Where shall we go today?
Whether teaching or guiding... this is where I'm diving. If you are planning a trip out here or sat at work remembering one, I hope this takes you down into the blue and away from the office for a while...
Shaab Petra
Shaab Ishtaar
Erg Ali
Umm Gamar
Shaabruhr Umm Gamar
Carless Reef
Shaab Iris
El Fanadir
Suzanna/Excalibur
El Mina
Torfa Fanous East
Turtle Bay
Hamda/Um Dom/Stone Beach
Shaab Sabina
Erg Sabina
Banana Reef
Ben El Gebel
Erg Somaya
Small Giftun/Small Giftun Drift
Abu Ramada East
Erg Abu Ramada
Abu Ramada South
El Aruk Gigi/The Magic Mushrooms
Gota Abu Ramada West
Gota Abu Ramada East
Ras Disha
Abu Haschish
Salem Express
Carnatic, Abu Nuhas
Ghiannis D, Abu Nuhas
Let's start where you are likely to! Shaab Petra whether North or South has got to be one of the most well designed Open Water Course training sites in the universe. Simple round reefs with plenty of sand to kneel on around the edges. Max depth of about 11m, no current, easy mooring and loads of fishies. What to see - lion fish, goat fish, parrot fish nibbling at the coral, scorpionfish - if you are eagle eyed, even the odd moray. Not to mention lots of slightly wobbly looking new divers with huge eyes gaping at their first glimpse of the Red Sea's underwater magic. Even better if you come back at night....
The name means "cream of the reefs" and whilst that maybe a little over the top, Ishtaar is kind of pretty. A figure of eight shape of two coral blocks and a maximum depth of about 12m this is another good training site, night dive or afternoon cool off.
The northern erg is home to a picture perfect anenome and clownfish whilst the block in the turtle grass off to the west quite often houses a beautifully evil looking yellow margin moray complete with shrimps happily cleaning his teeth. Once again goatfish are everywhere.
Watch out for the current if you do the figure of eight swim in between the ergs but otherwise not much can spoil a dive at Ishtaar.
Ok I am not going to pretend this is a great site but I might have taken you there on a training dive so we can't miss it out. Erg Ali is a big round erg (coral block) close to Hurghada, named after a big round instructor who some of you may know. Not exactly beautiful or bristling with life but it does have a convenient drop down to 30m for deeper training dives and more than enough to amuse you for 25 minutes or so. Also home to millions of scorpionfish, counted 16 on my last dive there (but there isn't that much else to look at...)
Moving on to daily dive sites and up far north to Umm Gamar, a crescent shaped island and thus named "mother of the moon" in Arabic. This site can be dived in various ways but most usually we drop in at the south side and make our way up towards the north, reef on the left, having a look at the various coral towers decorating the reef wall like flying buttresses on an Olde English castle (what exactly is a flying buttress?). The braver amongst us may also have investigated the cave at 27m, ask me about the stories when you are here but there is rumoured to be gold inside..... Everyone else simply takes in the spectacle of the reef "breathing" as the air from those inside comes bubbling out gently through the reef in a stunning silver stream. A deep site and a good place to see bigger life, get there early and do it on a non windy day if you suffer from the motion of the ocean.
Just south of Umm Gamar, Shaabruhr is often a good one to try on the way home for a bit of shark spotting. A grey reef shark calls this place home and can often be found around the plateau where there is also a fairly broken up wreck at about 32m. Deeper still there are, allegedly, a couple of great wrecks but you need to be a techie to find them. Nice erg too on the western side if the shark doesnt turn up to be the highlight of your dive!
The old joke is that there are no sunken automobiles here but sorry other than that I don't know where the name comes from. Carless (not careless) is a medium sized erg in the middle of nowhere up north, quite exposed and therefore only diveable in good weather. Previously one of the best reefs in the area, Carless has suffered dreadfully from damage by the Crown of Thorns starfish whose acid destroys the coral. So, we no longer come here for the coral life but Carless had a plan B..... SHARKS!! one of the best places to spot a white tip or three within daily boat range of Hurghada. They are in the deep water around the northern side so keep away if you saw Jaws at too early an age..... and remember... a dolphin is only a shark with a smile!
Part of the larger Abu Nugar group of coral blocks, Shaab Iris is a pretty afternoon type dive just west of Umm Gamarr. Depth is up to about 15m. The reef itself is very pretty around the northern side with an extremely photogenic short cut back to the boat across the top at about 5m. The ergs to the northwest are also a photographers paradise and play host to several turtles and an extremely friendly Napoleon Wrasse. Current between the ergs is sometimes a problem but keep low, hide behind them and you will be fine.
Several miles long, El Fanadir is a long strip of reef stretching from north to south almost parallel with Hurghada down town. The reef wall comes down to about 12m before stretching out into a sandy plateau about 40m wide. This then drops off at 22m into the deep blue (or green depending on the weather). Not much on the drop off but the reef is one of the most beautiful in the area. Spotted the biggest stone fish ever on the reef wall last week, a pair of mating white tips on the plateau a couple of weeks ago and octopus making babies on nearly every dive at the moment, there is always something worth writing home about (or putting in your log). Keep some air to enjoy the shallow bit, the top 5m are the best.... or go snorkelling afterwards. Or both...
Need a wreck dive? Don't want to go far... where better than the Suzanna, conveniently sunk just off the Chill Bar and within swimming distance of my place. Well, on a good day.. The Suzanna (or more correctly The Excalibur) was a safari boat that sank in 1995 and now lies at about 20m in the harbour near Sekalla. Still very intact, full of glassfish, with lionfish posing on the bowsprit and soft corals growing all over the place, the Suzanna is also rumoured to be the home of Hurghada's only sea horses... now there's a good reason to dive it!
looking for seahorses... upside down
It's a massive warship, it's at 30m, it's in the harbour, it's very difficult to find. El Mina amazes me purely because it sooo huge and we have such trouble locating it. If we found it when you were here feel honoured. Did this as one of my first ever Red Sea dives and the image of a 70m grey minesweeper looming up out of the blue has never quite left me. Spooky.... Don't touch anything, it's full of live shells...
On the edge of the Giftun Islands Marine Park, Torfa Fanous simply means "Reef with a lighthouse" which is what it is. About 45 minutes from Hurghada it is a narrow reef with a few interesting pinnacles and a reasonable coral garden. Moor up to the south or even better, drift it. Also home to the occasional dolphin, allegedly....
A fairly complicated dive to navigate with lots of up and overs, ins and outs, Turtle Bay is nevertheless worth the brain work on a good viz day (or just follow the guide's fins). Someone has even gone as far as building arrows on the sea bed to show you the way.
Before you go up to get through the reef wall take a look down at the clownfish in the brightest red anenome in Hurghada. Frogfish have also been seen here, but no turtles.
Even better, drift it. Also home to the occasional dolphin, allegedly....
A site with three names, Hamda is on the north east side of Giftun Kebir just under the cliffs, one of which appears to have a lion's head carved in it if you approach from a distance. A deep dive on a steep-ish reef wall with good opportunities for looking out into the blue.. that old dive guide cliché. If you do you might see tuna, jackfish, turtles and millions of lunar fusiliers flashing by in a streak of blue and silver. On the wall and plateau keep your eyes peeled for octopus, scorpionfish and morays. Saw a whaleshark here this summer but that was a VERY special event. Not much current and dead easy to navigate!
We are now right in the middle of the Marine Park (that will be an extra $2 please!) at one of my all time favourite drift dives. Jump in just above the coral bar and take it easy as you drift at max 12m over acres and acres of coral garden. Weave in and out, left and right, east and west, even up and over a little then amaze your buddy (or guests) by miraculously sneaking off west and finding yourself at the reef just in time to turn off for the moorings. Broomtail wrasse, every type of parrotfish known to man (and some not), turtles, clownfish, surgeonfish but mainly coral, coral and yet more coral. If there are just a few of you nip into the lagoon for some sunbathing in its warm waters but whatever you do don't forget to visit George, Georgina and Georgette, the morays who live under the boats.
reef top at sabina.. don't want to go back up!
Right next to Shaab Sabina, you might even drift onto it by accident. A photogenic erg with an even more interesting fire coral garden to the west side. Plagued by current but worth it if fire coral, angel fish and nudibranchs are your thing. Good place to take a camera.
Also called Dragonfly Reef, this small u shaped reef lies in between the Giftun Islands and pretty much everything that lives in the marine park passes it by at some time or other. Spectacular erg off to the west with shoals of glassfish and sweeperfish flashing in and out of the coral as the jackfish hunt their lunch. Anthias (goldfish!), Emperor Angelfish, Turtles, Eagle Rays, Soft Corals, nudibranchs and sleep puffers lying on the sand. A strong current to do battle with on the way out but beautiful lazy drift back, about 12m max.
Right next to Banana Reef and similar but easier to get lost or caught in a current. At least 5 ergs to explore or just stay on the nearest 3 if you have a camera or are just feeling lazy. Good site for watching the jackfish hunt, also large groups of clown fish in their anenomes, the odd napoleon wrasse and some impressive overhangs. Navigate with care though and remember which erg you are on....
One of my favourites but you do need experienced divers to take it on.... just north of the usual Giftun Drift drop in Erg Somaya is a couple of sandy ledges playing host to one "normal" roundish erg and two that are almost exact pyramids. The sand gives way to a dramatic drop off complete with chimney style cave and tumbling depths into the bluest of blues you have ever seen. Soft corals are draped over the pyramid ergs like feather boas on ladies at the smart kind of evenings that just don't happen to me these days. The light through the gorgonian fans provides the perfect screensaver photo to take home to the office. Strong current and what a drop-off, possibly not one for your 5th or 6th dive but then there has to be something to look forward to!
Probably the most famous dive in Hurghada. Giftun Drift is stunning and can be challenging. Dropping in to the east of Small Giftun Island we drift over plateaus and drop offs, past gorgonian fans, caves, tunnels and coral towers populated by everyone and everything to be seen in the red sea. Napoleons, Morays, Octopus, Blue Spotted Rays,Turtles, even Sharks if you are up early in the morning. With less experienced groups we sometimes dive the far end as a moored dive, again with a chance to peak over the drop off and catch sight of most of the life you can see on the drift.
The island of Abu Ramada is surrounded by excellent dive sites, well protected from most weathers and extremely popular with local dive centres.. hence often quite busy. The east side is home to the "igloo", a box shaped cave at about 18m full of glassfish and surrounded by lionfish. The rest of the dive is a reef wall, look closely for scorpionfish, stonefish and octopus.
Often slightly less busy as not so many mooring lines, Er Abu Ramada is on the southeast side of the main island and consists of 3 ergs rising from the sea bed from about 18m to just beneath the surface. Surrounded by a coral garden but a dive in themselves, the ergs really are a photographer's paradise. Caves, overhangs, clouds of anthias and crawling with morays, pretty much everything you could want to see but not always diveable as quite exposed.
Something for everyone, shallow sandy bottom for students, plunging reef wall off to the north for deep freaks, even a tiny wreck at 5m for the perfect safety stop. Abu Ramada South is not exactly crawling with beautiful marine life but is does offer all the options you could ever need for a dive! It does have loads of morays, crocodile fish, sweetlips, goatfish and all all kinds of small reef fish near the surface though. Dive the east side for depth the west for shallow, the middle for both. Busy but for a good reason.
Heaven in a dive site. This is my favourite... easy, pretty as anything and crawling with every type of reef life. Gigi is a long row of coral blocks at about 10m, each different from the last and covered in soft corals, hard corals, cute little pepper morays peeking out from holes, scorpionfish lurking below, anthias above and Jaws the clownfish that bites divers in her anenome ready to attack the unwitting (unbriefed?) diver who dares tease her. Go there (but don't tell anyone how good it is or it will be mobbed.. whoops!!)
A busy site but not without good reason. Shallow, 15m max, but dramatic none the less with two huge coral towers shooting up to the surface from the sea bed just west of the reef. Populated with stonefish, scorpionfish, crocodilefish and all the small stuff too the mere architecture of the coral above you is worth the dive alone, not to mention the colours and textures of the life that wraps them up. If the current is gently head up north over the coral garden too before making your way back around the reef. Watch out for murderous triggerfish lurking under the mooring area. Apparently they only bite fins but I've seen the look on their faces and keep well away.....
Where are we again?
Best done as a drift, this site is about 100m from Gota West but couldn't be more different. This time we have coral gardens, fire coral mainly and pinnacles, boulder corals and fan corals. Drop in just north of the reef by the big erg into the clearest bluest viz you get around here and enjoy the solitude before you drift around into the main dive site area. Also known as "yellow fish reef" this is home to sweetlips, shoals of butterflyfish, bannerfish, goatfish and everything yellow. Once again beware of the triggerfish especially in September when they are nesting. Beautiful, shallow, easy afternoon womble of a dive.
Now we are getting quite far south... Ras Disha is a small bay about 90 minutes south of Hurghada and this time for once it is not the reef that is interesting but the ergs that form a neat circular dive at the back of the boat. About 12m max and you can take in all three ergs and the clownfish with babies that live in the turtle grass to the north. The erg nearest the boat has a richly populated cave at about 5m that tunnels right through the coral, spend your safety stop peering in at the glassfish and sweeperfish but watch out for scorpion fish and lionfish hiding on the coral. At Ras Disha even the sand it interesting, look out for sea moths, crocodile fish, blue spotted rays and hard-to-spot flatfish. If you are going deeper to have a look at the drop off say hi to the two giant puffers that hang out there with hang dog faces taking in the day.... if they're not there I'll buy you a Stella.
About as far as we get south on a daily boat, Abu Haschish is a small island that was once a handy drop off for smugglers. ("If you find any bring it back and share it!"). The dive offers several options, a drift down the reef wall then back up into the lagoon through the narrow channel or a wander out over the plateau to the drop off not forgetting the erg that hangs there at 18m posing for photos in front of that deepest of blues. Everything lives here, squid, flatfish and blue spotted rays, white tips and tuna, anthias and morays, barracuda and nudibranchs. That's more than enough to be going on with.
An early morning and special trip from Hurghada, the Salem Express is a modern wreck of a ferry that sank about ten years ago with much loss of life. Bringing pilgrims back from Mecca to the port at Safaga, she sank in minutes, or even seconds in December 1991 taking at least 500 down with her. The ferry took a short cut and hit a reef knocking the bow doors open in much the same way as the sinking of the Herald of Free Enterprise at Zeebrugge (in fact there is a rumour that she is the Herald of Free Enterprise, raised and sold off to an Egyptian company).
It is a poignant, emotional dive, not the kind where you get up and want someone to say "enjoy that?". You will see all kinds of things that are not totally easy to cope with, suitcases, game boys, stereos, clothes, blankets and all the trapppings of modern travel but the overall impression is one of respect for those who were lost and anger at the stupidity of the design of these vessels. You will need to make your own decision as to whether or not this is your kind of dive, I wasn't sure but having been there I would say it is the most memorable site I have dived and an important one. Recommended but show some respect and don't go inside.
The notorious reef of Abu Nuhas is about 3 hours north of Hurghada and visited by most dive centres once a week as a special trip. We tend to dive the Carnatic in the morning. She was a steam/sail vessel working for P&O between Suez and India and hit the reef in 1869. Fairly intact with just some damage to the central area, the Carnatic lies between 20 and 30m. Her wooden decks have rotted away to make penetration easy and she is surrounded by the remnants of her cargo, mainly wine bottles. The gold bullion that was also on board has mysteriously disappeared. Take care to visit the rudder area and look back at her beautiful Spanish Galleon style stern view.
Nearby the Carnatic, the Ghiannis D was a cargo vessel that sank in April 1983. The stern section is the most intact and lies at about 25m. This is an excellent area for photographs with lots of superstructure quite shallow so plenty of light. The wreck lies at a strange angle which does give you a feeling of vertigo and disorientation if you hang around it too long, or if you go inside. There are a number of entry points but not much to see inside. As with all the wrecks at Abu Nuhas, Dolphins and Napoleon Wrasse are often in the area.
