One of the most rewarding liveaboard dive destinations is definitely Egypt. Liveaboards diving in the northern part of the Red Sea in Egypt have a great variety of dives for divers of all experience levels. Here you will find shallow coral gardens amazingly rich with corals and fish, with almost no currents and no waves, as well as top-quality wreck diving. On the other hand, if you are looking for thrilling experiences while diving steep walls and drop-offs with strong currents on plateaus rich in pelagics, then the southern itineraries and marine parks are the right places to go as well.
The Egyptian part of the Red Sea is commonly separated into 3 different parts.
The easiest and most colorful part is definitely the northern part. Starting with Dahab and the famous Blue Hole and Bells, moving south to the Straits of Tiran and Ras Mohammed, which are near Sharm el-Sheikh, you will find Shark and Yolanda Reef, named as one of the best dive sites in the world by Jacques Cousteau. Another great dive site here is Jackson Reef in the Straits of Tiran, which is truly the aquarium of the Red Sea. Wreck lovers definitely need to see the SS Thistlegorm WWII wreck, which is considered to be one of the best wreck dives in the world. A good season for North itineraries are from April to November. In May and June you will have higher chances to see mantas and whale sharks, but the visibility will be a bit worse due to the plankton. From June to August, you can see the big fish and big schools of pelagic fish.
Brothers Islands and variations. The highlights of this area are Elphinstone, the Brother Islands, and Daedalus, which are further away from the mainland. These are world-class dive sites, and experienced divers will enjoy these the most. You can see pelagic fish and sharks during the right time of year. One of the best combinations is Brothers + Daedalus + Elphinstone. Diving is quite challenging there, and the minimum required experience level is to have logged 30+ or 50+ dives. The best time to dive at Central dive sites, Brother Islands and all Southern itineraries are spring (late March to May) or fall (September to November). From June to September, you will need to go deeper to see the big fish.
The dive sites that are reached usually starting from the ports of Hamata or Ghalib are the southern most sites in the Red Sea. Starting from St. John’s, you can go to the famous Habili Ali or Gota Kebira, and moving away from the mainland in the northeast direction, you can go to Zabargad and the Rocky Islands. The Rocky Islands offer wall diving with strong currents, and shark encounters. Zabargad is good for night diving. It is better to go to these sites in the spring (from May to June) or in the fall (September or November), when the seas are calmer, and the chances to encounter sharks and pelagic fish in normal recreational diving depths are much higher than in the summer.
There are three international airports: Sharm El Sheikh (SSH), Hurghada (HRG) and Marsa Alam (RMF). The starting ports for North Red Sea liveaboard trips are Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh. Deep North Red Sea trips start only from Sharm el-Sheikh. The starting ports for Brother Islands are Hurghada and Port Ghalib, while South liveaboard trips start from Port Ghalib, Marsa Alam, and Hamata.