Mask skills
Correct fitting, comfortable use, clearing water from the mask and staying in control while wearing it.
BSAC Snorkel Diver · Kids & Family · Hurghada
Four short theory sessions and five fun practical ones that turn a child of eight, or a beginner of any age, into a confident buddy snorkeller. Mask, snorkel and fins, safe entries and exits, surface diving and real buddy skills, taught in a pool or sheltered water in Hurghada.
The BSAC Snorkel Diver course is the British Sub-Aqua Club’s core entry-level snorkelling qualification, four short theory sessions and five practical in-water sessions that teach a beginner to snorkel safely, confidently and with a buddy. In Hurghada it costs €180 per child, with any applicable BSAC registration or certification fee charged separately. Open from age eight to individuals, families and children who can swim 50 meters, the course covers correct mask, snorkel and fin use, safe entries and exits, controlled surface diving, buddy awareness and basic rescue awareness, taught in a pool or suitable sheltered water. Red Sea Diving runs it in Hurghada as a BSAC training center, and the theory can be completed through BSAC eLearning before arrival.
Moreover, the €180 covers what happens here: the instruction, the five practical sessions and the standard equipment for the water. Therefore we explain in writing any BSAC fee that applies before you confirm. The course follows the standards published by the British Sub-Aqua Club for this qualification.
| Course | BSAC Snorkel Diver, BSAC’s core entry-level snorkelling qualification |
|---|---|
| Price | €180 per child, training only |
| BSAC fees | Registration, membership, eLearning, materials and certification, charged separately where they apply |
| Minimum age | 8 years; suitable for individuals, families and children |
| Swimming requirement | 50 meters, with reasonable water comfort; no competitive swimming needed |
| Prior experience | Not required; Dolphin Snorkellers progress straight in |
| Theory | 4 short sessions, by BSAC eLearning or in person |
| Practical | 5 sessions in a pool or suitable sheltered water |
| Skills | Mask and snorkel use and clearing, fin technique, entries and exits, surface diving, buddy awareness, basic rescue awareness |
| Scuba tank | Not used on this course |
| Award | BSAC Snorkel Diver |
| Next snorkelling step | BSAC Advanced Snorkeller |
| Future scuba step | BSAC Discovery Diver, once age and eligibility allow |
| Location | Hurghada, Red Sea Governorate, Egypt |
| Operator | Red Sea Diving, a BSAC training center in Hurghada, diving since 2000 |
Dolphin Snorkeller is pure play, seven sessions with no theory, built for the youngest children. By contrast, Dolphin Snorkeller opens two years younger, from age six, with no classroom component at all. Snorkel Diver adds four short theory sessions to the practical skills, because a Snorkel Diver is expected to understand buddy procedures and basic safety, not only perform the moves.
Furthermore, a child who already holds Dolphin Snorkeller does not repeat the practical work. In other words, only the Snorkel Diver theory and a knowledge review stand between the two grades.
In short, Snorkel Diver suits an eight-year-old starting fresh just as well as a Dolphin Snorkeller stepping up, and both routes lead here.
Correct fitting, comfortable use, clearing water from the mask and staying in control while wearing it.
Positioning the snorkel correctly, breathing comfortably through it and clearing it without fuss.
Above all, efficient finning that makes snorkelling easier, and good fin control that protects the coral below.
Safe methods for getting into and out of the water, chosen to fit the training environment and the conditions.
Likewise, controlled surface dives that let a snorkeller briefly explore below, with awareness and control kept throughout.
In addition, staying aware of a buddy, communicating clearly, remaining together and recognizing a developing problem.
Recognizing when a buddy may need help and responding appropriately, introduced at a level suited to the student.
Furthermore, equipment, technique, planning and environmental awareness, taught so the knowledge changes how a child snorkels.
Finally, growing steadily more comfortable with equipment, breathing, finning and looking underwater, at the student’s own pace.
However, the course teaches far more than swimming with a mask on. In other words, proper equipment skills, buddy habits and safety awareness are the point, not just the equipment.
To begin with, the four theory sessions, completed through BSAC eLearning before arrival or in person here, so holiday time can go into the water.
Then mask and snorkel skills, followed by fins and efficient movement, in the pool or sheltered shallows.
Next, safe entries and exits, then controlled surface diving, each practiced until it feels natural.
Afterward, buddy snorkelling and basic rescue awareness, bringing every earlier skill together with a partner.
Finally, the assessment and the qualification, with Advanced Snorkeller as the natural next step.
However, Red Sea Diving does not guarantee every child finishes in the same amount of time. Consequently the schedule follows age, ability, confidence and conditions, because good skills matter more than speed.
Not quite eight yet? BSAC Dolphin Snorkeller is the course built for younger children, from age six. Moreover, once your child is ready for a scuba cylinder, BSAC Discovery Diver is the next step, subject to its own age and eligibility requirements.
Therefore your written quotation shows the €180 price and any applicable BSAC fee as separate lines. In fact, that stays true whether the student is eight or eighty.
Hurghada gives a young snorkeller warm water most of the year and a genuinely rich Red Sea just offshore, so the skills from the pool have somewhere exciting to go. Moreover, butterflyfish, angelfish, parrotfish and schools of reef fish show up on ordinary snorkel outings, close enough that a family trip is a natural next step once the course is done.
Furthermore, we teach every young snorkeller to protect what they see: never stand on coral, never touch or chase marine life, never feed animals and take only memories home. However, marine-life encounters are natural and therefore never guaranteed.
Equally, the course structure fits comfortably inside a family holiday, and our diving safety standards apply to every young guest in the water.
Gallery
The next BSAC snorkelling grade, extending the skills and confidence built here.
By contrast, many families simply keep enjoying our snorkel trips, with no pressure to move up a grade.
Afterward, once age and eligibility allow, BSAC Discovery Diver introduces the scuba cylinder, and from there the full Ocean Diver grade.
Overall, the BSAC snorkelling route runs: Dolphin Snorkeller → Snorkel Diver → Advanced Snorkeller, and toward scuba: Snorkel Diver → Discovery Diver → Ocean Diver, each step building on the last without repeating it.
Why us
Above all, training decisions follow age, swimming ability, confidence and the conditions, with instructor supervision at every stage.
Indeed, more than two decades of diving and training operations out of Hurghada, including families every season.
Furthermore, students progress at their own pace, whether they are eight or eighty.
Moreover, buddy habits and real technique are taught from the first session, not handed out with the fins.
In addition, the €180 price and any applicable BSAC fee are explained in writing before you confirm.
Likewise, Advanced Snorkeller and Discovery Diver are both here whenever your family is ready for the next step.
Questions
The Red Sea Diving price is €180 per child. However, applicable official BSAC fees are separate.
Yes. BSAC provides an eLearning option for Snorkel Diver where applicable, so the theory can be finished before you arrive.
Yes. Nevertheless, Red Sea Diving does not guarantee every child completes the practical program in the same amount of time, since the schedule follows age, ability and confidence.
Eight years. The course also suits individuals and families of any age beyond that.
Yes. Students should be able to swim 50 meters and be reasonably comfortable in the water, although competitive swimming ability is not required.
No. However, a BSAC Dolphin Snorkeller only needs the theory and a knowledge review, since the practical skills already count.
Standard snorkelling equipment can be provided according to the confirmed package and the availability of suitable sizes. Therefore tell us your child’s height and approximate size before arrival.
Four short theory sessions, covering equipment, technique, buddy procedures, planning and safety.
Five sessions in a pool or suitable sheltered water, covering mask and snorkel skills, fins, entries and exits, surface diving and buddy snorkelling.
No. Snorkel Diver uses a mask, snorkel and fins only, and does not involve a scuba cylinder, BCD or regulator.
After successfully completing the training and assessments, the student qualifies as a BSAC Snorkel Diver.
The next snorkelling level is BSAC Advanced Snorkeller. In addition, BSAC Discovery Diver becomes an appropriate future step once the child meets the required age and eligibility.
Send us your child’s full name, age, swimming ability, previous snorkelling experience, Dolphin Snorkeller qualification if applicable, height and equipment requirements, your arrival and departure dates, your hotel in Hurghada and a parent or guardian’s contact details. Then we confirm the schedule, the price and any applicable BSAC fee in writing. For liveaboard diving in Egypt see also redsealiveaboard.net, and read the current fitness guidance from Divers Alert Network.
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Red Sea Diving, Madares Street, Hurghada 1, Hurghada 84511, Red Sea Governorate, Egypt. Diving and training here since 2000.
This page was last reviewed by the Red Sea Diving instructor team in September 2026.
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