Hurghada, Egypt
Hurghada was founded in the early 20th century, and until twenty years ago, remained a small fishing village. It was the first of the Egyptian Red Sea Resorts to be developed and is now a large, straggling tourist resort and an international center for aquatic sports. If it takes place in or on the water you can do it here: windsurfing, sailing, deep-sea fishing, swimming, but, above all, snorkelling and diving. This area has many fine accommodations, usually offering warm and efficient service. Restaurants are mostly along the main road. While in Hurghada, don't miss the museum and aquarium, with their complete collections of flora and fauna of the Red Sea.
Today, Hurghada is known as a party town, particularly among Europeans. Locals and others will tell you that life begins at night in Hurghada, with the many, many clubs. They are particularly frequented by the young, but certainly many others of all ages. They are easy to find along the main street, along with loads of inexpensive and expensive hotels.
The diving in this area has greatly improved in recent years after lackadaisical conservation efforts in the early 90s. Mooring buoys for dive boats have been introduced and the reefs are recovering.
The marine life is staggering - everything from tiny gobies to vast whale sharks, nudibranchs hiding in coral and mantas gliding over reefs. The Red Sea is the world's most accessible tropical marine aquarium. Only remote spots in the Indian Ocean can compete.
It is easy to be blasé about just how good the diving is in the northern Red Sea. There are few places in the world with such fabulous coral reefs. Hurghada doesn't have the same central focus as Sharm and doesn't feel as busy with divers tending to stick to the hotel they are staying in. Good standard of dive training.
Less crowds the further south you venture. The resorts are strung out along 30 km of shoreline and you can take your pick from simple guest houses to five star luxury resorts. There are many restaurants offering different types of cuisine.
Hurghada is a good choice if you wish to combine a diving holiday with a visit to the tourist sites along the Nile - it is easy to visit Luxor and Cairo from here. Hurghada is also a popular choice for setting off on a liveaboard trip with many boats departing from the harbour to go both north and south. You can select from a range of standards but should expect at least 3 dives a day. The wreck sites are mainly to the north around the reef at Abu Hahas, although there are wrecks in the Southern Red Sea, notably the Salem Express. Sailing south from Hurghada gives access to the wonderful dive sites of the Marine Islands - The Brothers, Daedelus Reef and St Johns. The diving here is pristine giving good chances of seeing large marine creatures. Not to be missed. A little nearer are the reefs at Elphinstone although these are better dived from the southern resorts.
The dive sites are on the reefs north and south of the town and on the offshore islands.
Hurghada Dive Sites
Shab El Erg
A large horseshoe shaped reef and the most northerly site for day boats out of Hurghada. You can dive many locations on both sides of the reef. The north point is home to Mantas in season. The lagoon is dotted with ergs and there is a resident pod of dolphins.
Gota Shab El Erg
Well worth a visit. The whole area teems with life.
Shab Abu Nugar
This “T” shaped reef has a shallow plateau to the west with numerous small ergs and two small sub reefs Gota Abu Nigar and Shab Iris.
Umm Gammar
This offshore Island is surrounded by good diving on all sides. The south end has a shallow plateau where the moorings are located. There are some good pinnacles nearby. After exploring this area you take advantage of the light current to drift back to the corner of the plateau where three small ergs are found, covered in glass fish. Finish the dive on the plateau exploring the numerous coral heads and reef fish. The plateau is home to Napoleons, Emperor Angels and free swimming Morays. The east and west side have fantastic drift dives and the northern tip or “halg” has a magnificent coral garden but is only accessible in very good weather. Big groupers and lots of sweepers live in the multiple caves found along the eastern and western walls and drop offs of this tiny island’s fringing reef.
Shaab Ruhr Umm Gamar
Literally the reef of Umm Gamar, this reef lies 1km south of Umm Gamar and is the tip of an undersea mountain. The reef wall drops to around 15m on the west side, and is peppered with many caves and overhangs, home for sweepers and glass fish, here the sandy plateau slopes away gently to 30m with the drop off beyond. On the east side the slope is much steeper and drops quickly to the depths, the diving here is superb and can be most often done as a drift. This whole area offers superb wall diving with possibilities of encountering grey reef sharks and good-sized groupers as well as morays, big tuna, and blue spotted rays. On the south east slope lies the wreck of an Egyptian patrol boat which is well worth a visit.
Careless Reef
An offshore reef Carless has two large ergs rising from a shallow plateau surrounded by sheer walls rising from the deep. The area is unprotected and the reef can only be reached in good weather. The current at the surface is usually from the north but below it can be from any direction. To the north the drop off is a forest of coral to the south the plateau slope gently away with small pinnacles of coral. The whole area swarms with fish of all types there are numerous giant morays encountered here, as well as the white tip reef sharks and schooling reef fish as well as huge groupers and the occasional hammerhead in the early morning.
Torfa Fanus (East)
This narrow reef creates a huge calm lagoon, a great place to stop for lunch and catch the sun before the second dive of the day. The outside of the lagoon on the seaward side is choice. Swim through the gap between the first erg and the reef wall and head across the coral garden to the second erg, home to hordes of glass fish and the very occasional frog fish. Dolphins are often encountered anywhere around this reef so keep an eye out.
Fanus West
The other end (west) of the Fanus reef has two main ergs and several smaller pinnacles off its west end. You can follow the reef wall round and explore the reef face and coral gardens. Again watch out for dolphins at anytime during the dive as they are frequent visitors.
Wreck of the El Minya (Harbour Wreck)
An Egyptian minesweeper sunk by Israeli fighters, while lying at anchor, in 1969, the wreck lies in 30m on a rock sea bed. The current here can be strong from the north and the visibility poor. There is a large debris field which contains a lot of ‘LIVE” munitions, worth a look but carefully. The wreck is only 70m long so there is plenty of time to explore everything including the blast hole on the starboard side, which can be penetrated. Penetration is not recommended elsewhere on this wreck. There is not much in the way of coral growth on the wreck but it does have its resident fish life, the blast hole gives shelter to shoals of glassfish and a lone anemone and resident clownfish are also in this area. Above the wreck are shoals of jacks and small barracuda.
Umm Dom (Stoney Beach)
Here the steep cliff of the north east side of Giftun Kebira island plunges into the depths and continues into the abyss, the reef wall drops to about 12m and then there is a steep, tumbling slope to the top of the drop off at about 27m. Most of the life here is above 15m as the lower slope and top the drop off are sometimes swept by strong currents coming through the straits, stunting the growth of the coral and giving a lunar appearance.
Shab Sabrina
The reef here pokes out from the east side of Giftun Kebira island and has a coral garden extending 300-400m north of it. The area is known for its beautiful coral landscape rather than its fish life.
Small Giftun
Several good dives are found on the reefs around this island, the most famous being the drift dive on the giant fan coral forest at the eastern fringing reefs wall.
Abu Ramada Island
Really two small islands surrounded by a single reef. Good drift dive along the steep eastern wall, with big fan corals, overhangs and swim throughs.
Gota Abu Ramada
Literally “piece of Abu Ramada”, A 1km long mid-sea reef sitting on a shallow plateau about 12-15m deep great diving is found on the east, west and north side with abundant hard and soft coral and schools of butterflies, banners and snappers here found swimming around the mountains of coral gardens. Just off the west end are three large ergs which are well worth a visit.
El Aruk
A cluster of a dozen or so ergs laying in 10m – 15m of water, sometimes swept by a strong current, It is easy to get lost here. The whole are is home to many species of fish. One erg of note is El Aruk Macroom (the split erg) which has a grotto through it filled with glassfish and attendant re mouth grouper and numerous lion fish.
Ras Disha
The fringing reef, which surrounds this cape, offers a good shallow dive on the hard coral garden found north of the lighthouse with schooling barracuda, napoleon fish and groupers.
Abu Hashish
A shallow erg field lays on the south side of the island where lots of blue spotted stingrays, puffer fishes and morays are found swimming through a pinnacle landscape. A dramatic drift dive can be made along the eastern wall with the chance of big fish out in the blue.
Return to Egypt
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It is worth noting that Hurghada is expanding rapidly and building work is evident in some areas. The resort has no real town centre, dining and nightlife tends to be centred around the hotels. Areas south of Hurghada such as Soma Bay, Makadi and Marsa Alam are fast developing and offer extensive leisure facilities in very attractive surroundings.
There are many dive centres in Hurghada and it is recommended that you use a reputable company.
Divers Lodge
Easy Divers
Hurghada day-boat diving - by Jon Gunns
Hurghada: Return to Easy Divers - by Teresa Edmonston
On Valerie in the Red Sea by Jo Waters
Deep South on Coral Queen - by Iain Paul
South to The Brothers by Jonathan Markwell
Liveaboard Excel by by Helen Ball
Liveaboard Hurricane - by Paul Leyland
Northern Reefs & Wrecks, MV Bluefin - by Mark Sutcliffe
On Shore in Hurghada
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