HAMATA ISLANDS – QULAAN ARCHIPELAGO
To book an excursion contact steven@marsaalam.com or via WhatsApp on +201284332337.
Local excursion organizer Steven, who has lived and worked in Marsa alam for over a decade, is currently offering an amazing value 58 euro per person all-in fishing and snorkelling day trip* to the remote but beautiful Hamata Islands. The trip is available on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The four Hamata Islands are located off the remote and wild southern Red Sea Riviera of Egypt, about 130 km south of Marsa Alam and 45 km north of the small settlement of Berenice, an area which until very recently was seldom visited.
The islands are fringed with some of the most beautifully colourful coral reefs you can find anywhere in the world, sandy beaches so white that the archipelago is sometimes referred to as “the Egyptian Maldives” and tranquil lagoons where you can snorkel and admire the abundant and diverse sea life.
During your trip you will be able to see some of the many species of birds who have made the islands their home. You can also frequently find dugongs, dolphins, rays, clown fish and marine turtles enjoying the diverse biological habitats which surround the islands, as well as hundreds of other colourful examples of Red Sea marine life.
The price is based on four or more people sharing the trip and includes your skipper, who is also your guide for the day and your cook, all your fishing equipment, a freshly prepared on board lunch, soft drinks, plenty of bottled water and your pick up and transfer back to your hotel anywhere within 60 km of Marsa Alam. A small surcharge will apply to more distant hotels. It is also possible to take fewer than four people but a minimum charge of 200 euros applies due to the high fixed costs involved.
May 2018 – 5.32 mins – 29+ likes – 7,900+ views.
Sep 2014 – 10.27 mins – 41+ likes – 14,500+ views.
WHAT’S INCLUDED ?
Apr 2017 – 5.47 mins – 9+ likes – 1,200+ views.
TELL ME MORE ABOUT THE ISLANDS
The Hamata Islands are also known as the Qulaan Archipelago and consist of four (not three as stated by some tour operators) islands – Siyal, Shawarit, Umm al-Shaykh and Mahabis – located between 3 and 7 km from the coast. There is also a small fifth island formed only at high tide but connected at low tide with the Hamata mangrove shoreline.
All the islands fall within the Wadi El Gamal National Park in which you can find over 450 species of coral and over 1200 species of fish. It is also a great place to come across the enchanting dugong and hawksbill turtles, often found grazing on the sea grass meadows which fringe the islands, as well as the acrobatic and inquisitive spinner dolphin. Green turtles are also known to nest on Siyal island from May to November.
The islands are also a great birdwatching sanctuary with larges colonies of terns and gulls. Bird species which inhabit the archipelago include the threatened Sooty Falcon ( Falco Concolor), the Bridled Tern (Onychoprion Anaethetus – often in large numbers during the summer), the Caspian Tern (Hydropogne Caspia), the Green-Backed Heron, the Reef Heron, the Red Billed tropic bird, the European Spoonbill, the Ruddy Turnstone, the Western Reef Egret, the White-eyed Gull, the Brown Booby (Sula Leucogaster), the Crab Plover (Dromas Ardeola), the Osprey and Hemphric’s Gull.
Care has to be taken at all times not to damage this unique and precious environment which harbours many endangered species of coral, sea and bird life. You are kindly requested not to drop any litter and all fishing is done by pole and line and only of permitted species in authorized areas in deep water at some distance from the islands.
A portion of the charge per ticket (very approximately 40 LE or about two euros) Steven makes is paid for the National Park entrance charge – this goes towards a government administered budget which is spent on the Wadi El Gamal reserve, part of which contributes to the protection of the coast and local wildlife and part towards helping to support the local nomadic Ababda population.
Jun 2019 – 11.15 mins – 8+ likes – 1,400+ views.
CONTACT STEVEN
Email steven@marsaalam.com or contact him via WhatsApp on +201284332337 to reserve your adventure of a lifetime on Egypt’s remote, wild and beautiful Qulaan archipelago (aka the Hamata Islands).
A NOTE REGARDING FISHING
*Please note that while everyone can snorkel at the islands, fishing is offered only to those who are interested and is restricted to permitted areas some distance from the islands. For more general information on fishing excursions for Marsa Alam please see the fishing page.