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Sharm el Sheikh
The simplicity of sun, sea and sand. The luxury of five-star hotels, water sports, shopping and entertainment. Sharm el Sheikh, one of the most accessible and developed tourist resort communities on the Sinai peninsula. All around are Bedouins, colorful tents, mountains and sea.
The beach of Sharm el Sheikh
There are small, intimate hotels with modern designs, as well as larger hotel complexes belonging to International chains, plus
about all the amenities one could expect of a tourist center, including casinos, discos and nightclubs, golf courses and health facilities. In
fact, with diving and snorkeling, windsurfing and other water sports, horses and camel riding, desert safaris, and great nearby antiquities
attractions, there is always someting to do.
For those who like to shop, the Sharm El-Sheikh mall provides shops with both foreign and local products, including jewelry, leather goods, clothing,
pottery and books. But this city is first and foremost the drop-off point to a diver's paradise.
Wrecks of Sharm el Sheik
The Red Sea is a wreck diver's dream, known for its fierce storms and chains of reefs and submerged islands, many ship went under. The area is a navigational nightmare for pilots who aren't paying attention or for those caught in one of the storms. The proof of this is scattered at the bottom. Many ships have gone down and we have listed below a few of our favorites.
Thistlegorm
The Thistlegorm Wreck first gained fame when Jacques Cousteau wrote about it in his book on the Red Sea in the 1950s. The actual location since
that time, was a mystery until it was rediscovered by a group of divers in 1992.The typical depth range of the Thislegorm also known as Sha'ab
Ali is 60 to 120 feet and is best accessed by a boat dive or local guide.
The Chrisoula K
With wave action having now reduced the Bows even further, it is the remainder of this fabulous wreck that attracts most interest.
Christoula K
The main body is generally upright with her cargo of Italian floor tiles still in place. At the seabed, the large propeller and rudder are still
virtually undamaged at the maximum depth for this dive of 26m. From here, the entire port side then gives the diver a very clear indication of the
destructive power of the sea. Looking carefully, one can see how, at the very stern, the steel plates lie hard over and almost flat, then, a few
metres ahead they are simply twisted. Then the diver will find a large tear in those steel plates just before the port side becomes perfectly
vertical. The entire Port side being covered in a large assortment of hard corals.
Carnatic
The most incredible part of this entire shipwreck is that, whilst the ship went to the bottom in two separate halves, those two halves then fell
together on the seabed - just as they might have done had the ship gone down as one piece.
Drawing of the Carnatic
Today the Carnatic is found at the base of the Reef and lies parallel to it. She is on her port side with the bows facing east. There are three distinct
elements to this dive; The fore and aft sections are still largely intact and are joined together by the most damaged area where the ship was broken
and the engine room was located. It is 25-27m to the seabed and 18-20m to the upper (starboard) side throughout the dive. The wooden superstructure and planking has long-since rotted away - leaving a steel hull held together by iron supports and cross-members. With the decking gone, Divers are able to explore down to two deck levels within the wreck itself.
Giannis D
The Giannis D is now found in three separate sections - Bows, Amidships and Stern lying more or less parallel to the Reef. Whilst each of these
will provide the Diver with a most rewarding dive, most Divers tend to head straight for the stern where they will find a very dramatic and exciting
structure.
Giannes D
Such is the power of nature to reduce a man-made object to scrap metal, that the Stern looks as though it has been cleanly cut from the remainder of the ship. Almost like an island in the sand, this part of the wreck sits proudly all by itself, listing to port at an angle of about 45 degrees. The deepest part is the port companionway which is almost resting on the seabed. Above this, a number of davits and other fittings are found hanging out from the wreck. There are Crown of Thorns Starfish here - so watch where you put your hands. At 23-24m this is the deepest part of the wreck and immediately above, parts of the superstructure reach to within 4 metres of the surface.
Some wrecks are accessible by daily boat trips but we definitely recommend a live aboard trip to fully take advantage of your time in the Red Sea. |
The Red Sea
The Red Sea, where the desert meets the ocean, is truly one of the planet’s most exotic and fascinating natural seascape environments. The Red Sea is located between Asia and Africa. At its most northerly point forms the Sinai Peninsula and stretches over 1000 miles south to join the Indian Ocean, between Ethiopia and Yemen. In the north and west are desert plains, while in the south a mountainous region (2642 meters
high), which is part of the mountain range stretching from deep in Saudi Arabia, across the Sinai and then into Nubia of the African continent.
The Red Sea holds beneath its crystal blue surface an oasis of living creatures, reefs, and coral formation. Its use as a highway between
East and West has attracted man since the beginning of time. Popular dive centers in the area include Sharm el Sheikh, Dahab and Hurghada.
This month we concentrate on the Sharm el Sheikh area, the first center that developed for dive tourism. The first center to develop
for dive tourism it is still the most accessible and the diving is excellent!
Dive sites between Sharm el Sheikh and Ras Nusrani
Jackson Reef
Most northerly of the reefs of Tiran, superb wall diving along its entire perimeter, with sights of sharks, turtles and other big fish.
Thomas Reef
Between Gorden and Woodhouse reefs, smaller round reef with walls plunging deep fully covered with soft coral, gorgonias and colourful
fixed life.
Ras Nasrani (9km north of Naama Bay)
The south side of the cape is formed by big hard coral blocks on the shallows, after dropping to greater
depths with caves and overhangs along the wall.
Far Garden (just north of Naama Bay)
The most seaward of the gardens, is therefore a more colourful fringing reef and more frequently
visited by pelagics. Glassfish caves.
Pinky's Wall
Drift dive along the fringing reef, a slope from where richly covered coral heads emerge before becoming a shear bottomless wall.
Paradise
Northern side of Ras Umm Sidds wall, fully decorated coral heads rise from a gentle slope, housing schools of glassfish against a colourful
background. 7. Ras Umm Sidd (27°50.950' N, 34°18.600' E) The south side of the cape offers a superb gorgonian forest, beforegetting to the surface of the plateau bursting with life and with the
possibility of spotting big fish at the corner.
Ras Za'atar
Most northern dive of Ras Mohammed National Park, it is the southern entrance to the bay of Marsa Bareika. Steep wall with caves and overhangs, becomes a gentler slope around the corner, scattered with colourful coral heads.
Shark Observatory
Southern end of Sinai Peninsula, the towering cliffs continue beneath the surface to fade into the deep blue. Smoothed wall with numerous
gullies and canyons dessed with soft corals. Jacks and Turtles.
Shark & Jolanda Reefs
This site in one of the most strategic spots in all of the Red Sea, the two small pinnacles are joined by a shear wall dropping to the deep
blue covered in soft corals. Large schools of fish gather in often strong currents with large pelagics approaching to feed on them. Small remains
of the 'Jolanda' wreck present with scattered cargo of heaped bath tubs and toilets.
 There are many different ways to explore this area. Daily Diving, liveaboard safari trips, ... the Red Sea has it all. If you plan on staying in a hotel but would still like to organize a few days diving your options are endless. A considerable range of Dive
Centers offer Daily diving. This consists of leaving by 9am, doing 2 dives, lunch and returning around 4pm. The Red Sea boasts some of the
best local diving in the world with most sites accessible within an hours boat ride from established diving centers.
Here are few of our favorite operators:
Sinai Divers
Red Sea Diving College
Oonas Divers
Regal Divers
For those who would like to dive non-stop we suggest a liveaboard. Most dive centers also operate liveaboard boats and other companies specialize in this field. These trips accommodate a range of budgets and are usually full board with unlimited diving on more remote reefs. Mini safaris are available for 2-3 days, however the standard trips are for 7-14 days. Most of the major liveaboard destinations start from the Tiran Straits and Ras
Mohammed, the famous Thistlegorm Wreck, Gobal Straits and Abu Nuhas and South through the Safaga Reefs, Brother Islands, Elphinstone Reef
and Marsa Alam.
Suggested liveaboards:
Coral
Queen/Princess
Amorina
(Egypt & Sudan)
The Red Sea is diveable all year. The temperature remains unusually constant year round, averaging 22 C in the summer. Low pressure systems develop in the Sahara Desert and draw hot dry east winds from Asia which cause the temperature to rise frequently along with sand storms. At the same time, lows develop over the Red Sea, bringing moist cold air from the south and creating clouds, haze, and more often rain. The northern land
mass is the primary influence over temperature in the gulf, but this decreases to the south the closer you get to open sea. The open sea’s
cooling effect creates an interesting temperature pattern: maximum summer temperatures are lower in the south while minimum temperatures are higher in the north with the opposite occurring during the winter. The coldest month of the year is January and the warmest months are July and August.
By Air: Sharm el Sheikh has an international airport and can be reached by a
number of charter airlines from most European capitals.
More information on Egypt Air flights
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Another option is to fly to Cairo and take an local flight with Egypt Air.
Just as easy is to take an air-conditioned bus to Sharm.
Buses run by the East Delta Bus Company. Terminus in Abbassia.
Tel: +20-2-4824753 Fax: +20-2-2619784
Limousine cars: Tel: +20-2-2599813/1867/4
The Dive Sites of the Red Sea, Peter Harrison & Alex Misiewicz | Buy
The Dive Sites of the Red Sea, Guy Buckles| Buy
Diving and Snorkeling Guide to the Red Sea, John Ratterree | Buy
The Red Sea Dive Guide, Andrea Ghisotti & Alessandro Carletti
| Buy
The Red Sea: Coral Kingdom at the Desert's Edge, David Doubilet
& Andrea Ghisotti| Buy
Red Sea Divers Guide
Red Sea Reef Guide, Helmut Debelius | Buy
The Egyptian Red
Sea: A Divers Guide, Eric Hanauer, Jolee Brunton, Ken Loyst|
Buy
Sinai Dive Guide, Pete Harrison
Destination Red Sea
Read more about Dahab, just north of Sharm el Sheikh in our Diver's
Tale...
Want to find one of the best liveaboards in the Red Sea? See Trip of the Month...
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