Scuba Diving in Hurghada Red Sea Egypt
The Red Sea is home to a wide variety of coral and fish, making it a great location for both novice and experienced divers alike. There are plenty of dive sites to choose from, with each offering something unique and exciting. For beginners, the shallow reefs of the north provide an easy, safe introduction to the underwater world, while more experienced divers can explore the depths of the south for the more adventurous dive.
Hurghada and Sharm el Sheikh are the two cities that are at the core of the Red Sea's nearly 20-year long diving history. Hurghada in particular is renowned for its excellent diving, attracting divers from all around the world. Here, divers can encounter an incredible variety of marine life.
The Hurghada marine area is protected, as many other areas in Egypt, and diving centres here operate under environmental-friendly procedures. Starting from year 1995, local authorities, NGO’s and international bodies such as USAID have co-operated in the conservation of the underwater life of the region. Nowadays, regular checks and upgrades ensure the presence of mooring buoys in all Red Sea dive sites.
Hurghada is also a popular starting point for extended dive trips, also called liveaboards or diving safaris. From here you can join a liveaboard to the exceptional divesites of the Straits of Gubal with the wreck graveyard of Abu Nuhas, cruising over to the fabled Thistlegorm, the Red Sea's most well known wreck.
In Hurghada only, there are more than 100 dive operators, with services ranging from scuba diving beginner certification courses to professional courses and technical diving, and providing guided dives to the area's outstanding reefs.
Hurghada, with its wealth of shallow coral gardens, is an ideal location of the Red Sea Riviera to learn to dive, and most diving centres offer the full range of beginners’ courses. Even kids from 8 years on can enroll in children-dedicated scuba diving activities, where kids learn to be familiar with water and scuba diving and have fun swimming around in a confined water area.
Most resorts in Hurghada have reliable and well-organized diving centres, officially registered at the Chamber of Diving and Watersports and licensed by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, which offer all sorts of scuba diving services, from entry-level courses to professional courses, introductory dives, and diving packages, with one, two or more dives per day, for those who are certified.
For the non-licensed diving enthusiasts, most centres offer free of charge pool intro’s, where visitors can experience the thrill of scuba diving on a one-to-one basis with a diving instructor in the hotel’s swimming pool. The Hurghada diving centres also offer experience programs, where the visitor can try actual dives in the sea straight away, under the strict supervision of a diving professional.
Hurghada Dive sites
With very few exceptions, diving in Hurghada is performed on daily or half-day boats, since the coastal area is mostly devoid of fringing reefs. The Hurghada diving area comprises also the Protected Marine Park of Giftun Island where access is permitted only with an entrance fee (payable directly at all diving centers). The area, in general, is blessed with refreshing breezes from the north both in winter and summer. These breezes often turn though into strong winds which may limit access to certain dive sites. Here are only some of the most famous dive sites in Hurghada are:
Gota Abu Ramada, a network of coral gardens from which the most famous is adequately named “the Aquarium”. A perfect place to learn to dive, with a profusion of Red Sea coral reef population.
Sha’ab Ruhr Umm Gamar, a sort of encyclopedia of the Red Sea. A dense population of reef species and pelagics crowds this relatively small reef. The site was badly damaged a few years ago by an outburst of the Crown of Thorns sea star, but now is again a favorite of advanced divers.
Small Giftun, a spectacular site especially for technical divers, in the Giftun National Park. Sheer walls, caves, canyons, a great playground for the experienced with a profusion of giant fans and black corals and big game, including whale sharks, barracudas, oceanic white tip sharks.
Carless Reef or “moray eel house”. The site, very popular in Hurghada is accessible both to beginners and experienced divers. Two coral towers close to a plateau at 16 meters, is where a big population of friendly giant moray eels make the dive an unforgettable one. Hurghada dive sites.
Top Hurghada dive sites
Carless reef - El fanadir - El fanous - Mina wreck - Small giftun- Ben El Gebal Torfa- Orouk el giftun- Big magawish- Small magawish- Orouk magawish- Abu Ramada South- Gota abou ramada- Ras Disha-Abu Hashish .
