Sunset boat trip in Hurghada: what time it actually is, and what that changes
Updated October 1, 2026 · 9 min read
If you want to see the sunset from the water, the most predictable option is the 5-Hour Sunset Yacht & Snorkeling Cruise: from €27.55 per person, 4.7★ from 588 reviews, with the duration right there in the name. The cheapest way out is the Sunset Hula Hula Island W/ Snorkeling & Lunch from €16.76. But the word “sunset” in the name isn’t a time: there’s almost three hours’ difference between the earliest and latest sunset of the year in Hurghada, and the same trip in December and in June is two different days.
See prices and dates for the 5-hour sunset yacht
Below are first the real sunset times, then what’s behind the stated duration, and the questions worth asking the operator before you pay. Conditions for your date are on the booking page.
When the sun actually sets
This is the only part of the topic with exact figures, and they’re worth keeping in mind when planning.
- On 21 December the sun in Hurghada sets at around 4:55 pm, and civil twilight ends at around 5:21 pm.
- On 21 June sunset falls at around 7:42 pm, with twilight ending at around 8:08 pm.
- In mid-September the sun sets closer to 6:45 pm.
Sunrise and sunset in Hurghada
Two conclusions follow from these figures, and they matter more than any marketing description. First: in winter, a “sunset boat trip” is a daytime trip that ends before dinner, while in summer the same phrase means an evening one. Second: it gets dark fast here. From sunset to actual darkness takes around twenty-five minutes, not an hour or ninety minutes. If anything is planned on the water after sunset, you’ll be doing it under artificial light.
It’s worth matching this to your travel month – we’ve broken it down separately by season in our piece on the best time to visit Hurghada.
Four sunset trips compared
| Tour | Duration | From | Rating | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunset Hula Hula Island W/ Snorkeling & Lunch | 5 hours | €16.76 | 4.4 from 253 reviews | those on a smaller budget |
| Sunset Paradise Island Tour With Snorkeling & Lunch | 5 hours | €20.63 | 4.5 from 605 reviews | those who want an island, not just the water |
| Luxury Catamaran Semi Submarine & Sunset Late Start | 7 hours | €24.60 | 4.6 from 324 reviews | those who want a free morning and know the departure time |
| 5-Hour Sunset Yacht & Snorkeling Cruise | 5 hours | €27.55 | 4.7 from 588 reviews | those who value a predictable evening |
What’s behind the stated duration
Durations vary across trips with “sunset” in the name, and the spread itself is informative.
- Yacht with snorkelling, five hours, from €27.55, 4.7★ from 588 reviews. The short description mentions snorkelling at the reef, food on board and drinks while the sun sets over Hurghada.
- Paradise Island at sunset, five hours, from €20.63, 4.5★ from 605 reviews. The offer has variants, and the stated duration applies to the one you choose, not automatically to every booking – check yours.
- Hula Hula at sunset, five hours, from €16.76, 4.4★ from 253 reviews. The lowest starting price in this selection.
- Catamaran with semi-submarine and a late start, seven hours, from €24.60, 4.6★ from 324 reviews. Here the description states the departure time outright: starts at 11:00 am. This is the only case in this selection where the departure hour appears in the offer text itself.
Compare this with an ordinary daytime trip: the Orange Bay cruise is listed at eight and a half hours from €45.65, the yacht to three islands at eight hours from €44. So a “sunset” trip is, on average, no longer than a full day – it’s shorter or about the same. The difference isn’t in the number of hours, but in where those hours fall.
The stated duration doesn’t tell you the departure time. Five hours could start at 12:00 pm, or it could start at 2:00 pm, and in December that decides whether you see the sunset from the water or already from the bus. Don’t ask “how long does it last” – ask “what time is the pickup from my hotel and what time is the return” – for your date.
How a late departure differs from a morning one
The main difference isn’t the light, it’s the shape of the day. A morning departure collects you from the hotel around breakfast time and returns you in the afternoon; a late one leaves the morning free but takes up the whole evening, including dinner at the hotel if that’s on the schedule.
The second difference is the way back. Shared transfers in Hurghada do the rounds of several hotels, and if you’re staying in Makadi Bay, Soma Bay or Sahl Hasheesh, that drive is added to the stated duration rather than included in it. In the evening, that means arriving back in the dark. Check whether the transfer is included in the stated hours and in what order guests are dropped off; more on getting around in our piece on getting around Hurghada.
The third difference is the wind. It usually picks up on the Red Sea during the day, and the trip back can be noticeably choppier than the trip out. That affects your choice of boat more than the time of day does: we covered the difference between a speedboat and a large yacht in speedboat or yacht.
Sunset in the desert – a different take on the same idea
If the goal is the sunset itself rather than time on the water, there are land-based options, and they’re noticeably cheaper.
- Oasis Sunset Tour with Camel Ride and Stargazing, 3 hours, from €30.59, 4.7★ from 982 reviews.
- Sunset Quad Bike, Camel w/ Opt Stargazing and BBQ, 1 hour, from €9.47, 4.2★ from 1,762 reviews.
Here the sunset works more reliably: in the desert the horizon is open, and the programme after sunset – dinner, a campfire, a telescope – is built for the dark. On the water there’s nothing left to see once the sun’s down, and part of the trip goes on the way back. The full set of land-based options is in the desert safari section, the sea trips in the island trips section.
See the oasis sunset trip with a camel
Who a late departure doesn’t suit
With young children. A trip that ends after sunset overlaps with their usual bedtime, and the return transfer in the dark is its most exhausting part. The minimum age depends on the operator and is stated on the relevant booking page; it isn’t given in the short descriptions. If your child gets seasick, the return leg in a stronger wind is a bad time to find that out; what to do beforehand is covered in our piece on seasickness in kids on boat trips. Questions about medication and sun protection belong with a pharmacy or paediatrician.
If getting around is difficult. Boarding and disembarking at dusk is harder than in daylight, and you can’t check the lighting on the jetty and gangway in advance. We don’t consider such trips accessible without confirmation from the operator – which questions to ask are listed in our guide for travellers with reduced mobility.
If you have plans for the evening. Don’t book a table or an airport transfer based on a time from someone else’s review. These offers have variants, and yours could turn out to be the longer one.
Three questions before you pay
- What time is the pickup from my hotel and what time is the return – for my date? Not “how long does it last”, but two specific times. In December and in June, the answer will differ for the same trip.
- Is the transfer included in the stated hours? And how many hotels are visited on the way back.
- What happens after sunset? If the answer is “we head back”, you’re paying for the drive in the dark, and the shorter option will suit you better than the longer one.
It’s worth keeping the answer in writing. It also helps you compare a sunset trip with an ordinary daytime one by the same measure – not by how pretty the photo is, but by what time you’ll be back at the hotel.
Our recommendation
For most people, we’d suggest the 5-Hour Sunset Yacht & Snorkeling Cruise from €27.55 per person, 4.7★ from 588 reviews. The reason is exactly the one this whole article is about: the duration is right there in the name, and it has the best rating of the four sunset trips here. Ask about the departure time regardless.
Smaller budget: the Sunset Hula Hula Island W/ Snorkeling & Lunch from €16.76 – noticeably cheaper, but it also has the fewest reviews in this selection: 253. A free morning and a known departure time: the Luxury Catamaran Semi Submarine & Sunset Late Start, seven hours from €24.60, starting at 11:00 am.
Anyone who cares about the sunset itself, not time on the water, will save money and see more on land: the Oasis Sunset Tour with Camel Ride and Stargazing, three hours from €30.59, rated 4.7 from 982 reviews. And anyone who needs an early night or a dinner reservation shouldn’t book a sunset boat trip at all – in the dark, you’ll be in the transfer, not at sea.
