Two things people assume rule them out, and neither actually does.
Two things stop people getting in the water on a boat trip, and neither is a real barrier.

Glasses first. You cannot wear them under a mask, but there are three good answers: contact lenses, closing your eyes if you have to clear the mask; a prescription mask, which is inexpensive and sold in every dive shop in Hurghada; or simply accepting a slightly soft image, since water magnifies by around 25% and a mild prescription matters much less underwater than on land.
Not swimming is the bigger fear and the easier fix. A snorkelling life jacket holds you face-down at the surface with no effort at all, which is the position you want anyway. Plenty of people who have never swum a length spend an hour floating over a reef perfectly happily. Ask the guide to stay with you — on a good boat this is routine and they will offer before you ask.


What genuinely does rule you out is a chest infection, a recent ear operation, or being unable to get up a boat ladder in a swell.
What genuinely does rule you out is a chest infection, a recent ear operation, or being unable to get up a boat ladder in a swell. Everything else is solvable with equipment the boat already has.

