minute surprise, a scared clown fish, swimming in and out the reef.
The reef in front of the Giftun island
