Trip of the Month > Red Sea | Tubbatha reefs



We started our journey at Wadi Lahami, an attractive, sheltered bay, 6 nautical miles from the multitude of offshore reefs collectively known as Fury Shoal. This place is the perfect starting point to visit the 'deep south' between Ras Banas and the Sudanese border.

The exceptional reefs found here are pristine and frequented by a host of pelagics. Embarking from here, you are located directly in front of the immense chain reef of Fury Shoal with its dramatic world-class hard coral formations, offering plenty of diversity from drop-offs to coral gardens. Just below is the 51 km peninsula of Ras Banas, which is fringed with seemingly endless and remarkable hard coral gardens. Mikauwa Island lies off the southern point and acts as a sanctuary to the flocks of terns, which nest there, as well as turtles coming to lay their eggs. From Mikauwa Island the Coral Princess headed south to the 14 km group of reef tables and pinnacles known as St. Johns.

At this isolated location you have the first sightings of the large Bumped-head Parrotfish. This rare fish is known to local Bedouins as 'The Bull' and is seen as the first sign of approaching Sudanese waters. St. Johns contains a staggering profusion of hard and soft corals including abundant black corals and pristine gorgonian sea fans. These reefs are visited by a variety of sharks.

General information on the Fury Shoal, Rocky Island and St. John's Reef

Fury Shoal
Fury Shoal is a large system of reefs growing on top a shallow shelf 13km (8 miles) offshore to the north of Ras Banas and offers a variety of excellent dives. These include the Tienstin, a fantastic coral encrusted tug boat at Abu Galawa, the atmospheric caves of Sha'ab Claude and the shark and pelagic action at Sha'ab Mansour. Sataya is a great sheltered place for a night dive but the highlight of Fury Shoal has to be Erg Abu Diab also know as Erg Spice. Here the walls are sheer and a rich variety of hard and soft corals sea fans and sponges grow on them. Whitetip and Grey reef sharks are common year-round and you do see hammerheads here in the summer.

Rocky Island
Rocky island lies just a few kilometers north of Sudan and offers a very different type of diving. At Rocky Island the walls drop sharply from just a few meters below the surface, tall dangling sea whips sprout from deeper water, while several fantastic overhangs and caves offer a great place to watch passing sharks. When conditions are right you can see just about anything. Sailfish and dolphins are often encountered between dives.

St. John's Reef
This massive reef system is located furthest south and is the most remote. There are dozens of excellent dives, some on tiny circular reefs which comes just to beneath the surface such as Four-Meter Reef (also know as Habili Gaafar) and Sha'ab Martin. Huge shoals of fish congregate around spectacular vertical underwater gardens full of soft corals. Fusiliers, surgeonfish and unicornfish often swarm together. Turtles are common as are Napoleons, White tip and Grey reef sharks. Hammerheads and other shark species are a possible sight.

Almost all of the diving is done by zodiac in two groups to avoid crowding at the diving sites. Some sites allowed mooring and could be reached from the boat. Night dives were always done by directly diving off the dive deck.

We dove the following sites on this trip: Small Abu Galawa, Dolphin Reef, Rocky Island and Habili St. John's. At Habili Wasta we saw Grey reef sharks and a beautiful Mackerel fish bait ball. The Nursery had lots of Anenome Clownfish, caves with swim throughs, and during the night dive we saw crinoids and a Spanish Dancer. We dove Habili St. John's for two deep morning dives and saw Hammerheads, Grey Reef Sharks and an Octopus. Habili St. John's Woods consisted of pinnacles with lots of small fish. Little Reef had Lionfish and was a nice shallow dive with Blue Spotted Stingrays. At Habili Abu Eshara we spotted Lionfish once more and a large pod of dolphins came to meet the boat during our surface interval. Then there was Umm Halhalla, Shaab Maksur (North) where we all followed a turtle around for half an hour. We also dove Abu Galawa and the very nice Tien Singti wreck. Video Clips of the Manta Ray and other critters we saw will soon be posted on this page so please stay tuned!

I'd like to make special mention of the "Bumped head Parrotfish". Guido has warned us to keep a watchful eye open for these large fish and said there was a photo contest for the best picture, that is if you can find one. They are called "Abou Kharian" by the local Abadi Bedouins. So rare are these fish that it is believed that there are only three places in the world where divers have seen them. I never saw one but Lester, always on the lookout, found himself in a cave system one dive where he came across not one, but five Bumped head Parrotfish! He went back to the boat to get his camera and managed to take a dozen shots before his film ran out. Have a look below!




We were met by a Coral Princess representative at Hurghada airport for transportation by mini-van down south to Wadi Lahami. The trip takes approximately six hours in an air-conditioned van and drinks and snacks are available. The van made short bathroom stops at restaurants on the way. Once at the landing, we were transported to the ship by zodiac. One of the crew members had to tell me to take my shoes off as soon as I got on the boat as is custom in Egypt when you enter a home.

We found that the easiest way to get to Hurghada is by direct charter flight from the UK (London Gatwick and Manchester airports). Currently Excell Airways flies the route. Many other European capitals have direct flights to Hurghada as well. There is talk about a charter flight operating straight to the new airport at Wadi Lahami soon which would avoid the 6 hour bus ride from Hurghada.

Since this voyage takes you far away from any shops for a week, make sure you have all you need for a week of diving such as spare gear/parts, medication and toiletries and your favorite brand of spirits and snacks.

Please contact Dive Global for more information on the Coral Princess.





I took the trip in July 2002. A 3mm suit was warm enough during this time of the year, some of the guests even dived without any wetsuit at all. The Red Sea can be dived year round but a 5mm is needed in the winter, some add a hood or even don a dry-suit.

Next year Dive Global will likely go in June, as the water will be a few degrees colder and there will be more chances of Hammerhead spotting at shallower depths.

The sea conditions in the Red Sea can change within minutes following patterns well known to the skipper. Therefore all diving is subject to daily weather conditions and the final decision is always the skipper's, whose main priority is the guests' welfare.



To get more information on the Coral Princess and the Coral Queen, contact Charlotte @ Dive Global or visit their Website...

Read about our previous Trip of the Month on the the Coral Queen. This is an article about her trip out of Sharm el Sheikh. The Coral Queen currently sails the southern Red Sea route as well. >>

More on diving in the Red Sea >>

Read our Diver's Tale in Dahab, Sinai, Egypt

Read our Diver's Tale in Wadi Lahami, Egypt