July 10, 2026•6 min read•By Maurits Dierick, Charter Broker & Former Yacht Captain
Red Sea Yacht Charter Itinerary: 8 Days from El Gouna (2026)
Eight days on the Red Sea from El Gouna: reefs and wrecks at Siyul, Ras Mohamed and the SS Dunraven, a winter diving route when the Med is shut.
Every other route we run is organised around the coastline. This one is organised around what's under it.
The stops on this week are reefs and wrecks. Siyul, Ras Mohamed, the SS Dunraven, the Gubal wrecks. The towns are incidental, and there are only two of them. If nobody in the group dives or snorkels, this is the wrong itinerary.
The other thing is the season. It runs in winter, October to April, when the Mediterranean is closed.
121 nautical miles from El Gouna and back, across eight days.
Before we dive in, it's worth noting the route below is also available as an interactive map on our Red Sea charter page.
The route
El Gouna → Siyul → Ras Mohamed (via SS Dunraven) → Sharm El Sheikh → Gubal Island → Tawila Island → Siyul → El Gouna.
Eight days, 121 nautical miles. Round trip from El Gouna.
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Day 1: El Gouna
Airport pickup from Hurghada in the morning, then noon embarkation at the marina.
El Gouna is a resort town built across lagoons connected by bridges, conceived in the 1990s by Samih Sawiris. Abu Tig Marina is the centre of it. The lagoon system means protected swimming in very clear water.
Dinner on board, and Aurora Club afterwards if the group wants it.
Mooring: Marina at El Gouna, Abu Tig Marina or Mangroovy Beach. Beach: Mangroovy. Dining: dinner on board.
Day 2: Siyul
Two hours northeast into open water.
Shaab Siyul rises from over fifty metres to a protected reef system. It's known as Dolphin House for the spinner dolphins that come through in the mornings.
The yacht anchors in sand pockets between coral heads. Snorkelling off the tender: parrotfish, triggerfish, turtles. The reef goes down in steps and walls covered in soft coral. Diving in the afternoon for certified guests, through cave systems and coral pinnacles.
At low tide a sandbank comes up nearby and the crew does a beach bonfire on it.
Passage: 2 hours, 18 nm. Mooring: Siyul reef anchorage or Shaab Siyul. Dining: lunch on board, Egyptian BBQ on the sandbank.
Day 3: Ras Mohamed, via the SS Dunraven
Three and a half hours, and the longest leg out. South along the coast, then east across the Gubal Strait where the water is over 800 metres deep.
The SS Dunraven is the first stop: a British steam cargo ship that hit Beacon Rock in 1876 and lies upside down in 18 to 30 metres. Glassfish, groupers, occasional reef sharks.
Then Ras Mohamed, the southern tip of Sinai, where the Red Sea meets the Gulf of Aqaba. It became Egypt's first marine reserve in 1983. Yolanda Reef took its name from a 1980 wreck whose cargo of bathroom fixtures is still scattered on the sand at 20 metres. The walls drop away vertically and visibility often runs past 30 metres.
Passage: 3.5 hours, 32 nm. Mooring: Ras Mohamed, Abunahas or near Yolanda Reef. Dining: dinner on board.
Day 4: Sharm El Sheikh
Forty-five minutes north.
Sharm grew from a Bedouin fishing village into a resort town and it established itself as a diving centre in the 1980s. Docking at Four Seasons Marina gives access to the resort.
Naama Bay is the promenade. The Old Market is the lanes with the spices and textiles. Desert safaris go inland by quad or camel to Bedouin camps.
Dinner at Four Seasons.
Passage: 0.75 hours, 6 nm. Mooring: Four Seasons Marina, Sharm El Sheikh Marina or Naama Bay. Beach: Four Seasons. Dining: Four Seasons Sharm El Sheikh.
Day 5: Gubal Island
Nearly four hours northwest, back across the strait.
Gubal is small and surrounded by reefs that have taken ships from British steamers to modern cargo. There are wrecks in the area: the Rosalie Moller, a British cargo ship torpedoed in 1941, and the Carnatic, a P&O passenger steamer wrecked in 1869.
The reefs round Gubal are less frequented than the sites further south. There's a beach landing where the sand meets scrub, and seabirds nest in the interior.
Stargazing after dark, with an astronomy briefing from the crew.
Passage: 3.75 hours, 33 nm. Mooring: Gubal Island anchorage, the eastern bay or the reef anchorages. Dining: lunch on board.
Day 6: Tawila Island
Forty-five minutes.
Tawila is a 5,000-acre island development: beachfront bungalows and overwater units above the shallows, reachable only by boat.
The ecosystems are the reason to go ashore: reef offshore, mangrove in the protected bays, rocky shore alternating with sand. It's good for birds, including Sooty Falcon, Brown Booby and Black-winged Stilt.
Discover the destinations
From the Cyclades to the Caribbean, see the destinations our fleet covers, summer and winter.
Passage: 0.75 hours, 6 nm. Mooring: Tawila Island Marina, resort anchorage or the protected bay. Beach: Tawila resort beach. Dining: dinner on board.
Day 7: Siyul again
An hour back northeast, to the reef you started on.
Coming back to a dive site you've already done is worth more than it sounds. You know where things are, the light is different at a different hour, and the marine life moves with the tide. If you saw dolphins on day two there's a chance of a second run.
The day is deliberately loose: snorkel, dive, paddleboard, or float.
Final beach BBQ and bonfire.
Passage: 0.9 hours, 8 nm. Mooring: Siyul reef anchorage or Shaab Siyul. Dining: dinner on board.
Day 8: El Gouna
Two hours southwest, retracing the first leg.
Passage: 2 hours, 18 nm. Mooring: Marina at El Gouna or Abu Tig Marina. Dining: breakfast on board.
Who this suits
Divers, and groups where everyone dives. This route has two towns in it across eight days and the rest is reef. That's a feature if the group is right and a problem if one person isn't.
It suits people who want to charter in winter, when the Mediterranean is closed.
It suits anyone who wants to snorkel on something serious. Ras Mohamed and the Dunraven are proper sites, not a swim stop.
It does not suit a group who want restaurants, towns or nightlife. There are two nights of that in eight.
Practical notes
Round trip from El Gouna, with the airport pickup from Hurghada.
Season is October to April, which is the inverse of the Med.
Diving needs certification for the deeper sites, and the marine parks charge fees. Visas, park fees and certification requirements are all worth confirming with your broker for your dates and group. The FAQ on our Red Sea page doesn't currently cover any of that.
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