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Scuba Diving in the Red Sea, Egypt
Dive into a technicolor world. The Red Sea in Egypt is one of the planet’s most exotic and captivating natural environments. There are few places in the world where you’ll find such a diverse array of radiant corals, schooling pelagics, and plentiful marine life along with topside extensions to sites that date to antiquity – it is little wonder that divers refer to Red Sea scuba diving as legendary. See the underwater photo gallery here.
Scroll below to explore some of the Red Sea’s best diving areas including the Ras Mohammed National Park, Yolanda Wreck, SS Thistlegorm wreck, Abu Nuhas reef, and Brothers Islands, Daedelus Reef, and Elphinstone Reefs.
Popular Red Sea Diving Sites
In the Northern part of the Red Sea, the Ras Mohammed National Park is situated at the confluence of waters from the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba. This mix results in a wide range of diversity in terms of coral and fish life. Its best known dive sites include Shark Reef and Yolanda Reef, 2 big pinnacles rising up from the depths and home to grey reef sharks, tunas, barracudas, snappers and even hammerhead sharks. See many sting rays, moray eels and scorpionfish, as well as dozens of toilets which were the cargo of the Yolanda wreck.
The SS Thistlegorm wreck is one the most famous wrecks in Egypt, with its WWII motorcycles and jeeps still in the same position they were when this ship was bombed by German airplanes. This beautiful wreck can be dived several times, to discover all its compartments and cargo.
Abu Nuhas is a shallow reef that has caused the sinking of more boats than anywhere else in the Red Sea. There are currently several wrecks beneath the surface: the Giannis D, the Chrisoula K, the Kimon K and some leftovers of the Carnatic which sank in September 1869. All of them are now part of the marine world and covered by soft corals, sponges and hydroids.
Brothers Islands, Daedelus Reef, and Elphinstone Reef, are simply unequaled. Part of the Marine Park, these dive locales show you the best of best. Explore breathtaking underwater scenery, walls boasting huge pristine hard coral formations, sheer drop-offs covered with soft corals, and experience a frequent rush hour of pelagics. Sightings of thresher sharks, whale sharks, schooling tuna, mantas, grey reef sharks, oceanic whitetips, and schooling hammerheads are common. On occasion, the spectacular moon fish have also been spotted.
The vessel’s experienced captain and dive guides will escort you to these remote and unspoiled reefs, where your senses will be happily overwhelmed. You’ll be so captivated by the brilliance of color, you might wonder if a painter with an otherworldly palate reached the reefs first. Many coral species in the Red Sea are photosynthetic, which creates an expansive rainbow-like roofscape that outshines many diving hotspots elsewhere in the world. Here, the abundant marine life is matched with excellent visibility due to very little rainfall. This makes each dive an impressive sight. There’s a reason the Red Sea is highly distinguished in many diving magazines. Grand Sea Explorer’s and Glory Sea Explorer’s itineraries make for a trip you won’t soon forget.
Important information: Please note that all dives are made with semi-inflatable tenders. Negative entries can be required, depending on the sea conditions. Diving in the Red Sea can be sometimes challenging, especially in the Brothers islands, Daedalus and Elphinstone (B-D-E). Strong currents, swell and several negative entries are pretty common in these specific areas. Please make sure you are experienced enough (Advanced Open Water certification and a minimum of 50 logged dives is highly recommended) and in good physical condition before considering these itineraries, especially B-D-E.
