Scuba Diving Red Sea

Diving Red Sea Overview

Egypt - Sharm el Sheikh

Europeans flock to the Red Sea for excellent live-aboard diving, scoffing at Americans who miss the fine diving because of their inordinate fear of terrorism. Hurghada dive operators are failing to care for their reefs, so divers head farther south. Live-aboards get divers to the best Red Sea diving. Water temperatures can drop into the cool 60s during February and rise into the 80s by August.

Red Sea Seasonal Dive Planner

Air temperatures in winter range from 60°-75°; thewater can drop down into the upper 60s, with the coolest temperatures occurring in February. Summer land temperatures slide right up past 100°, with the water temperature rising into the low 80s (take a wetsuit anyway). The hottest month is August. If you are going to do any land exploration (and how do you visit the Red Sea without at least a peek at the pyramids), the trade-off for warm water is hot weather. The manta season is from March to June.

Diving Red Sea Feature Articles and Reader Reports

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Editor's Book Picks for Scuba Diving Red Sea
including Egypt (Dahab, South Sinai, Hurghada), Israel, Jordan, Sudan

The books below are my favorites about diving in this part of the world All books are available at a significant discount from Amazon.com; just follow the links. -- BD

Coral Reef Animals of the Indo-Pacific
by Terrence M. Gosliner, David W. Behrens, Gary C. Williams.

At last -- a just-published, complete guide to help you identify the uncountable variety of weird critters you'll see on any Indo-Pacific dive, complete with full-color photo of 1,100 species. About Coral Reef Animals of the Indo-Pacific, Chris Newbert says, "This invaluable new book makes identification easy and enjoyable." There are scores of flatworms, nudibranchs galore, bumblebee shrimp, painted crayfish, pompom crabs, side-gilled sea slugs, and endless corals. Marine biologists Terry Gosliner, David Behrens, and Gary Williams cover the reefs from the Solomons to Sipadan, from the Maldives to Maui, from Palau to Papua New Guinea. They provide good notes to help you find and identify each critter. Indispensable for any Indo-Pacific trip. Paperback, 8x110, 314 pages, $45.00.

Indo-Pacific Coral Reef Field Guide
by Gerald R. Allen, Roger Steene.

I was trying to pack light for a change. Surely the Solomon Sea would have good identification books aboard. Not so; the only book on the boat belonged to a fellow passenger. It was one that I had not seen before, the Indo-Pacific Coral Reef Field Guide, by two of the best fish guys around, Gerry Allen and Roger Steene. The problem was this fellow passenger kept it in a plastic baggie most of the trip and I had to beg to see it. Great book, good traveling size, and it covers everything from fish, shells, marine plants, mammals, corals, and invertebrates to sea birds and more. Now I've got my own, and it won't do you any good to beg me to borrow it. This is one of two books that I will not travel to the Pacific without. Good for travel to the Red Sea, East Africa, Seychelles, Mauritius, Maldives, Andaman Sea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Australia, Micronesia, Polynesia, and Hawaii, it has 1,800 color illustrations in a 6x8 1/2 paperback format with 378 pages. $39.95.

You might find some other books of interest in our Editor's Book Picks section.