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Egypt4 dive sites
You can dive the reefs of Hurghada and Safaga all year, in water from 22°C in February to 29°C in August. The Abu Nuhas wrecks, exposed to the wind, are only dived in calm seas. Visibility ranges from 15 to 30 meters on the wrecks, more offshore.
Hurghada is the cheapest base in Egypt: a boat day with two dives costs around €50, and ten dives €190 to €250 without gear. The Salem Express, from Safaga, costs €130 to €190 for the day.
Hurghada airport gets direct flights from France, and El Gouna and Soma Bay share the same sites in a quieter setting. Safaga, fifty kilometers south, is the base for the Salem Express. The visa costs US$25, on arrival or online.
EgyptReefFour cargo ships, the Carnatic, the Kimon M, the Chrisoula K and the Giannis D, were lost on Abu Nuhas reef between 1869 and 1983.
EgyptReefGiftun Kebir and Giftun Soraya are two desert islands off Hurghada, ringed by reefs less than an hour and a half away by boat.
EgyptReefPanorama Reef is the largest reef off Safaga, a long wall whose sides drop to 400 meters.
EgyptWreckThe Salem Express is a 115 meter ferry that struck a reef off Safaga on the night of December 14 to 15, 1991, with hundreds of pilgrims on board.
Hurghada is the country's leading airport for divers. From here, you reach the reefs of the Giftun Islands and Abu Ramada, less than an hour and a half by boat, the El Mina minesweeper wreck in front of the marina, and the dolphins of Sha'ab el Erg. The Abu Nuhas wrecks, in the Strait of Gubal, are a day trip two to two and a half hours away by boat, or part of a "north" liveaboard with the Thistlegorm. El Gouna, to the north, and Soma Bay, to the south, share the same sites in a quieter setting.
Fifty kilometers south of Hurghada, Safaga is the closest base to Panorama Reef, an offshore reef with walls dropping more than 400 meters. It is also the closest to the wreck of the Salem Express, the ferry that sank in December 1991, an hour and a half away by boat. Farther south, El Quseir already opens onto the southern sites.
The water drops to 22°C in February and March and rises to 29°C in August. You can dive the coastal reefs all year. Abu Nuhas, whose wrecks lie on the north face, exposed to the prevailing wind, is only dived when the sea allows. Boats moor in the calm water south of the reef, and you meet the swell when you cross to the other side. Visibility holds between 15 and 30 meters on the wrecks, and more on the offshore reefs.
Hurghada is the cheapest base in Egypt. A boat day with two dives costs around €50, and a ten-dive package over five days €190 to €250 without gear, with park fees and lunch included at several centers. A day trip to the Salem Express sells for €130 to €190.
Hotels, apartments and rooms around Hurghada, the starting point for dives at the Giftun Islands, with current prices.