Liveaboards in the Red Sea of Egypt-Southern Safari Routes

Liveaboards in the Red Sea of Egypt

Southern Safari Routes

- Brothers Islands and Elphinstone Reef
- The Brother Islands
- Brothers Elphinstone Deadalus
- Deep South St Johns
- Great Island Tour
- North Wrecks
- South Safari
- Best of Red Sea

Route: Brothers Islands and Elphinstone Reef

The Brothers Islands, tops of two undersea mountains rising from the depth, are located about 50 N.M. offshore, at the height of the town of Quseir. A part of the Marine Park, they offer breath-taking underwater scenery, wall diving along their whole perimeter, and the possibility to spot a wide variety of pelagic. Their walls are covered in soft corals, creating a true feast for the eyes. Big tuna, shoals of jack fish and snappers cruise in the blue, accompanied by hammerheads, grey reef sharks, silver tip sharks, silky and oceanic white tip sharks and mantas.

The thresher shark, an oceanic species, very rarely spotted close reefs, circles the walls of the Brothers on a regular basis. The huge and spectacular moonfish can also be observed near the reefs. Nobody can ever get tired of diving the Brothers Islands.

Even wreck lovers get spoilt on the Brothers. The Aida II, an Egyptian supply vessel, and the Namibia, a cargo ship, lie on the walls of the Big Brother. They are covered in soft and hard corals, and are a real treat.

Because of strong current and may be high waves it is not easy to dive at the Brother's.
This safari is only for experience divers.

The Reef Elphinstone, a truly legendary reef, is one of the most beautiful reefs in the red sea, with its north and south plateau's, and its walls covered in soft corals, black corals, wire corals and gorgonians. Hammerheads, oceanic white tip sharks and grey reef sharks can also be spotted here on a regular basis.

Route: Brothers Elphinstone Deadalus

The Brothers Islands, tops of two undersea mountains rising from the depth, are located about 50 N.M. offshore, at the height of the town of Queseir. A part of the Marine Park, they offer breath-taking underwater scenery, wall diving along their whole perimeter, and the possibility to spot a wide variety of pelagic. Their walls are covered in soft corals, creating a true feast for the eyes. Big tuna, shoals of jack fish and snappers cruise in the blue, accompanied by hammerheads, grey reef sharks, silver tip sharks, silky and oceanic white tip sharks and mantas.

The thresher shark, an oceanic species, very rarely spotted close to the reefs, circles the walls of the Brothers on a regular basis. The huge and spectacular moonfish can also be observed near the reefs. Nobody can ever get tired of diving the Brothers Islands.

Even wreck lovers get spoilt on the Brothers. The Aida II, an Egyptian supply vessel, and the Namibia, a cargo ship, lie on the walls of the Big Brother. They are covered in soft and hard corals, and are a real treat.

Because of strong current and may be high waves it is not easy to dive at the Brother's. This safari is only for experience divers.

The Reef Elphinstone, a truly legendary reef, is one of the most beautiful reefs in the red sea, with its north and south plateau’s, and its walls covered in soft corals, black corals, wire corals and gogonians. Hammerheads, oceanic white tip sharks and grey reef sharks can also be spotted here on a regular basis.

The Daedalus Reef is a huge reef formation that lies at about 180 km south of Brother Islands. The reef is surrounded by a sheer wall all around, featuring a plateau in its southern side that goes from 30 m beside the reef to 40 m on the edge of the drop-off. If the weather is good, try to get as far north as possible and drift along one of the sides of the reef. Reef and hammerhead sharks are often spotted here. UW life is here more abundant than anywhere else, with schools of surgeons, fusiliers, carangids ...

Route: Deep South St Johns

Deep, deep in the south (in the near of Rocky Island) are the St. John's Reefs.

Because of the long distance, this reef group is quite virginal. You will find here exciting drop offs. The wall of one of the reefs is overgrown with big gorgonians, the wall of the other reef is overgrown with all kind of colorful soft corals. You will find here a lot of fish and in the blue you can see with a little bit luck "big fish" like hammerhead, grey sharks, silvertip and whitetip reef sharks, barracudas, tunas and mackerels.

Sometimes even you can see mantas and dolphins. It is possible to reach St. John's in one week, but you are going to sail a lot (mostly in the night) and the time is very short to dive at all the reefs in St. John's. Because of the long distance, it is advisable to decide to do a 10 or 13 days safari-cruise.

Route: Great Island Tour

The Islands - the Big Brother and the Little Brother - are two small isolated promontories that just come out of the water in the middle of the sea.

The Brother Islands have a very high concentration of life in a very reduced area. The walls are covered literally with sponges, anemones and all sorts of soft coral alcyonarian in an astonishing variety of colors and shapes. Of course you will find here plenty of fish. It is not unusual to see sharks: hammerheads, grey sharks, silvertip and whitetip reef sharks. Additionally you can dive at the Big Brother at two wrecks: the "NUMIDIA" and the "AIDA".

The Daedalus Reef is a huge reef formation that lies at about 180 km south of Brother Islands. The reef is surrounded by a sheer wall all around, featuring a plateau in its southern side that goes from 30 m beside the reef to 40 m on the edge of the drop-off. If the weather is good, try to get as far north as possible and drift along one of the sides of the reef. Reef and hammerhead sharks are often spotted here. UW life is here more abundant than anywhere else, with schools of surgeons, fusiliers, carangids…

Rocky Island is a mythical site that represents the diver's dream. The fringing reef that circles the entire perimeter of the island drops steeply to an astonishing depth and the constant currents that flow all along the year favor the growth of all different kinds of life in a continuous struggle for a place on the reef. The walls are absolutely covered with the most beautiful soft corals ever found, as well as gorgonians, fans, sponges and black coral trees. Because of its isolated situation and the reduced dimensions of the reef wall, everything seems to concentrate on the surroundings of this small islet. Reef sharks, especially greys and silvertips, you can watch in the blue and maybe manta rays, sailfish and dolphins.

 

The Island of Zabargad is a superb dive spot. Here you can dive along walls, hover over drop offs or dive slowly in the shallow area, watching the fish and admire the coral garden. At the northside of Zabargad lies a nameless wreck. The 70-m long ship lies upside in 24-m depths. The whole stern section is nearly intact- stairs, rail, davit and the bridge.

Route: North Wrecks

The "Thistlegorm" is probably the most famous wreck in the Red Sea. The British ship was on the way to Egypt to bring military equipment of all kinds for the British troops in North Africa. But then on the 6th of October 1941 a German bomber attacked the Thistlegorm. Now the wreck is lying upright on the sea-bottom at 30-m depth. Especially interesting is the cargo: Tanks, trucks, motorcycles, weapons, railway carriage and one railway engine.

The Reef at Abu Nuhas is famous for wrecks. There are 4 wrecks here, which are today an attraction point for divers all around the world. For example the Greek cargo ship "Giannis D.", which ran aground the reef on 19th March 1983 and sank a short time afterwards. It is now lying in a maximum depth of 27 m and is overgrown with hard- and soft corals. The ship cracked down in the middle. The better part of the two halves is the stern section. Here it is easy to dive inside the wreck, because there are a lot of entry and exit points. Because the wreck is leaning on a 45° angle you will find yourself swimming up a stairwell which your mind tells you are heading down. This effect is very disorientating. The steamship "Carnatic" struck the reef in September 1869. She sank the following day as the weather worsened. She lies in about 24-m depths. She has broken up amidships, leaving her bow and stern intact. The decking has fallen away to be replaced by a thick growth of tube sponges, alcyonarians and occasional table corals, making her very photogenic. She is also laid open to light from above and is easily penetrated.

The "Dunraven", a steam and sail-powered vessel used to transport spices and timber, ran aground the reef Shaab Mahmud in March 1876 during a voyage from Bombay to Newcastle and sank quickly. The ship broke in two, and her two halves came to rest on the sea floor. The wreck lies upside down with the stern at a depth of 28 m and the bow at 18 m. At the stern you find the propeller and the rudder, which are overgrown with corals. Inside the wreck you see thousands of glassfish. The marine park Ras Mohammed offers dreamlike diving spots, for example, Shark Reef and Jolanda Reef. Both reefs are standing on a plateau, which is 20 m deep. The edges of the plateau fall down to more than 790 m. At the reef you will find nice soft corals and fish are plentiful. With luck you can see sharks during your early morning dive. At Jolanda Reef you can see the cargo of a Cypriot freighter "Jolanda" which ran aground in 1980: a large quantity of household toilets.

Route: South Safari

The reef at Elphinstone is one of most beautiful reefs in Egypt. The north and the south plateaus of this reef are alone worth the visit to Egypt. At the wall and the drop off you will find a lot of spectacular colorful soft corals and also black corals. Because of the remote location of the reef you can meet the "bigfish". It is not unusual here to find hammerheads, grey sharks, barracudas, and dolphins.

Shaab Sharm has got very steep walls, a lot of diversity and the possibility to encounter sharks and other big fish. On the East Side of the reef you will find a plateau in about 30-m depths, which is overgrown with soft corals. Here you can see schools of barracudas, snappers, and groupers.

Shaab Samadai (Dolphin House): At this reef you find different diving spots: Drop offs and shallow places, one with a nice cave. The reef has a form like a horseshoe and inside the "U" the boat has the best conditions to spend the night. In this sheltered lagoon you can often see big pods of dolphins. These animals start getting used to the diving boats, and allow snorkelers to come quite near when they are in the mood.

Shaab Maksur: The south plateau offers a superb diving site. You will find here three coral pinnacles which are overgrown with red soft corals. They contain several caves and crevices where glassfish, groupers, morays and other creatures hide among the soft corals and gorgonians. Fish are also plentiful and large schools of carangids, surgeons and other small fish can be seen here. With luck you can see sharks at the edge of the plateau.

Abu Galawa: Here a wreck lies in 18 m, which sank in the 50's. It is so overgrown with all kind of hard corals, that it takes a little bit of time till you recognize the bridge, rail and the funnel of the ship. The wreck is very appealing for every photographer. Also it is nice to do a night dive at Abu Galawa. With a little bit luck, you can see a Spanish dancer.

Shaab Claude: This reef is fun. It has multiple caves, passages, and canyons. The underwater landscape is fantastic. Diving inside the caves at Shaab Claude is safe. They are pretty wide and spaceful. The distance between the different entrances is small and lots of shafts on the ceiling let the sunbeams illuminate the magical set.

Route: Best of the Red Sea

The Reef Elphinstone, a truly legendary reef, is one of the most beautiful reefs in the red sea, with its north and south plateau’s, and its walls covered in soft corals, black corals, wire corals and gorgonians. Hammerheads, oceanic white tip sharks and grey reef sharks can also be spotted here on a regular basis.

The Daedalus Reef is a huge reef formation that lies at about 180 km south of Brother Islands. The reef is surrounded by a sheer wall all around, featuring a plateau in its southern side that goes from 30 m beside the reef to 40 m on the edge of the drop-off. If the weather is good, try to get as far north as possible and drift along one of the sides of the reef. Reef and hammerhead sharks are often spotted here. UW life is here more abundant than anywhere else, with schools of surgeons, fusiliers, carangids…

Rocky Island is a mythical site that represents the diver's dream. The fringing reef that circles the entire perimeter of the island drops steeply to an astonishing depth and the constant currents that flow all along the year favor the growth of all different kinds of life in a continuous struggle for a place on the reef. The walls are absolutely covered with the most beautiful soft corals ever found, as well as gorgonians, fans, sponges and black coral trees. Because of its isolated situation and the reduced dimensions of the reef wall, everything seems to concentrate on the surroundings of this small islet. Reef sharks, especially grays and silver tips, you can watch in the blue and may be manta rays, sailfish and dolphins.

The Island of Zabargad is a superb dive spot. Here you can dive along walls, hover over drop offs or dive slowly in the shallow area, watching the fish and admire the coral garden. At the north side of Zabargad lies a nameless wreck. The 70-m long ship lies upside in 24-m depths. The whole strait Deep, deep in the south (in the near of Rocky Island) are the St. John's Reefs.

Because of the long distance, this reef group is quite virginal. You will find here exciting drop offs. The wall of one of the reefs is overgrown with big gorgonians; the wall of the other reef is overgrown with all kinds of colorful soft corals. You will find here a lot of fish and in the blue you can see with a little bit luck "big fish" like hammerhead, grey reef sharks, silvertip and white tip reef sharks and barracudas, tunas and mackerels. Sometimes even you can see mantas and dolphins. The stern section is nearly intact - stairs, rail, davit and the bridge.