The Gubal Straits connect the Gulf of Suez to the Red Sea. At their southern entrance, the Gubal Straits are bordered by the island of Shadwan to the west and the Sinai Peninsula to the east. This area has a lot of small islands and coral reefs that make the Straits of Gubal very popular with scuba divers and snorkelers. Some of the well-known dive spots in this area feature beautiful underwater landscapes and pristine corals, and other dive spots offer opportunities to explore world-famous wrecks, such as the SS Thistlegorm, the wreck of the Kingston, the Ulysses wreck, the Gubal Barge, the wreck of Rosalie Moller, and some other wrecks. The dive spots, such as the Alternatives, Stingray Station, Shag Rock, and the Lonely Mushroom, offer great opportunities for reef diving. At these sites, divers can find an abundance of beautiful hard and soft corals, an interesting variety of small and large reef inhabitants, as well as many big pelagic visitors.
When To Go Diving
The Straits of Gubal offer year-round diving. However, this part of the Red Sea is a bit cooler than its southern section, and a wetsuit is required for winter diving. The lowest water temperature of 20C/68F is in February, and during the summer the sea temperature rises to 27-28C/81-82F. Many marine creatures are sighted regularly throughout the year, except for stingrays, which gather in greater numbers during the spring months.
What to see
When diving in this area, divers can see an abundance of hard and soft corals, colorful nudibranchs, dense shoals of small reef fish, yellow snappers, trevallies, groupers, different species of reef sharks, stingrays, dolphins, barracudas and tuna.