The Dive Sites of Hurghada, Red Sea

25 August 2022

Where is the best diving near Hugahda?

Find a flight to Hurghada

The area is well looked after thanks to the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA). They have, for instance, installed a boat mooring system to protect the reefs and wrecks from boat anchors.

Where is Hurghada?

Hurghada is located just below the Sinai peninsula. Until the early '80s it was a small fishing village but has grown to become a large resort town. You can fly directly to Hurghada from many European countries.

Photo credit: Garry Frazer

When to dive Hurghada?

Red Sea Reef, Photo credit: Tim Nicholson.

Security

Enhanced security measures are in place in the tourist resorts of Sharm el Sheikh and Hurghada. Security forces are situated at the international airports, at check points around the perimeter of the towns and throughout the Governorates. Routine security checks are being performed on entry into the airport and the police are carrying out vehicle checks in the towns. See the Egypt Foreign Travel Advice page for more details. You are always advised to take out comprehensive travel and medical insurance which covers diving before you travel.

Napoleon or Humphead Wrasse. Photo credit: Tim Nicholson.

Visa

Tourists need a visa to visit Hurghada. You can get this on arrival by payment in Sterling, US Dollars or Euros. The cost is US$25 at approved bank kiosks within airport arrival halls, before reaching immigration. There's no need to buy a visa from an agent in arrivals who often charge more than the US$25 for the visa. However, the queues for the agents will be shorter - you may wish to take this option to speed things up. Your passport should be valid for a minimum period of 6 months from the date of entry into Egypt. There are direct flights to Hurghada from most European countries. If you can't get a direct flight then fly to Cairo with EgyptAir and change there. As long as you book straight through you shouldn't have any problems with the transfer. If you do this buy your visa in Cairo airport: don't wait until you get to Hurghada. (Note: if travelling just to Sharm el Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba or Taba resorts you don't need to buy a visa, but for Hurghada you do.) Your passport should be valid for a minimum period of 6 months from the date of entry into Egypt.

There are plenty of ATMs in Hurghada so getting money out is no problem.

Where to Stay

There are zillions of hotels in Hurghada, for all price ranges. Your dive centre will often help you book one, or you can book online - we use agoda.com as they are reliable and price match other sites.

Dive Sites of Hurghada • Recommended dive operators in Hurghada • Other Areas of the Red Sea

Dive Sites of Hurghada

For details of the wrecks near Hurghada see the Northern Wrecks page: Thistlegorm, Carnatic, Ghiannis D, Chrisoula K, Kimon M, Barge at Bluff Point, Ulysses, Rosalie Moeller, Dunraven, Kingston, Salem Express…

Carless Reef is around 14 km north east of Hurghada, between Shaab Umm Qamar and Giftun island. It is 200 m long with the reef top being at just a couple of metres. Expect to see giant moray eels and white tip reef sharks. The reef has two pinnacles at 12 m.

A ledge at 12 m slopes down to a drop-off starting at 22 m. One of Hurghada's largest coral reefs. It has been a marine protected area since 2006.¹

Photo credit: Tim Nicholson.

You can dive the east or west side of El Fanus. It is also known as dolphin reef as you often see bottle nose dolphins here.

Also called Fanous reef - at the east side are two small pinnacles, the furthermost is the prettiest. Shoals of glass fish and you might see the very interesting spotted snake eel, Mytiuhthys nawlosus. Many divers think this fish is a sea snake - but there are no sea snakes in the Red Sea.

When diving the west side, navigate straight across to the outside of the reef. This is where the dolphins sometimes hang out and sometimes sharks.

Spotted Snake Eel at El Fanus. Photo: Jill Studholme.

The Giftun islands are opposite Hurghada. They have been a marine protectorate since 1986 and divers need to pay 20L.E (Egyptian pounds) to go there. This money goes to maintaining the national parks. There are restrictions on how many boats are allowed.

Off the northern end of Giftun island.

Coral gardens at the west and east points of this reef. It has been a Marine Protected area since:1986. The east side is very impressive. A real coral garden with mounds of column corals. Very beautiful porites mountain coral. It can get very busy with divers though. ¹

A coral plateau and a lovely wall with coral and gorgonia. A small island east of Hurghada.

Another place to see giant morays. A sandy slope leads to a coral wall. This is 15 km south east of Hurghada.

A little way from Shabrur. Umm Gamar is a cresent-shaped island with a lighthouse. A reef stretches out from it giving a very pretty dive reaching a small org at around 22 m. The dive is around 90 minutes from Hughada. The name Umm Gamar means mother of the moon.

Go here for details about the beautiful Safaga and Soma Bay dive sites

Our 10 days in Soma Bay was just wonderful. It's just north of Safaga, about 45 km south of Hurghada. It's on a little peninsular, and at the moment there's hardly anything else there. Given the usual Egyptian approach to these things however, I guess it will be looking like Sharm el Sheikh 10 years from now. There are so few divers and the hard corals are still in great condition. Deepest dive I did was 38 m
Matthew Moore

References
¹AZIAB

Further Reading

Here are three useful books on your trip.

Shipwrecks from the Egyptian Red Sea

by Ned Middleton, Hardback, Immel Publishing, 196 pages, 2006.
The author spent over 8 years engaged in dedicated research into the many shipwrecks which are found in this part of the world. There are nineteen major featured shipwrecks - including two which are only recently discovered. These are followed by brief details of another eighteen vessels which were too small to be classified as ships - tugboats, barges etc. Finally, there are brief details of approx. 250 additional vessels that are either not yet discovered, far too deep for scuba divers or never even existed.

Coral Reef Guide Red Sea

by Ewald Lieske and Robert Myers, Collins, 384 Pages, Paperback (2012)
Coral Reef Guide Red Sea covers all common species of underwater life of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, you are likely to see while diving or snorkelling. Each species is illustrated with a full-colour photograph and the text gives details of range and characteristic behaviour. A map of good dive sites appears on the inside front cover. Includes jellyfish, corals, nudibranchs, starfish, sea urchins, fishes and turtles. An excellent sea life guide which I always take to the Red Sea

Hurghada: Diving Guide and Integrated Logbook

by Rik Vercoe, Travelling Diver, (2008)
A great little guide and money well spent if you are going to Hurghada. Read our review.

Note: If you buy any book through one of these links, the SCUBA Travel site earns a commission (at no extra cost to yourself). Thank you for making your purchases from here and helping to support this site.

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