Egypt is known for some amazing diving spots. Most people go diving in the Red Sea because the marine life is just indescribable. Besides diving in the Red Sea, you need to know that the northern coastline of Egypt is also worth a dive. So, this means that you can also dive around Alexandria (diving in the Mediterranean), which is like diving into Egypt’s historical past.
In this blog I will discuss the following:
Egypt is a beautiful country that has a lot of history, friendly people, delicious food, etc. and it’s an amazingly beautiful diving destination. There are a lot of other beautiful diving destinations in Egypt. The red marks are diving destinations. You can sleep at one diving destination and do day tours to other destinations, so you don’t have to move every day.
Diving around Alexandria
In the Mediterranean you can find remains of Cleopatra’s palace around the island of Antirhodos (which is sunken) and a lot more. There is so much to discover if you’re diving around Alexandria, you can read everything about this here.
Diving around this area can be categorized into four different kinds of dives: Eastern Harbor and near the shore, the east of the city, Omu Sukan and the Siwa Oasis.
- The Eastern harbor and near to the shore
In this area you’ll find ancient ruins from the Romans, Greeks and the pharaohs. Like I mentioned earlier, here you’ll find the area in Cleopatra’s Underwater City. Other ancient diving sites in this area are Fort Qaitbey and Lighthouse. - The east of the city
Here you’ll find a couple of wrecks from Napoleonic-era Battle of the Nile. - Omu Sukan
This is Alexandria’s wildlife dive because at this diving site you’ll find a lot of curious eagle rays, it could be that the white-tip reef shark also passes by. - Siwa Oasis
A dive that is a three hours drive west from Alexandria. It’s a dive in the middle of the Sahara Desert, how awesome is that? Here you will find the remains of a Roman construction.
Diving around Alexandria can be challenging because the visibility in the area is often less than five meters. This area is not known for the marine life but more for the ancient statues underwater. Read more about what to do around Alexandria and when to dive around Alexandria here.
Diving in the Red Sea
We went diving in the Red Sea which is unbelievable. You should go diving there at least once in your life. To read more about our experience read the blog Diving in the Red Sea of Egypt. In this blog I’m going to divide the Red Sea into two parts: The North side and the South side.
The North Red Sea
I will discuss the following places: Ras Gharib, Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab, El Gouna & Strait of Gubal and of course Hurghada.
Ras Gharib
At this place there are numerous shipwrecks, a lot of which hasn’t yet been mapped. Curious divers can discover these waters. These dives are mostly for divers who are eager to explore new dive sites. At the moment of writing, four big wrecks have been mapped in this region. You can read all about this dive site here.
Sharm El Sheikh
Here you’ll find over 30 local dive sites and a lot of liveaboard options. This diving destination is so popular because you’ll have it all: wrecks, reefs and walls, etc. there is so much to explore in this area. There are so many exciting sites in Ras Mohamed National Park.
You can also do a lot of day trips from here to the SS Thistlegorm, the SS Dunraven, the Straits of Titan and also Dahab. You can read all about diving in Sharm El Sheiks here.
So, you have the Ras Mohammed National Park. Here you have some amazing coral formations and its great wall diving.
Sharm El Sheikh is mostly known for wreck diving. They say that the best wreck dive in the world is the Thistlegorm Wreck. The Thistlegorm Wreck reached the surface of the Red Sea on 6 October 1941. It was a 128 meters long steamship built in England by Joseph Thompson & Son and it was named after the national flower from Scotland, Thistlegorm means ‘Blue Thistle’. The final voyage was in June 1941, it was a trip to the US, Argentina and West Indies.
To avoid enemies in the Mediterranean, the ship was detouring around South Africa’s coast. The Thistlegorm stopped at Sha’ab Ali because they were waiting for the clearance of the Suez Canal after a tanker struck a mine. At that point two German planes were following a mission (a failed mission), they dropped bombs that created a chain reaction with ammunition cargo that teared the Thistlegorm apart.
Most people were rescued from this ship. If you want to go diving there, I suggest to do more than one dive, and have some experience before you get started. We read that dive operators usually ask a minimum of PADI Advanced Open Water and you need more than 20 logged dives.
The Straits of Tiran has four pristine reef systems, pelagic species, deep walls. It’s a piece of paradise. This place is for advanced divers because of the strong currents and deeper sites, but there is also much for the beginners to explore. The water is crystal clear and there are four coral reefs in a line at this place: Jackson Reef, Woodhouse Reef, Thomas Reef and Gordon Reef. If you want to know more from this diving destination you can read it on this website.
Dahab
Is a well known diving spot because it is famous for the Dahab Blue Hole. We heard that It’s amazing and you must go diving there at least once in your lifetime. Anyway, Dahab has a lot more to offer than the Blue Hole, you can also visit the Canyon and a lot of other great shore diving locations. This diving destination is suitable for beginners, technical and advanced divers. You can read more about diving in Dahab here.
El Gouna & Strait of Gubal
These two dive areas offer shipwreck diving, pristine coral reefs and colorful underwater life. In the neighborhood you’ll find many dive sites including El Gouna, which is perfect to learn how to dive but is also a challenging place for technical divers. Within easy reach there are around 40 dive sites. Abu Nuhas reef is the most famous one near this place. There are also a lot of wreck dives, read all about this place here.
Hurghada
This is the second biggest diving destination in Egypt. Here you have good conditions to learn scuba diving and there are four beautiful wrecks to explore in Abu Nuhas Reef. You can read more about this destination here.
The South Red Sea
In the South of the Red Sea there are some amazing places to go diving like Safaga & Makadi Bay, El Quseir, Abu Dabbab, Marsa Alam, Fury Shoals and John’s, Zabargad & Rocky Island.
Safaga & Makadi Bay
Here you can do some famous eerie wreck dives, there is a lot of marine life and protected coral. It’s perfect for divers who want to explore everything the Red Sea has to offer. It’s the third most popular scuba diving area (after Sharm al-Sheikh and Hurghada). You can read everything about this area here.
El Quseir
This place is quieter and calmer, it’s also perfect to relax on a beach. There are different diving sites for every dive level. Read everything about this place here.
Abu Dabbab
Here you can dive with the rare and endangered Dugong and with a lot of giant Green Sea Turtles. They love to roam here because of the seagrass that grows here. The coral here is also vibrant and colorful. Floating next to a turtle in the sea is an experience I wish everybody could have at least once in a lifetime.
Marsa Alam
Here you can stay and do a lot of different dives over the area; it’s called the best diving in Egypt.
There are different daytrips from this area, for example you can do a day trip to Elphinstone Reef, it’s a famous dive site with caves, plateaus, swift current and a lot of exotic marine life. You can see colorful corals but also oceanic whitetip sharks and schooling hammerheads, so there is a lot to see and do there. Read about this area here.
Fury Shoals
This diving spot is famous for being the most pristine Reefs of Egypt. From here you also have the possibility to swim with Dolphins at the Dolphins House reef!
John’s, Zabargad & Rocky Island
These three remote destinations have amazing biodiversity, crystal clear water and beautiful corals. There are not many divers who make it to this destination, so that’s amazing. Read everything about this area here. Really check this one out because it’s a ‘secret’ destination, meaning it’s not that known.
If you want to read more about our experience diving in the Red Sea, read the blog Diving in the Red Sea of Egypt,
