LOB boat suggestions for BDE in Egypt ? Too crowded in June?

[v g]

Hi,
Me and my wife (with 100+ dives) are looking for a liveaboard trip to BDE route (Brother - Daedelous - Elphinstone) around June. A bit concerned about the the recent safety issues in Red Sea, we still would like to do this trip but need some advice on the boat/company selections. We are not looking for luxury but would not want to compromise on:

- safety in terms of boat, crew experience and gear (will probably rent some stuff)
- Experienced and good DM s.
- max 6 but preferably 4 divers per DM

If you have any suggestions for a company, boat or on how to search (apart from liveaboard.com) please do tell

A second question is: I know it is very popular and may be crowded. That is also something that makes us think. If you have suggestions like "Dont go there in June, it is too crowded and not worth it. Go to 'x' instead or go to BDE at this and that month", please let me know.

Thanks !

 

[All Star Liveaboards]

Take a look at All Star Scuba Scene! We have a BDE trip with space available departing on June 16-23, 2025. View the photo gallery here.

The vessel is brand-new and follows all regulations regarding safety and crew qualifications. You can reach us at 954-734-7111 or info@allstarliveaboards.com to discuss specifics.

We have 3-4 dive guides onboard each week, so dive groups are small (typically 6-8 per guide). If you'd prefer to have your own private guide, we can arrange that for $500.

BDE is great year-round. June is a good time for this itinerary if you're hoping to see hammerheads at Daedalus. If you're more interested in oceanic whitetips, you may want to consider visiting during their peak season in October/November (but it is busier during these months).

One of the best parts about diving with All Star Scuba Scene is that we operate on a Monday-Monday schedule. Most Red Sea liveaboards operate on a Saturday-Saturday schedule, so we're two days behind them – which means we tend to avoid a lot of boat traffic and dive site sharing!

 

[tiacalypso]

Hi,
Me and my wife (with 100+ dives) are looking for a liveaboard trip to BDE route (Brother - Daedelous - Elphinstone) around June. A bit concerned about the the recent safety issues in Red Sea, we still would like to do this trip but need some advice on the boat/company selections. We are not looking for luxury but would not want to compromise on:

- safety in terms of boat, crew experience and gear (will probably rent some stuff)
- Experienced and good DM s.
- max 6 but preferably 4 divers per DM

If you have any suggestions for a company, boat or on how to search (apart from liveaboard.com) please do tell

A second question is: I know it is very popular and may be crowded. That is also something that makes us think. If you have suggestions like "Dont go there in June, it is too crowded and not worth it. Go to 'x' instead or go to BDE at this and that month", please let me know.

Thanks !

Hiya!

I have plenty of recent diving experience in Egypt, I've done two liveaboards per year from 2021-2024, and a week or two of shore diving each year.

BDE as a diveroute is best enjoyed in late October or early November, in my opinion. That's when it's high season for hammerheads and oceanic whitetip sharks. And possibly threshers at Brothers. Egypt's diving is crowded from June through October, I would say.

My preferred company is Blue Planet Liveaboards, specifically their boats "Blue" and "Blue Storm". "Blue" is larger than "Blue Storm", but "Blue Storm" is newer. "Blue" has nicer cabins because of her size. Blue Planet Liveaboards also own three other boats: "Blue Planet 1", "Blue Pearl" and "Blue Seas". "Blue Pearl" is also a nice boat, I have never dived off the other two. I have never had safety issues with Blue Planet Liveaboards, the guides have always been very safety oriented in their briefings and in their handling of guests/boats. If a route is deemed problematic because of the weather, the boat manager/head guide will likely present this as a choice to the guests. It happened to me on my first BDE with Blue Planet Liveaboards. The weather was horrible and it would have been difficult to reach Brothers Islands. Darwish told us "Okay, the weather is terrible, going to Brothers is possible but the conditions during the sailing will be horrible, the conditions at Brothers will be horrible, and the last four weeks that we were at Brothers, we saw no sharks. My advice is to sail to Daedalus immediately, skip Brothers completely, and enjoy the hammerheads at Daedalus. But you are the guests and we are letting you vote." So we voted and we went to Daedalus. We were there for 5 days or so because of the bad sailing conditions and the diving was spectacular. If you wish to book with Blue Planet, you can do so through their website which I have linked for your convenience.

I have dived with two other companies in the Red Sea. One was a horrendous experience and I will never dive with them again (they took bookings from guests without having enough beds/bunks for them, the captain made very unsafe diving decisions that led to injured diveguides and guests). I don't want to slander them so I might not name them. The other company is Oceanic Liveaboards. They are "the new kid in town" and my friends' company. Currently, their liveaboards are by invitation-only. They do not own their own fleet but instead hire the newest and most luxurious dive yachts available. Given they're my friends' company, I am mildly biased but their liveaboards are usually spectacular. The boats are truly luxurious, the diving is well-managed and safely executed.

I have never seen any LOB in Egypt that plans on only four divers per DM. Blue Planet usually has 8-10 per diveguide, the other boats that I observed are the same. I would like to add that I prefer to hire a "private dive guide" when I dive with Blue Planet. I don't like diving in big groups either, and one of my friends in Egypt works privately. I usually contact her ahead of time and tell her when I want to come and which route/boat I want. She then contacts Blue Planet, finds an agreement with their owner for her to join as a private diveguide and then someone from Blue Planet emails me an offer and a price. You pay them by transferring the money to their bank account ahead of time. My friend receives approximately €20/day/person in salary as a private diveguide and is well worth her money, especially on BDE. Her salary is directly payable to her, preferably in cash in Euros or Dollars, but she does have PayPal. That way you would be a trio: you, your wife, and her. If you have any more questions, feel free to message me.

 

[v g]

Hiya!

I have plenty of recent diving experience in Egypt, I've done two liveaboards per year from 2021-2024, and a week or two of shore diving each year.

BDE as a diveroute is best enjoyed in late October or early November, in my opinion. That's when it's high season for hammerheads and oceanic whitetip sharks. And possibly threshers at Brothers. Egypt's diving is crowded from June through October, I would say.

My preferred company is Blue Planet Liveaboards, specifically their boats "Blue" and "Blue Storm". "Blue" is larger than "Blue Storm", but "Blue Storm" is newer. "Blue" has nicer cabins because of her size. Blue Planet Liveaboards also own three other boats: "Blue Planet 1", "Blue Pearl" and "Blue Seas". "Blue Pearl" is also a nice boat, I have never dived off the other two. I have never had safety issues with Blue Planet Liveaboards, the guides have always been very safety oriented in their briefings and in their handling of guests/boats. If a route is deemed problematic because of the weather, the boat manager/head guide will likely present this as a choice to the guests. It happened to me on my first BDE with Blue Planet Liveaboards. The weather was horrible and it would have been difficult to reach Brothers Islands. Darwish told us "Okay, the weather is terrible, going to Brothers is possible but the conditions during the sailing will be horrible, the conditions at Brothers will be horrible, and the last four weeks that we were at Brothers, we saw no sharks. My advice is to sail to Daedalus immediately, skip Brothers completely, and enjoy the hammerheads at Daedalus. But you are the guests and we are letting you vote." So we voted and we went to Daedalus. We were there for 5 days or so because of the bad sailing conditions and the diving was spectacular. If you wish to book with Blue Planet, you can do so through their website which I have linked for your convenience.

I have dived with two other companies in the Red Sea. One was a horrendous experience and I will never dive with them again (they took bookings from guests without having enough beds/bunks for them, the captain made very unsafe diving decisions that led to injured diveguides and guests). I don't want to slander them so I might not name them. The other company is Oceanic Liveaboards. They are "the new kid in town" and my friends' company. Currently, their liveaboards are by invitation-only. They do not own their own fleet but instead hire the newest and most luxurious dive yachts available. Given they're my friends' company, I am mildly biased but their liveaboards are usually spectacular. The boats are truly luxurious, the diving is well-managed and safely executed.

I have never seen any LOB in Egypt that plans on only four divers per DM. Blue Planet usually has 8-10 per diveguide, the other boats that I observed are the same. I would like to add that I prefer to hire a "private dive guide" when I dive with Blue Planet. I don't like diving in big groups either, and one of my friends in Egypt works privately. I usually contact her ahead of time and tell her when I want to come and which route/boat I want. She then contacts Blue Planet, finds an agreement with their owner for her to join as a private diveguide and then someone from Blue Planet emails me an offer and a price. You pay them by transferring the money to their bank account ahead of time. My friend receives approximately €20/day/person in salary as a private diveguide and is well worth her money, especially on BDE. Her salary is directly payable to her, preferably in cash in Euros or Dollars, but she does have PayPal. That way you would be a trio: you, your wife, and her. If you have any more questions, feel free to message me.

Thanks a lot!!! I really appreciate @tiacalypso .

Regarding the date, you did make us doubt ourselves. After making so many dives last year, we are craving at the moment and Egypt is the most convenient option from Europe. Could you elaborate on June vs Oct/Nov a bit more?

 

[tiacalypso]

Thanks a lot!!! I really appreciate @tiacalypso .

Regarding the date, you did make us doubt ourselves. After making so many dives last year, we are craving at the moment and Egypt is the most convenient option from Europe. Could you elaborate on June vs Oct/Nov a bit more?

No worries, and sure thing.

In June, the water will just be warming up from the winter months but it'll be very pleasant to dive. I am easily cold and prefer a 3mm shorty in June, or, if I'm on a LOB, 3mm long suit. My dive buddy never gets cold, so she's in shorts and a shirt in June. In November, we're both in 5mm longsuits and hooded.

June is not really shark season in Egypt though there is a chance of seeing longimanus/oceanic whitetip sharks if you are at Brothers Islands, Daedalus or Elphinstone. This species prefers to be in a depth of 0-6m depth so if you do a really long safety stop and make some funny noises - like tapping a double-ender on your tank or so - they will come to investigate you. Longimanus have a bad rep but I've found them to be really curious and friendly. They will come REALLY close though, so you need to dive with a reputable company and guide who will give you a decent longimanus briefing beforehand. Hammerheads are not impossible but not likely either in June: I have seen three or four in June at Elphinstone, around 35-40m depth, but they were really far away over the crack of Elphinstone's top northern plateau. In October on the other hand, we had 17 hammerheads staying with us, almost playing with us, on 40m, in Daedalus. If the waters warm up like they did in 2024, October may still be too warm for the hammerheads to come up from the depth.

If you absolutely want to go in June because you really miss diving, go in June. If you are doing BDE, 95% of dives are down to 35-40m, and searching for sharks out in the blue. This can be very boring if there are no sharks. However, my recommendation would be to opt for a route that includes either Daedalus or Elphinstone (possibly both) but not as the "main attraction". These would be the St Johns/Fury Shoals/Rocky and Zabargad routes. These routes often stop over at Elphinstone and/or Daedalus on their way south so you get a 1-3 dives at either as well as all the other lovely corals and caverns. For example, if you book the route called "Daedalus and Fury Shoals", you will have some dives at Daedalus but if there are no sharks, that'll get old fast. But you'll still have all the beautiful reefs and corals at Fury Shoals to look forward to, possibly some dolphins, too. The routes called "St Johns", "St Johns and Fury Shoals" or "Rocky and Zabargad" often also stop over at Daedalus or Elphinstone for a day or just a few dives, even if the name of the route doesn't say that. These routes will give you stunning reefs, caverns, possibly dolphins, turtles and yes of course, there's a possibility of a shark sighting. But if Daedalus or Elphinstone are shark-less in June, you'll have the remainder of the itinerary full of beautiful dives instead of hanging out at shark-less BDE, looking for sharks. The diveguides will usually make every dive a shark search because the guests want to have a chance of seeing sharks, even if it's boring to hang out in the blue all the time, not seeing anything. BDE themselves also have beautiful corals but no one really pays enough attention to those. If you opt for the Northern routes (called "North and Tiran" or "North and Wrecks" etc.), you will have beautiful reefs, fantastic wrecks and absolutely no sharks. Very unlikely. Those routes are also fun in June though.
I was really lucky last year because I had been booked on a Rocky & Zabargad route but because "Blue" was not full, and "Blue Storm" with the St Johns and Fury Shoals route was also not full, they combined both itineraries. It was the craziest ******* week ever. We started off with check dives in Abu Dabbab (always fantastic), then one day of Rocky and Zabargad Islands, then one day of St Johns, followed by one day of Fury Shoals, followed by one day at Daedalus and a final dive at Elphinstone.

In June, hotels and daily boats will be busier than in November, but LOB will be equally busy.

Another tip - if you're flying from Europe, book Turkish Airlines. Yes, you'll stop over in Istanbul but they include two pieces of hold luggage of 20kg for each passenger, even in economy/coach.

Does that help?

 

[Christian]

Summer is def the hammer-season in Egypt. So I beg to differ with previous poster. Have dived the Red Sea since the 1990s and done 20ish liveaboards there. Every year can be a bit different and seasons might be delayed or pro-longed, but the summer months are when hammerheads are most common. Fall and winter is Longimanus months.

 

[Sunn]

June will probably be less crowded than october.
No problem if you stay aboard a LOB, there is always wind, but on land, it will be quite hot....

Have a look at Ramadan 3 ....

The Ramadan 3 - United Divers Egypt Safaga

united-divers-egypt.com