Diving in the Southern Red Sea

Encounters with Pelagic Sharks

Over recent years liveaboards to the Southern Red Sea have grown dramatically in popularity, to such an extent that new towns have sprang up down the Egyptian coastline to facilitate such activity. The popularity of such diving trips might even rival that of Northern Red Sea, and certainly most experienced divers would now head straight for the south.

This change in appeal has taken place partly due to liveaboard divers' preference to avoid the hustle of busy day trip diving and resort towns such as Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada. But also because experienced divers have come to recognise the huge attractions that the Southern Red Sea reefs have, such as frequent encounters with pelagic sharks, large schools of fish and healthy coral reef systems.

Diving with oceanic whitetip sharks is a rare event the world over. This fearsome predator was once thought to be one of the most dangerous fish in the sea and prefers oceanic waters, far away from coral reefs. However, the Southern Red Sea reefs' close proximity to deep waters provides an ideal environment to bring divers close up to these and other pelagic sharks. Other sharks that you can see here with regularity include hammerhead sharks, thresher sharks and silvertip sharks, as well as plenty of the usual reef sharks that most divers are familiar with.

Not content with big shark action, the Southern Red Sea's coral reef systems are healthier and more vibrant than their northern counterparts. Volumes are good for both larger reef fish species such as snappers, unicornfish and groupers, and for pelagic fish such as trevally and tuna.

Most of the diving in the Southern Red Sea is along deep walls, however some areas of the Deep South also offer intriguing maze-like reefs with lots of tunnels and crags for exploration, a few wrecks and some sheltered bays for night diving.

However, it must be noted that the Red Sea south of Hurghada is exposed to some strong offshore currents, has deep sites and frequent surface swells. This means that liveaboard dive trips here are not for beginners. But for those with the necessary skills and experience, this area offers the most spectacular diving that the Red Sea has to offer.

Highlights

The Brother Islands are accessible by liveaboard only as the exposed location in the middle of the Red Sea leaves it vulnerable to the whims of nature, especially the prevailing winds. This could make for challenging diving conditions.

However once you meet the Brothers, the rewards certainly make the challenges worthwhile. The Brother Islands offer stunning wall dives along the perimeter with breathtaking underwater scenery. The walls are completely overgrown with soft corals and huge forests of gorgonians. As the only significant reefs in the area, the Brothers offer the distinct opportunity to spot a variety of very large pelagic fish not commonly found at other sites.

Deep South - many divers are beginning to appreciate the wonders of the Deep South Red Sea. This area includes St. John's Reefs, as well as the marine parks of Zabargad and Rocky islands. The variety of diving environments is the main attraction here, with wrecks, tunnels, mazes and shallow bays, as well as the more usual Southern Red Sea dive profiles of steep walls, deep plateaus, drift dives, and big fish and sharks. The area is still remote and not visited frequently by most Red Sea liveaboards so you can enjoy all this with a greater degree of solitude then in other parts of the Egypt.

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How to Dive Hurghada

Southern Red Sea liveaboard trips run out of Hurghada, Marsa Ghalib and Marsa Alam. Departures out of Hurghada tend to focus only on the Brothers, Daedalus and Elphinstone areas. To reach the further Deep South sites such as Zabargad, St. John's and Rocky Island, boats will depart from further down the coast at Marsa Ghalib and Marsa Alam.

Due to the long distances involved and the offshore location of many of the sites, it is only possible to dive all of these sites by liveaboard. Day trips are not possible, except to Elphinstone alone which is close to Marsa Alam.

Note also that according to Egyptian law, it is necessary for divers to show proof of 50 logged dives before they can dive in its marine parks.

Diving Season

The Southern Red Sea is slightly warmer than its northern counterpart. Temperatures peak at 28-30°C between July and September. After these months the temperatures drop a little to 27-28°C in October and November. They continue from December to February to fall from 26-23°C. After the maximum low of February, temperatures warm up again from 24-27°C between March and June.

Reef Summary

Good for Large animals, reef life and health, wall diving, drift dives, visibility, and value-for-money
Not so good for Small animals, beginner divers, and non-diving activities
Depth: 5m - >40m
Visibility: 15m - 35m
Currents: Can be stong
Surface conditions: Can be rough
Water temperature: 23 - 30°C
Experience level: Intermediate - advanced
Number of dive sites: ~125
Access: Red sea liveaboards
Recommended length of stay: 1 - 2 weeks

Dive Site Descriptions

If you want to read more detailed descriptions please read our Red Sea South dive sites:

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