Water Activities  - Diving
     
 

Egypt’s coral reefs and marine life offer an unparalleled scuba diving and snorkeling experience. The Red Sea cities of Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh offer some of the world’s rarest and most brilliant varieties of corals and fish. No dive would be complete without exploring the depth of the Blue Hole in Dahab, or visiting Ras Mohammed on the tip of the Sinai Penninsula. Ras Mohammed - a declared national park- is renowned for being one of the world’s best diving spots featuring the most exquisite coral reefs and exotic marine life.

For a trace of history, diving expeditions are organized off the shores of Alexandria, where the ruins of Cleopatra’s Temple can be found and viewed at the bottom of the sea.

There is an abundance of hotels and camping grounds which serve the best dive sites and centers. Diving courses are available and are relatively inexpensive. The shore dives offer a safe learning ground for open water diving. All the diving centers offer PADI, BSAC or CMAS certifications; which entitle you to dive anywhere in the world.

How to choose a dive center
There are many certified diving centers located throughout the major hotels and resorts. These centers are staffed with highly trained professional instructors which offer courses and trips for scuba diving and snorkeling.

The golden rules
Marine life, and coral reefs in particular, are highly fragile and easily damaged. In order to protect the sanctity of the diving areas it is critical that divers respect the diving rules set forth by the Egyptian authorities. Any destruction of the coral reefs by removing or polluting the waters or removal of rare fish from the waters is prohibited. Feeding any marine life is strictly forbidden and violations are subject to fines.



Mediterranean

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Most of the diving in the Red Sea area is done with a shore-based, day boat dive operation or a live aboard dive boat. The currents in these areas vary from no current to very strong, so it is strongly advised to dive or snorkel with guides or with experienced divers who have been diving in the area before and are familiar with the conditions.
In the following pages, you will find descriptions as to the expertise required for the various dive sites. The following definitions of the diving skill levels should help you evaluate the required skill for each dive site.

 

  • Novice diver - a person who is in good physical condition and recently completed a basic certification diving course, or someone who has been certified before but has not been diving in a while or has no experience in similar conditions.

  • Advanced diver - a person who has logged many dives under similar or rougher conditions and is in good physical condition.

  • Dive master or instructor - a person who has advanced training as a dive master or an instructor who has logged over 100 dives in similar conditions and is in excellent physical condition.

 

 

 

 


 

 

The clear blue waters between Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada hide some of the Red Sea's biggest surprises - stunning reefs and mysterious shipwrecks, the legacy of the maritime trade that has flowed through the region for millennia. Strewn across the Straits of Gubal, gateway to the Suez Canal, the reefs of this region are as rich in history as they are in natural beauty.

This guide encompasses dive sites in Shaab Mahmud and Shaab Ali, the Straits of Gubal and Hurghada, spread across 74km of open sea between the tip of Ras Muhammad and the Egyptian mainland at Hurghada. The sites can be reached from either Sharm El Sheikh or Hurghada
Diving Conditions:
Seasonal temperature variation is quite similar to that found in southern Sinai. As autumn progresses to winter, the prevailing northerly winds in the area change. Long swells pushed by the south wind have the entire length of the Red Sea to build up, and by the time they reach the Straits of Gubal, they can be pretty powerful.
 

Water Temp

Summer

28 °C

Winter

19 °C

Currents

Moderate-strong

Wreck dives

Y

Shore dives

Y

Boat dives

Y

Live-aboard

Y


 

 

 

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