Giftun Island in Hurghada | The Island of Giftun
Giftun Island in Hurghada
The island of Giftun, located in the Red Sea near the famous tourist resort of Hurghada and surrounded by some smaller islets, represents a beautiful natural landscape. The islands, declared a marine park in 1955, are surrounded by numerous coral reefs inhabited by fish of all kinds. Wide sandy beaches allow travelers to spend ideal days on a beach holiday.
The trip from Hurghada with a boat accompanied by flicks of dolphins. Once there you can stay for 6 hours in the water to snorkel. The underwater show is breathtaking: corals of all colors, colorful fish, and all species. You can also see the Caribbean seas but, believe me, a paradise like this is not to be missed!
It all started when, in April 2004, the Egyptian Minister of the Environment reported to the local television that he was about to approve the largest private foreign investment of the last few years (about 2 billion dollars), destined for an island near Hurghada. The project, proposed by Ernesto Preatoni Immobiliare, aimed to build a mega residential complex on the island of Giftun, connecting the island to the mainland with a bridge and assuming the construction of a private airport on the island.
Giftun Island is in front of the small town of Hurghada. Completely uninhabited, it is a destination for hundreds of visitors every day who frequent its splendid beaches and dive into the reefs that surround it. Its seabed has 196 different coral species, over 80% of the coral formations of the Red Sea. 794 marine species have been identified, most of which are visible with the numerous glass-bottomed boats that visit the area. This gives the island to be uniquely one of the richest diving spots in the world. The most remote beaches of the island are the habitat for the spawning of five different species of turtles, including the green turtle. Last but not least, 6 of the 11 migratory bird species that cross Africa each year make a stop in Giftun. For its incredible bio-diversity, the island was declared a Marine Park in 1995.
