Diving

A wide range of diverse marine life inhabits the Red Sea from tiny nudibranches to the largest fish, the Whale Shark.  This makes it an underwater photographer’s paradise as there is always something exciting and different to capture.  Like any area in the world there are better places and times to see certain species.  If you are a major Shark enthusiast then the Southern Liveaboard itineraries will definitely provide you the best chance to see a wide range of shark species. These sharks can include Grey Reef Sharks, White Tip Reef Sharks, Silky Sharks, Hammerhead Sharks, Thresher Sharks and the curious Oceanic White tip Shark.  A Brilliant site for these encounters are The Brothers Islands, with its resident Grey Reef Sharks, occasional Hammerheads and in the winter months the shy Thresher Shark.  Some top reefs are Elphinstone which is famous for common pelagic encounters including the Whale Shark in season and Daedalus which commonly has schooling hammerheads events at the right time of year.  All of these dive sites are offshore pinnacles and islands with dramatic reef walls down to 40m which then drop down to 100’s of meters deep which does mean strong currents and choppier seas, so you will have to be a more experienced diver to dive these sites and the only way is by liveaboard.

Another popular creature which is regularly seen on dives in the red sea is the Sea Turtle. The 2 most common species that can be seen year round are the Hawksbill and Green Turtle.  The Hawksbill can be seen in a lot of the dive sites from the north to the south.  The Green Turtles are seen less, but are almost guaranteed to be seen in the Southern dive site of Marsa Shouna, eating away at the bays sea grass.  In the same bay there are also regular sightings of a Dugong, but you do have to be lucky and keep an eye out.

The Red Sea offers more than just exhilarating and memorable marine encounters; it also offers a huge variety of wrecks with some very interesting history.  A lot of these wrecks can be penetrated, but before you do you should ensure you are experienced and confident enough with your general diving and in particular your buoyancy.  The main wreck location near Hurghada is Abu Nuhas.  This shipwreck graveyard is home to a diverse selection of wrecks that have run into the reef and sunk all very close to each other.  Another very famous wreck and a must dive in the North is definitely the wreck of the Thistlegorm.  This was a cargo ship which was bombed during the second world war and is now broken in half and sitting on the sea floor at 30m.  The wreck is such an interesting dive site as is still holds much of its cargo in the holds such as cars and motorbikes; it is also becoming an artificial reef and is host to a large amount of marine life.

Day trips

Hurghada serves a host of dive sites which you can reach from day boats and liveaboards.  There is also a huge variation in type of dive that you can take part in from famous historic wreck dives, spectacular wall dives, and colourful reef dives full of diverse marine life.  This means that it does truly cater for every divers experience and interests.  When you choose to dive Hurghada the first decision you need to make is land based or liveaboard.  Both options allow you to dive exciting and popular sites but if you do want to visit areas that you cannot reach by day boat, and are therefore less crowded and tend to have a greater chance of seeing exciting marine life then a liveaboard is the only way to do this.

Liveaboards 

Liveaboards from Hurghada visit the north and south.  There are many choices of itineraries to choose from so you will need to research the routes for each before you make a decision to ensure you pick one best suited to your level and interests.  A point to consider when doing this is that a lot of liveaboard itineraries also do have a minimum dive quantity and minimum experience level required.  They are also completely dive focussed not really suitable to nondivers as the general day is dive, eat, sleep, dive, eat, sleep and so on with up to 4 dives a day. 

Getting there

Hurghada has an international airport which provides flights to many European destinations and domestic flights to other Egyptian cities.