Question First trip to Red Sea for a experienced diver

[taty_nz]

Hi fellow divers!

After years delaying a trip to the Red Sea, I can not wait anymore and I'm trying to put together a trip for 2025.

The info I found in SB is mostly for Open Water Divers travelling to the Red Sea for first time, but if you were a very experienced diver looking for the best reefs and dive sites in Egypt, where would you go?

What I imagine when I think of the Red Sea are the most pristine reefs full of colourful fish like an aquarium.

I also like macro, and the idea of seeing hammerheads and dolphins are also super fun! ( I have never seen a hammerhead so that would be awesome!).

Diving SS Thistlegorm is a must. I'm divided if I should do a day tour to Thistlegorm from Hurgada and then a LOB to the BDE route.

Or instead dive Elphinstone reef from Marsa Alam and then a LOB to the Northern route. Or is diving from sharm el sheikh a better option?

After diving, I would like to add a few days visiting Luxor, Abu Simber and Cairo, so I prefer diving from Hurgada side, but my preference is to visit the best dive sites, I can adapt the land tour afterwards.

I will be a solo woman travelling to Egypt so I would like have everything arranged before arrival.

Thank a lot and happy diving!

Taty

My dates are flexible, but I was thinking on September 2025.

Also what live aboard would you suggest? After my research I found its not uncommon that boats catch fire, I would like to book something basic but with the best professionals on board and good ships.

 

[JustSurfaceInterval]

I guess that you came across requests from OWD askng where to go. The "very experienced" one did not asked (whatever "very experienced" means - topic for another thread...).
Regarding your reserch about boats catching fire, i would like to see what you found in terms of statistics proving that is more likely in the Red Sea than in other parts of the world. And of course the ration of boats on fire to boats safely back in harbour after 1 or 2 weeks.
Sorry, me being chatty...
Recommendations? be warned: everyone will name your their preferance, you will have to look and sort out.
Here my hints:
* Hurghada: Dive with James & Mac to the wrecks North of HRG incl. the Thistlegorm
* Near Hurghada: The Breakers and ORCA Dive in Soma Bay: Nice house reef from the jetty and stunning dive spots on half or full day boat trips incl. Salem Express Wreck. For "most pristine reefs full of colourful fish like an aquarium" take a tour to Panorama Reef or one of the others fullday trips.
* Marsa Alam: Marsa Shagra, the ultimate eat- sleep - dive - repeat location with real unlimited diving from shore/by Zodiac. Top spots like the Abu Dabbabs (Red Sea Feelings and Dugongs) and Elphinstone (Longimanus are regulars, with some luck: hammerheads, mantas, whale shark), are serviced by zodiac.
Unfortunately my last LOB was several years ago, so no first hand experience.

 

[BoltSnap]

* Marsa Alam: Marsa Shagra, the ultimate eat- sleep - dive - repeat location with real unlimited diving from shore/by Zodiac. Top spots like the Abu Dabbabs (Red Sea Feelings and Dugongs) and Elphinstone (Longimanus are regulars, with some luck: hammerheads, mantas, whale shark), are serviced by zodiac.

1. Would diving out of Marsa Shagra get repetitive after few days of diving there or is there a good variety of marine life for a 1 - 2 week stay there? (I am talking from an UW photographer's point of view).

2. Is there anywhere else you recommend besides Marsa Shagra in or near Marsa Alam with great diving from shore or is Marsa Shagra it?

 

[JustSurfaceInterval]

1. if you are into Macro, you anyway only need 1 m²...
In Marsa Shagra you have shore in - shore out, zodiac out - shore in and zodiac out - zodiac in for the North and for the South side of the house reef. So, these are 6 options with a lot of square meters. We spend 2 weeks there, my ex-girlfriend is into video and foto and we (she!) did not get bored. And had 2 x 40 GB SIM Cards for editing and saving in the cloud...
2. if not Marsa Shagra, we would return to Equinox Divers at Three Corners Equinox, or go further south e.g . Wadi Lahmy or Marsa Nakari.

 

[BoltSnap]

Equinox Divers at Three Corners Equinox

This place?

Equinox Beach Resort**** - Three Corners Hotels & Resorts

Experience a comfortable family hotel in the natural eco-system of El Nabaa Bay, where lush gardens and classic architecture create a blend of laid-back atmosphere and refined elegance. Little ones will have their own adventure with the children's swimming area, Kids' Club, and engaging...

threecorners.com

 

[JustSurfaceInterval]

This place?

Equinox Beach Resort**** - Three Corners Hotels & Resorts

Experience a comfortable family hotel in the natural eco-system of El Nabaa Bay, where lush gardens and classic architecture create a blend of laid-back atmosphere and refined elegance. Little ones will have their own adventure with the children's swimming area, Kids' Club, and engaging...

threecorners.com

Yes. Hotel is average... but diving makes up for it...

 

[MB NZ]

Based on many trips to Egypt over the years, if you are an experienced diver, I think a liveaboard is the only way to go. I think this is somewhat true the world over. The possible exception is self-guided diving at places like Mara Shagra if that appeals to you. The diving is nice, but tame.

To take it a step further, southern itineraries tend to attract more experienced divers, so there is more freedom to dive how you want to dive. If you want to dive the Thistlegorm and the other wrecks, then you will have to do an itinerary that takes in the north. Large animal sightings are more common in the south.

It might be tempting to do a "North & Brothers" itinerary to get the best of both worlds. I've done it a couple of times and wouldn't recommend it as you spend a lot of time diving reefs in the north which are nice, but not the best that Egypt has to offer. The obvious answer is to do two back-to-back liveaboards!

Whatever you decide, find out exactly how diving is organised on the boat you intend to book. I had quite a disappointing experience last year because nearly every dive was guided and the groups were too big.

 

[rmorgan]

Regarding your reserch about boats catching fire, i would like to see what you found in terms of statistics proving that is more likely in the Red Sea than in other parts of the world. And of course the ration of boats on fire to boats safely back in harbour after 1 or 2 weeks.

I'm no statistician, but it certainly seems that there have been more Red Sea boats burnt than other regions. And it turns out that this is apparently so. There are some decent data sources available.

First, by destination, liveaboard,com books for 324 boats. By region:

Australia 20
Egypt 81
Galapagos 56
Indonesia 90
Maldives 47
Thailand 30

A report, A Decade of Liveaboard Losses, was recently published by Undercurrent. It details 23 liveaboard "losses" from January 2012 to April 2024. Of these, eight (35%) were in Egypt; five (22%) were in Indonesia, two were in the Philippines, two in Thailand, and one each each in the waters of the United States (although it was the Conception, with 34 lost souls--well more than all other losses in the report combined), Mexico, Micronesia, Fiji, Belize, and Palau.

The Liveaboard.com numbers show more boats in Indonesia than any other region, with Egypt second. Assuming the 81 number is something of a constant for Egypt, and the 90 number something of a constant for Indonesia, ~10% of Egyptian boats were lost over a 10-year period, while ~5.5% of Indonesian boasts were lost.

So, taking these numbers at face value, Egypt has something like 25% of the liveaboards, and 35% of the casualties in the report. My reading of the report is that among the 23 losses, there were 13 fires (57%). Six of the 13 casualties due to fire--38%--were on boats in Egyptian waters. Three of the 13--23%--were on boats in Indonesian waters, despite its having the most boats. Since there are more Indonesian boats, but half as many fires, I figure the OP (welcome to the board, taty_NZ) is on solid ground.

You also wondered about the proportion of disasters to safe returns. Of course, the odds of taking any liveaboard anywhere and coming home in one piece are huge. If it's the boat you're on that hits a shoal or worse, it doesn't matter what happened last week. The Undercurrent report is a sobering reminder: Know your exits, have passports and money, and a cell phone if possible, in a (dry) go bag, and take a smoke detector.

P.s.: Undercurrent, like Scubaboard, is a very good source for reviews of individual liveaboards.

 

[scubadada]

Vessel - Red Sea LOB sinks, all rescued

I'm not surprised. It's been a couple of months since the last incident, so it was time for another sinking in the Red Sea:crying:

scubaboard.com

 

[Parlem]

Hi fellow divers!

After years delaying a trip to the Red Sea, I can not wait anymore and I'm trying to put together a trip for 2025.

The info I found in SB is mostly for Open Water Divers travelling to the Red Sea for first time, but if you were a very experienced diver looking for the best reefs and dive sites in Egypt, where would you go?

What I imagine when I think of the Red Sea are the most pristine reefs full of colourful fish like an aquarium.

I also like macro, and the idea of seeing hammerheads and dolphins are also super fun! ( I have never seen a hammerhead so that would be awesome!).

Diving SS Thistlegorm is a must. I'm divided if I should do a day tour to Thistlegorm from Hurgada and then a LOB to the BDE route.

Or instead dive Elphinstone reef from Marsa Alam and then a LOB to the Northern route. Or is diving from sharm el sheikh a better option?

After diving, I would like to add a few days visiting Luxor, Abu Simber and Cairo, so I prefer diving from Hurgada side, but my preference is to visit the best dive sites, I can adapt the land tour afterwards.

I will be a solo woman travelling to Egypt so I would like have everything arranged before arrival.

Thank a lot and happy diving!

Taty

My dates are flexible, but I was thinking on September 2025.

Also what live aboard would you suggest? After my research I found its not uncommon that boats catch fire, I would like to book something basic but with the best professionals on board and good ships.

Hello!

A few thoughts in no particular order:

1. A liveaboard is generally better or much better than land-based, regardless.
2. September is great in terms of water temperature; still pretty hot airside, though (different people tolerate extreme heat differently)
3. Diving the Thistlegorm land-based is not an experience I would recommend unless a liveaboard is completely out of the question: wake up time is silly, very long journey, can't really time your dives to avoid other day boats AND, more importantly, the trip might be cancelled as late as the day before due to insufficient numbers. If you really fancy the Thistlegorm, a liveaboard is a must.
4. If you are looking for very nice reefs, you won't be disappointed: you're likely to find a nice combination of hard and soft corals in pretty good shape, usually better the further south you travel
5. A liveaboard departing from (and returning to) Hurghada might be the most convenient for a few days visiting land-based sights, BUT don't forget that Port Ghalib/Marsa Allam is now a relatively short drive away from Hurghada (under 2 hours) by car, so I would not rule out liveaboard trips from Port Ghalib, which might give you better access to the south.
6. BDE is a great route but if you are looking for large animal encounters, time of year is important and there can never be any guarantee that you'll see this or that. Some divers don't like hanging in the water off the wall hoping for something to turn up.
7. Liveaboard quality/safety: you tend to get what you pay for, but not always. Liveaboards where I've felt very safe AND thought were excellent value: Red Sea Explorer (run by Extra Divers, pricier end) and Freedom VIII (budget, Umbi Divers, based in Sharm)
8. North routes tend to include a fair bit of wreck diving (Abu Nuhas) and, while I agree Thistlegorm is a must, so much rusty metal can get samey (in my case); on the other hand, Tiran and Ras Mohamed are nice (IMO).
9. BDE followed by Deep South (St. John's, etc) would probably provide the best combo for potential large animal encounters + excellent reefs and macro opportunities BUT, alas, no Thistlegorm.
10. If you dive land-based from Hurghada, another vote for James & Mac. I dove with them earlier this year and was impressed.

Whatever you end up doing, do let us know how you got on.

Enjoy!