Hurghada Grand Aquarium

How much are Hurghada Grand Aquarium tickets?

Prices are set in US dollars. Adults (10 and over) pay $35 at the gate, or $32 if you book on the aquarium's own website. Online booking needs no deposit: you get an e-ticket by email and WhatsApp, show it at the window and pay the online price there. You can cancel at any time. Children aged 4–9 pay $17.50; under-4s go free. The online rate is marked as an offer for international visitors.

Everything is in one ticket: the aquarium and tunnel, the mock rainforest, the rope bridge, the mini zoo, the shark-feeding show and the Whales Valley hall. Extras cost more — the shark dive, professional camera fees and, according to unofficial sources, feeding some animals and camel rides.

Paying. The ticket window takes Egyptian pounds, US dollars, euros and pounds sterling, in cash or by card, so a Visa or Mastercard from home works fine. Keep some small Egyptian pound notes for the taxi and tips.

Is Hurghada Grand Aquarium worth it?

The Grand Aquarium — branded “Red Sea in Glass” — is a privately built aquarium that opened on 23 January 2015 in Magawish, south Hurghada. It is not a water park, and not the small old Red Sea Aquarium in El Dahar. It holds about 3,500 m³ of water, 24 galleries and over 1,200 animals; the highlight is the 24-metre tunnel through the Ocean tank, where nurse sharks, eagle rays and stingrays glide over your head.

Our take: worth it for families and for anyone who doesn't dive or snorkel. It is the easiest way to see sharks, turtles and reef fish up close and dry, and a good fallback on a windy day when boats stay in port. If you are already snorkelling the reefs, the real sea gives you more, and $35 for 90 minutes is steep by Hurghada standards — foreign adults pay 300 EGP at Hurghada Museum.

What to see inside

• The underwater tunnel — 24 metres of clear acrylic through the 1,800 m³ main tank: nurse sharks, eagle rays, stingrays and shoals of reef fish overhead.
• Shark feeding — twice a day, at 11:00 and 15:00, included in the ticket. Get a spot by the tank a few minutes early.
• 24 Red Sea galleries — corals, reef fish, lionfish, turtles and invertebrates, plus some freshwater tanks.
• The rainforest — a man-made jungle with warm, humid air, free-flying parrots and lizards, crossed by a rope bridge.
• The open-air mini zoo — monkeys, birds, an ostrich and other animals, many rescued from around Egypt; you can feed the birds in the walk-through aviary.
• Whales Valley — a Basilosaurus replica and a sound-and-light show inspired by Wadi Al-Hitan in Fayoum. The aquarium itself is clear that this is one display, not a fossil collection.

Dive with sharks: price and requirements

The big extra is a dive in the shark tank with an instructor. It lasts 35 minutes, starts at 11:00 or 15:00 and costs $125, with aquarium and zoo entry included for the diver. Book on the official website and note your preferred time in the comments.

The rule is strict: you need an Open Water certificate or equivalent and previous open-sea dives. Without one, watch the feeding through the glass instead. GoPro cameras are not allowed underwater.

Guided tour or on your own?

Going independently is easy and cheaper: book online with no deposit and take an Uber to the door. Inside there is no guided tour anyway — the visit is self-guided, at your own pace.

A tour with hotel transfer makes sense if you are staying further out — El Gouna, Sahl Hasheesh or Makadi — or travelling with small children. It costs noticeably more than the ticket, so compare the tour price with $35 plus a return taxi.

Aquarium or museum: which to pick in Hurghada

Both are on El Nasr Street, about 3 km apart: aquarium in the afternoon, museum's evening session from 17:00. Prices and hours from the aquarium's official website and Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

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How to do it right

• Book on the aquarium's own website: no deposit, and you pay $3 less at the window.
• Best timing: arrive for the 15:00 feeding, then wander — and you can still make the museum's 17:00 session.
• Switch your flash off before you go in — it is banned, and professional cameras without a diffuser are not allowed.
• For calmer tunnel photos, avoid the feeding hour — that's when everyone gathers at the main tank.
• Twin buggies are not allowed and there are no wheelchairs to borrow, but the site is wheelchair accessible except for the rope bridge.
• No pets, not even small dogs.
• Spend the evening on the Hurghada Marina promenade or by El Mina Mosque.

Questions