Brothers, Daedalus & Elphinstone (8 Days / 7 Nights - 17 Dives)
Trip highlights: hammerhead sharks, shark action, manta rays, schooling fish & big pelagics
Diving environment: advanced divers, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, very popular, wall diving
Dive sites and activities: Big Brother, Little Brother, Aida II wreck, Numidia wreck, Daedalus Reef and Elphinstone
Day 1
You will be welcomed at the arrival terminal of Hurghada Airport or Marsa Alam Airport by the Orion staff. You will then be transported via air-conditioned van to Port Ghalib or Hurghada marina where the dive cruise ship is moored. Hurghada to Port Ghalib takes around 4 hours. Otherwise Marsa Alam airport to Port Ghalib takes only a few minutes, as is Hurghada Airport to Hurghada Marina. After boarding the liveaboard you will be met by the boat crew and the tour leader, be assigned your cabin and be given a briefing on safety and the week ahead. Dinner is served in the air-conditioned saloon before going to bed. Diving begins the following morning.
Core Days
The Brothers Islands are 2 small exposed islands in the middle of the sea, where marine life proliferates. The walls are decorated with hard and soft corals, sponges and anemones adding an astonishing variety of colour to the underwater world. Sharks are commonly sighted at the dive sites around the islands. These include grey reef sharks, scalloped hammerheads, whitetips and silvertips. At Big Brother there is a wreck called the Numidia that can be dived when the conditions are right, meaning not too windy. It lies between 5-8m, and is entirely covered with hard and soft corals and gorgonian fans. Daedalus and Elphinstone's reefs are home to schools of trevallies, fusiliers, surgeonfish and colourful reef fish. Hammerheads, threshers and oceanic whitetips can be seen here, plus manta rays, normally seen in the summer months.
3 dives a day are standard in the Red Sea marine parks. Your typical day will be: a morning dive at 7 am, breakfast at 8 am, 2nd dive at 10 am, lunch at noon, 3rd dive at 2 pm, snacks at 4 pm, night dive when permitted at 7 pm. Dinner is served at around 8 pm. The last day will see only 2 dives as the boat returns to port.
There will be 3 delicious meals every day. Main meals are buffet style. Breakfast is normally eggs (omelette, fried, or scrambled), hot coffee and tea, bread, pancakes, toast, cheese and sausages, fresh fruit and veggies, cereals and milk or yoghurt. Lunch and evening meals usually include fresh vegetables, rice, noodles, various meats and fish. There are both international dishes and local Egyptian delicacies. Snacks such as cookies, juice and fresh fruit are served every mid-afternoon. Around the clock you have enjoy self-service tea, coffee, snacks and drinking water.
Day 8
Check out time is usually after breakfast. After disembarking you will be transferred either to the airport or your local hotel. Note that these trips use either Hurghada marina and Port Ghalib for embarkation and disembarkation - check above for details.
[Information is best estimate in ideal circumstances and subject to changes beyond our control. The itinerary is a guide only and may be adapted to best suit the weather, tides, currents, availability and other prevailing events. Price is for the cruise, not for an exact number of dives].