Diving Sharm El Sheikh at Ras Mohammed

Shark Reef & Yolanda Reef

If Ras Mohamed is the most spectacular diving area near Sharm El Sheikh, then Shark and Yolanda reefs are its prized diving spots.

This dive is best done as a drift dive starting from Shark Reef and continuing to Yolanda Reef. These are 2 twin mountain-like peaks rising up from a sandy sea bed that is spread out deep below the surface. There is also a smaller reef called Satellite Reef beyond Yolanda Reef which you can explore all around depending on the strength of the current.

Being not far from Anemone City, which is a good drop-in location, the site's eastern side is a sheer, vertical wall, illuminated by swarms of orange and purple anthias and black and white pullers dancing about the purple and orange soft coral trees. Keep an eye out in the blue when cruising past Shark Reef for the grey reef sharks which give this reef its name.

Every possible fish species of Sharm El Sheikh is found here, including hammerheads, gigantic tuna and a menagerie of other pelagics. An ever present school of barracuda and snappers are residents and it's a great place for scuba divers to see Napoleon wrasse.

The other side, facing the west, is much shallower and constitutes part of the plateau that surrounds Yolanda Reef. There are literally thousands of jackfish, batfish and all kinds of sting rays, giant moray eels and lyretail hogfish on the densely coralled saddle. Scorpionfish are regularly spotted here.

Finish your dive above the wreckage of the 'Yolanda', a wreck that made this reef its final resting place in the 70's. Its cargo of British standard toilets, bath tubs and pipe tubes remain on and forever as part of the shallow reef. If the current is strong when you enter the water you might find yourself here quite quickly, and you can enjoy the humorous sight of so many toilets on the sea floor. There is a place where there are 7 of them lined up in a row - a favourite spot for comedy photographs but beware of the fire coral if you are in a shorty or you may get off the loo with a stinging sensation.

Shark & Yolanda Reef Basics: Submerged reef
Depth: 10 - >40m
Visibility: 10 - 25m
Currents: Can be strong
Surface conditions: Generally calm
Water temperature: 22 - 28°C
Experience level: Intermediate - advanced
Number of dive sites: 3
Diving season: All year round
Distance: 16 km south of Sharm El Sheikh
Access: Daytrips and liveaboards

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