Day trips or a liveaboard in the Red Sea: which is right for you?

Day trips cost less per dive and keep you on land every night; a liveaboard reaches further and fits more dives into each day. The table uses our own prices.

A day boat reaches the reefs around Hurghada; the offshore reefs need a liveaboard. Our daily boat picks from dozens of local sites each morning, such as Banana Reef in the Giftun Islands and Abu Ramada South. The SS Thistlegorm and the Abu Nahas wrecks, such as the Giannis D, are also possible in a day, as special wreck days from €250 per person on a group date.

The far reefs are a different matter. Daedalus lies about 90 km offshore in the southern Egyptian Red Sea and is reached on liveaboard itineraries. The Brothers lighthouse stands about 65 km east of El Quseir. Our three routes:

• North Wrecks & Reefs (from €1,190): Thistlegorm, Abu Nuhas, Ras Mohammed and Tiran. Beginner-friendly.
• Deep South · St John's (from €1,290): Fury Shoal and St John's, some of the healthiest hard coral in Egypt.
• Brothers · Daedalus · Elphinstone (from €1,340): walls, wrecks and pelagics, for advanced divers. Sails from Hurghada.

Only want the Thistlegorm? Read SS Thistlegorm: day trip or liveaboard?

Day trips do. Our 2-dive day is €50, so €25 a dive, and multi-day packages take up to 10% off for 10 days (about €22.50 a dive). Today's package totals are on our price list.

Hotel pickup and lunch are included; full gear rental is €10 a day. Your hotel is extra.

A liveaboard price covers your cabin and every meal for seven nights, as well as the diving, so a per-dive figure is only a rough guide. On a €1,190 week, every 20 dives you make works out at about €60 a dive. Compare it with a week of day trips plus seven nights in your hotel.

Day trips, for most people. You sleep in your hotel, get picked up at 08:00 and are back by 16:30. A liveaboard is a week at sea: PADI notes cabins are typically very small and calls liveaboards "pretty exhausting, with sunrise starts and multiple dives". Many divers love that rhythm; others prefer a hotel pool in the afternoon. See your first liveaboard: what life on board is really like.

Start with day trips. On a day boat you are back on land each afternoon. On a liveaboard you are at sea day and night, and PADI's advice is blunt: if you're prone to seasickness, you might want to reconsider a liveaboard. If you go anyway, bring the remedy that works for you. See seasickness on dive boats.

On day trips, yes. Snorkelers join the dive boat for €35 with mask and fins, and there are separate boat trips such as the snorkeling trip (€35). Not certified? A try dive is €45. A liveaboard day revolves around diving, so ask us before booking a non-diving partner.

Certification matters more offshore. The North route suits Open Water divers and up. Brothers–Daedalus–Elphinstone needs Advanced Open Water or at least 50 logged dives. If you're newly certified, a few day trips first is a good way to build experience.

• Choose day trips if you're travelling with non-divers, staying under a week, newly certified, prone to seasickness, or want to decide day by day. Nothing is paid in advance, and you can cancel free up to 24 hours before.
• Choose a liveaboard if you want the offshore reefs, up to four dives a day, and a whole week given to diving. A 20% deposit holds your cabin and the balance is due 60 days before departure. See our liveaboard routes and weeks.

Either way, plan your flight home: Divers Alert Network recommends at least 18 hours after repetitive no-decompression diving over several days; substantially longer after compulsory decompression or heliox/trimix dives. If you have possible decompression-illness symptoms, seek medical advice before flying.