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Egypt4 dive sites
You can dive around Sharm el-Sheikh all year, in water from 22°C in February to 29°C in August, with 25 to 40 meters of visibility. Pelagic schools gather at Ras Mohammed from September to November. In winter, swell sometimes cancels the Thistlegorm: schedule it early in your stay.
At Reef Oasis in Sharm el-Sheikh, two dives cost €95 to €105 and ten dives €380 to €425, plus €10 for the boat per day and €7 per park entry. The Thistlegorm adds €140 to €175.
Sharm el-Sheikh airport is a five-hour flight from Paris, and dive centers include transfers. Dahab is an hour and a half's drive north. The free "Sinai only" stamp covers Ras Mohammed, Tiran and Dahab, but the Thistlegorm requires the full US$25 visa.
EgyptShore diveThe Blue Hole is a sinkhole more than 100 meters deep in the reef, twenty minutes north of Dahab, and you dive it from the beach.
EgyptWreckThe Dunraven is a British sail and steam ship that sank in 1876 on Sha'ab Mahmoud reef and was found again in 1977.
EgyptReefShark Reef and Yolanda Reef are two reefs at the southern tip of the Sinai: a wall that drops more than 700 meters and, on the plateau, the bathroom fittings cargo of a freighter...
EgyptWreckThe Thistlegorm is a British cargo ship sunk in October 1941 with its trucks, motorcycles and locomotives; it sits almost upright in 30 meters of water in the northern Red Sea.
Sharm el-Sheikh sits at the southern tip of Sinai, where the Gulf of Suez, the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea meet. From here, boats serve Ras Mohammed National Park, the four reefs of the Strait of Tiran (Jackson, Woodhouse, Thomas, Gordon) and, toward the Gulf of Suez, the wrecks of the Strait of Gubal: the Thistlegorm, the Dunraven, the Kingston. Dive centers include hotel transfers and go out every day. Most of the signature sites require Advanced, for the depth and the current.
An hour and a half's drive north, Dahab is dived from the beach: the Blue Hole and the Bells, the Canyon, Eel Garden, Abu Galum. From Sharm, dive centers drive up for the day by 4x4, with two shore dives.
The water drops to 22°C in February and rises to 29°C in August, and visibility holds at 25 to 40 meters all year. From September to November, pelagic schools peak at Ras Mohammed. From June to August, hammerheads move up along Jackson Reef. From December to February, swell sometimes cancels the longer trips, the Thistlegorm first. Current runs strong in the passes and on the wrecks of the strait.
At Reef Oasis in Sharm el-Sheikh, two dives cost €95 to €105 and ten dives €380 to €425, with guide, tank and weights included. Add €10 for the boat per day and €7 per marine park entry. Wrecks cost extra: €140 to €175 for the Thistlegorm, €35 for the Dunraven. A day in Dahab with two shore dives adds €120.
Hotels, apartments and rooms around Sharm el-Sheikh, the starting point for dives at Shark and Yolanda Reef, with current prices.