Diving in the southern Red Sea

Egypt4 dive sites

Season

Southern liveaboards run from March to November, in water from 23 to 30°C. Oceanic whitetips are mostly seen from October to December, and scalloped hammerheads at Daedalus from May to July. The offshore reefs require Advanced, and fifty logged dives for the Brothers and Daedalus.

Budget

In Marsa Alam, a dive costs €33 in a seven- to ten-dive package, plus €8 a day in park tax. Elphinstone costs around €135 for a two-dive half day. The Brothers, Daedalus and St. John's are done by liveaboard, from €1,390 a week, flights included.

Getting there

Marsa Alam airport serves the coastal hotels, and liveaboards leave from the nearby Port Ghalib marina. Hamata, 180 kilometers south, gives day-trip access to Fury Shoals and the Sataya dolphins. The full visa costs US$25.

Dive sites in the southern Red Sea (4)

Big Brother from the sea: a flat, pale islet topped by its lighthouse, with a white liveaboard moored in front

EgyptPelagic

Brothers Islands

Southern Red Sea, Egypt

10 to 40 mExperiencedFrom April to November

LiveaboardCurrent: strongVisibility 25 to 40 m

The Brothers are twin islets about sixty kilometers off El Quseir, sitting on walls that drop into several hundred meters of water.

The Daedalus lighthouse, a black and white striped tower standing on the reef, with its buildings and metal jetty, at sunset

EgyptPelagic

Daedalus Reef

Southern Red Sea, Egypt

5 to 40 mExperiencedFrom April to November

LiveaboardCurrent: strongVisibility 25 to 40 m

Daedalus Reef is an isolated reef in the middle of the Red Sea, 90 kilometers from Marsa Alam, rising from 550 meters deep to a lighthouse.

An oceanic whitetip shark with white-edged fins swims below the surface, surrounded by striped pilot fish

EgyptPelagic

Elphinstone Reef

Southern Red Sea, Egypt

12 to 40 mAdvancedFrom April to December

BoatCurrent: strongVisibility 20 to 40 m

Elphinstone Reef is a 300 meter reef in the open sea, 12 kilometers from Marsa Alam, with soft coral walls dropping into the blue.

A cluster of pink and yellow soft corals covered in orange anthias, on a Red Sea reef

EgyptCave or cenote

St. John's and Fury Shoals

Southern Red Sea, Egypt

5 to 40 mOpen WaterFrom April to November

LiveaboardCurrent: variableVisibility 25 to 40 m

St.

Dive sites on the map

Marsa Alam or Hamata: where do you stay in the southern Red Sea?

Marsa Alam, with its airport and the Port Ghalib marina where liveaboards leave from, is the base for the offshore reefs: Elphinstone, 30 kilometers to the north, and Daedalus, 90 kilometers to the east. Hamata, a hundred and eighty kilometers farther south, gives day-trip access to the Fury Shoals reefs and the Sataya dolphin colony. Beyond it, St. John's, two hundred kilometers south of Marsa Alam, is only reached by liveaboard.

Where to see sharks in the southern Red Sea?

This is where the Red Sea shows its big pelagics. Oceanic whitetip sharks patrol the plateaus of Elphinstone and the Brothers, mostly from October to December, and scalloped hammerheads school at Daedalus from May to July. You also see manta rays, gray reef sharks and, all year, the spinner dolphins of Sataya. The walls of the Brothers drop several hundred meters, with two wrecks clinging to Big Brother.

What are the diving conditions in the southern Red Sea?

The water drops to 23°C in February and rises to 30°C in August. Liveaboards run from March to November. The offshore reefs require Advanced and, for the Brothers and Daedalus, fifty logged dives. The current makes these sites famous, and makes them difficult.

How much does diving in Marsa Alam cost?

In Marsa Alam, dives are sold individually (€33 per dive in a seven- to ten-dive package at Coraya Divers, plus €8 a day in park tax), and Elphinstone costs around €135 for a two-dive half day. A one-week liveaboard to the Brothers, Daedalus and Elphinstone starts at €1,390 with flights and visa included at French tour operators, and a St. John's week includes sixteen dives.

Where to stay in the southern Red Sea?

Hotels, apartments and rooms around Marsa Alam, the starting point for dives at Elphinstone, with current prices.