The Red Sea is about 1.900 km long and up to 350 km but still widening at about 1,5 cm per year. Water temperature and high salinity provide an optimal environment. The clear water and sky assure that the sea is filled with light for perfect growth condition of tropical marine life. The coldest month of the year is January and the warmest are July and August. Diving from a liveaboard is the best and most comfortable way to explore the Red Sea with some of the most dramatic wall dives and coral gardens, plenty of marine life and not to forget some of the best wreck dives worldwide.
The Red Sea is a corridor of marvels - the happiest hours of my diving experience have been spent there. – Jacques-Yves Cousteau.
It is considered to be one of the 7 Wonders of the underwater world, with more than 2,000 species of invertebrates and over 200 species of soft and hard coral. This forms the basis of a marine eco-system which includes 1,100 species of fish, of which just less than 20% are endemic to the Red Sea, i.e. these fish species can only been found here.
The Red Sea dive sites offer you unobstructed opportunities to spot tropical marine life in crystal clear waters, ranging from sharks and dolphins to gorgonian fans and feather-stars. Variety is in no short supply either and depending on where you choose to dive. Your diving holiday can include shallow patch reefs, drift dives and walls, or a collection of some of the most interesting wrecks you are likely to find anywhere. In other places vibrant reefs stretch out far into the sea and form intricate labyrinths of plateaus, lagoons, caves and gardens.
Diving in Red Sea as a whole is a pretty special attraction and everyone has their own favorites. Egypt is the most popular place to dive on the Red Sea, diving areas from North to South such as Dahab, Sharm el Sheik, Hurghada and Marsa Alam. Dahab is the home to the world famous Blue Hole, one of the most popular dives for technical divers. Sharm el Sheikh on the Sinai Peninsula holds one of the best dives in the world, being the SS Thistlegorm World War II shipwreck, a world class wreck diving spot that really can't be beat.To the east at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba lies Tiran Island and the Strait of Tiran, famed for their superb reefs and large fish and shark action. The 4 reefs that made up the area of Tiran - Jackson Reef, Woodhouse Reef, Thomas Reef, Gordon Reef - are popular with adventurous divers. The coral reef plateaus are loaded with fish life and the deep wall drop offs offer the opportunity of encounters with hammerhead sharks, rays, pelagic fish and occasional tiger sharks. On Jackson Reef you are most likely to see hammerhead sharks from June to September. To the south lies Egypt's first marine national park - Ras Mohamed, with its colorful soft coral walls and buzzing marine life. And over on the west coast of the Sinai Peninsula but still easily accessed, is the Dunraven and the world famous SS ThistlegormWorld War II shipwrecks. No trip to the Red Sea would be complete without a dive or two here.
Whale shark season occurs from the end of May until the end of July when this majestic creature can be spotted mainly in the northern Red Sea.
The summer months from June to November are the best for spotting hammerhead sharks throughout the Red Sea from North to South. Heading further south to Hurghada offer you a starting point from which to explore the incredibly rich sites and pelagic shark action at the most famous Brother Islands, Elphinestone as well as Daedalus Reef which satisfy even the most experienced divers. The great diversity of corals and marine life makes this area one of the most famous and remarkable sites of the Red Sea. Occasionally, dugong can be spotted by divers off the coast of Marsa Alam such as Marsa Mubarak.
One of the very few places on the planet where you can experience a thrilling and unforgettable liveaboard diving are the Brother Islands of the Red Sea, accessible by liveaboard only as the exposed location in the middle of the Red Sea leaves it vulnerable to the whims of nature, especially the prevailing winds. This could make for challenging scuba conditions. However, once you meet the Brothers, the rewards certainly make the challenges worthwhile. The walls are completely overgrown with soft corals and huge forests of gorgonians. As the only significant reefs in the area, the Brothers offer the distinct opportunity to spot a variety of large pelagic fish not commonly found at other sites.
Big Brother, which is one-half of the Brother Islands, was named the second best dive site in the Red Sea and the ninth best dive site in the world by CNN since 2012. These areas in the south of Egypt are your best bet for encounters with Hammerhead sharks, Thresher sharks, Silvertip sharks, Manta rays and the iconic fish of the Red Sea - the Oceanic Whitetip Shark. These sharks prefer oceanic waters, far away from coral reefs. However, the Southern Red Sea reefs' close proximity to deep waters provides an ideal environment to bring divers close up to these and other pelagic sharks. Diving with Oceanic whitetip sharks is a rare event the world over.
To the deep south of Red Sea we will find the St. Johns reefs. Big and Small Habili with their fantastic drop offs overgrown with big gorgonians and colorful bright soft corals promise you to be a fantastic dive. Full of marine life at the reef itself as well as the blue where barracudas, different type of sharks, sometimes dolphins or manta passing by. On the way up we will pass by Sattaya, Hamata and Marsa Alam area. Don't miss the biggest cave of Red Sea - Shaa'b Claudio, the paradise of underwater photography. There is a great possibility to snorkel with spinner dolphins at the shallow reef of Abu Galawa in our Deep South route.
The Red Sea is a great place to scuba dive any time of year but water temperature varies quite a lot depending on the time of the year. From June to September, water temperature can reach a bath warm 30°C but drops as low as 22°C in February. Whereas the south have a subtropical desert climate with mild warm winters and hot summers.Best season to dive at Northern Red Sea: Suitable for all year round diving. Best and warmest months are from June to October
Best season to dive at Southern Red Sea: Best and warmest months are from May to November