Cancellation policy

Booking, changes and cancelling

How booking works

Send us your dates on WhatsApp, or email us for longer questions and group bookings. We confirm your place, your price and your pickup time. You can book at any time, even a year ahead, or once you are already in Hurghada.

Booking and paying

To confirm your booking, pay a 25% deposit or pay the full amount. If you pay a deposit, the rest is due before the first day of your trip. No trip, course or day on the boat goes ahead until the full amount has been paid. Every price is per person.

How to pay

We tell you the ways to pay when we confirm your booking. If you have a preference, just ask.

Your deposit

The deposit is 25% of your total. If you cancel, it is not refunded, whatever the reason. If we have to cancel, you choose a full refund, deposit included, or a new date.

Courses

A course is paid in full before your first day. The course price covers your training materials and your instruction, and paying for it holds your place on the course.

Changing your dates or your trip

Tell us at least 48 hours before your first day and we will move your booking to new dates at no extra cost. You have up to 1 year to use your booking on new dates or on a different trip.

Cancelling and refunds

If you cancel, the most we refund is 75% of the amount you have paid, not counting the deposit. If we cancel, the rules under “Weather and cancellations on our side” apply instead.

Stopping a course after the first day

If you stop a course after the first day, there is no refund for the course.

Weather and cancellations on our side

Your safety comes first. If the weather or the sea stops the boat going out, or we have to cancel for any other reason, we tell you as soon as we know. You then choose either a full refund for what we cancelled or a new date.

If you cannot dive for medical reasons

Fill in the PADI medical form before you come. If your answers mean you need a doctor’s approval, you need it signed before you dive. If you find you cannot dive, tell us straight away and we will agree with you what happens to the rest of your booking, within the deposit and refund rules above.

If you are late or do not turn up

Message us as soon as you can. We will try to get you to the boat, but the boat leaves at 9am and cannot wait long after that. If you do not come and do not tell us, we treat it as a cancellation without notice, and the deposit and refund rules above apply.

If something comes up

Plans change, and some situations are not covered here. Message us on WhatsApp as early as you can, tell us what has happened, and we will work with you to find a fair solution.

Safety on board and in the water

Briefings and your limits

There is a briefing before every dive: the site, the plan, the signals, and what to do if something goes wrong. Follow the briefing and stay within the limits of your certification. Do not dive after drinking alcohol. Your guide or instructor can end a dive, or decide you should not dive, if they believe it is not safe.

Is diving in Hurghada safe?

Every course follows PADI standards, and the training is led by a PADI IDC Staff Instructor. A guide takes no more than 6 divers, and an instructor no more than 6 students. Every diver is briefed before every dive, and everyone fills in the PADI medical form before they dive. There is oxygen and first aid on board, and the nearest recompression chamber is 5 minutes from the marina. If the sea is too rough, the boat does not go out.

Do I need dive insurance?

No. Dive insurance is not required to dive with us.

How soon can I fly after diving?

Divers Alert Network suggests at least 12 hours after a single dive, and at least 18 hours after several dives in a day or several days of diving. Send us your flight time and we will plan your last diving day around it.

Diving in Hurghada

When is the best time to dive?

You can dive all year round. The water is about 22°C in winter and 29°C in summer, and the best months are April to November.

Do I need to be able to swim?

For an introductory dive you should be comfortable in the water, and your instructor is beside you on every dive. For the PADI Open Water course you need basic swimming skills: PADI’s water check is a 200-metre swim and a 10-minute float.

What will I see?

Hard and soft coral, reef fish, moray eels and lionfish, and with some luck turtles, rays or dolphins. What you see depends on the site and the day.

How deep will I go?

On an introductory dive you go no deeper than 6 metres, with your instructor beside you on both dives. The Bubblemaker stays no deeper than 2 metres. Once you hold Open Water you can dive to 18 metres, and Advanced Open Water takes you to 30 metres.

Is everything in English?

Yes. Booking, briefings and courses are all in English.

Courses and certification

How long does the Open Water course take?

Three days, with four open water dives. You can do the theory at home first with PADI eLearning, so your days in Hurghada are spent in the water.

What is included in the course price?

Every course includes your instructor, all your equipment, PADI eLearning and your PADI eCard. Hotel pickup is free in most of Hurghada, with a small fee further out.

What is the difference between Open Water and Advanced Open Water?

Open Water is the first full certification and lets you dive to 18 metres with a buddy. Advanced Open Water takes you to 30 metres over five adventure dives. You can start it straight after Open Water with no logged dives, and there is no exam: each dive has a short knowledge review instead.

How old do I need to be?

Children can try the Bubblemaker from age 8. The introductory dive and the PADI Open Water course are open from age 10, Rescue Diver from 12, Deep Diver and Wreck Diver from 15, and Divemaster from 18. Whatever your age, you need to be in good health.

Which certifications do you accept?

Tell us your certification when you book. Bring your card, or the digital version on your phone. If it has been a while since your last dive, start with a Scuba Review.

Daily diving trips

What does a day on the boat look like?

We collect you from your hotel between 7:30 and 8:30am, depending on where you stay. You are welcomed on board and briefed, and the boat sets off at 9am. The first dive is at 10:30am, lunch is served on board from 12pm, and the second dive is at 1pm. You are back at the marina around 3 to 4pm. A third dive is available for £30.

Can someone who does not dive come along?

Yes. Snorkelling is £35 for the day, with snorkelling equipment, lunch and soft drinks. Snorkellers have their own space on board, so a family or a group of friends can spend the day together.

Which sites do you visit?

We choose the sites for each day around the weather and the divers on board, from shallow coral gardens to deeper reefs and wrecks.

Do I need my own equipment?

No. On daily diving, equipment hire is £15 a day, or you can bring your own. Tanks and weights are always included. On courses, all your equipment is included.

Practical information

What should I bring?

Swimwear, a towel, sun cream and a hat. If you are certified, bring your card or the digital version on your phone. Lunch, soft drinks and diving equipment are on board.

Do you collect me from my hotel?

Yes. Pickup is free in most of Hurghada, with a small fee for hotels past Rixos Premium Magawish and from Al Ahyaa, Sahl Hasheesh, Makadi, El Gouna, Safaga and Soma Bay (see the fees). Packages include free pickup inside Hurghada only, and package guests are met at Hurghada airport when they land and driven back on the day they fly home. Tell us your hotel when you book.

Can I book a private trip or course?

Tell us on WhatsApp what you have in mind, and we will let you know what we can arrange.