Sudan Trips
Due to the ongoing conflict, currently we do not offer diving vacations in Sudan.
Sudan offers a scuba diving experience that stands apart from the more frequented routes of Egypt. The Sudanese Red Sea is defined by healthy shark populations, uncrowded sites, and a mix of wrecks, reefs, and underwater history that is rare elsewhere. The country's 400 km stretch of Red Sea coastline is divided into 3 main regions for diving - Far North, Central, and Deep South - each with its own character and access points.
The Far North region, accessible from Port Sudan, is where most liveaboards begin their safaris. Sites here are marked by dramatic coral pinnacles, deep plateaus, and strong currents that attract pelagic action. Abington Reef, the northernmost in Sudan, offers schools of hammerhead and grey reef sharks at depth, with huge schools of jacks and fusiliers passing along the wall. Angarosh delivers hammerheads, tiger sharks, silvertips, and whitetip reef sharks, often in excellent visibility. Merlo Reef features vertical crevices, giant moray eels, and the remains of the Freedom wreck, while other notable sites like Shambaia, Mesharifa, and Qita el Banna offer sheltered reefs, manta ray encounters, and strong-current pelagic action.
The Central region is home to Sudan's most famous and historically significant sites. Sanganeb Reef, a lighthouse-topped marine park, rises from 800 metres and offers nutrient-rich upwellings that attract large schools of barracuda, jacks, and snappers, along with whitetip and grey reef sharks. Shaab Rumi is renowned for shark encounters, including grey reef sharks, silky sharks, and hammerheads (especially from November to April), and features the remains of Jacques Cousteau's Conshelf II underwater living experiment from the 1960s. The Umbria Wreck, often compared to the Thistlegorm, is a 155-metre Italian cargo ship scuttled in 1940, still loaded with bombs, grenades, and Fiat trucks, and easily penetrated due to its shallow depth and good light. The Toyota Wreck (Blue Belt Wreck) offers a unique dive through a cargo of cars and trucks scattered across the seabed, now consumed by coral and marine life.
The Deep South region, reaching towards the Eritrean border, is the wildest and least dived part of Sudan. Dahrat Qab, a small oblong island, is considered by many experienced divers to be the best site in the Red Sea, with manta rays, turtles, several shark species, and walls resplendent in soft corals. Dahrat Abid, the southernmost reef, features 3 wrecks on its northwest side, dizzying drop-offs, and encounters with whitetip, silvertip, and hammerhead sharks, sometimes in schools of over 100. Other top sites in the region include Qab Miyum, Masamirit, and Loka, where the chance of seeing hammerheads and silky sharks is very high.
Sudan liveaboard trips typically run for 7 to 10 nights for cruises focused on the Far North and Central regions, with extended expeditions of 10 to 14 nights reaching the Deep South or combining with St. John's Reefs in Egypt. Departures are from Port Sudan or, less commonly, from Port Ghalib in Egypt for longer cross-border trips. The best conditions are between October and May, with calm seas and water temperatures around 26-28°C. The diving is deep, with strong currents at many sites, so a minimum of 50 logged dives is required, and 75 or more is recommended. For experienced divers looking for a frontier liveaboard destination, Sudan remains one of the most rewarding and unspoiled options in the Red Sea.
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Sudan Trips]
Combination Trips
Combination cruises offer a practical way to cover greater distances and experience more than one region in a single departure. The Egypt South and North/Central Sudan route is the most extensive combination, running for 10 to 14 nights and crossing into Sudanese waters. This expedition combines the southern Egyptian sites - Brothers, Daedalus, Elphinstone, St. John's, and Fury Shoals - with the Umbria wreck, Sanganeb Reef, and Shaab Rumi in Sudan. It offers a rare opportunity to dive 2 countries in a single trip, with encounters ranging from mantas, hammerheads and oceanic whitetips to thresher sharks and the historical Conshelf II underwater living accommodation.
These liveaboard trips require additional visas and clearance, which the operator handles, and a minimum of 75 logged dives is strongly recommended due to the deep, current-prone nature of the diving. The best conditions are between October and May, when the Sudanese waters are calmest and the big pelagics are most active. Trips depart from Port Ghalib in Egypt, with some also starting from Port Sudan, providing flexibility for scuba divers travelling from either country. For experienced divers seeking the ultimate Red Sea liveaboard adventure, this combination route delivers the best of both worlds: the renowned marine parks of Egypt and the frontier liveaboard diving of Sudan.
