Your Guide to Diving Red Sea including Egypt (Dahab, South Sinai, Hurghada), Israel, Jordan, Sudan
All of Undercurrent's information on diving Red Sea, including articles, reader reports, Chapbook sections, ...
Diving Red Sea Overview
This body of water has been a main sea route from Asia to Europe for centuries and as such is well supplied with shipwrecks of all ages that have come to grief on the many coral reefs. Europeans flock to the Red Sea for excellent liveaboard and day boat diving and for this reason Egypt has the world's most burgeoning dive industry. Hurghada is a good point of embarkation, but divers also head farther south to Marsa Alam or north to Sharm el-Sheikh. Liveaboards 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 and generally the diving is easy. The best diving is north of Port Sudan in Sudanese waters, and many liveaboard divers choose the option of less hassle by departing from Port Ghalib in Egypt, although the vessel must put into Port Sudan first to get the required paperwork. With no rivers and little rainfall, bordered by desert on both sides, the Red Sea usually has water clarity second to none. Red Sea Seasonal Dive Planner
Red Sea (Egypt): It rarely rains in the desert but when it does it floods. The Egyptian coast is not tropical, but the Red Sea is unique in that it is heated by the submarine thermal vents of the African Rift, of which it forms a part of this far north. This explains why it has the most northern coral reefs of anywhere in the world.
Air temperatures in winter range from 60-75°F (15-24°C) and the water can drop down to 68°F (20°C), with the coolest temperatures occurring in February when it can be very windy, even drawing up sandstorms inland. Summer air temperatures slide right up past 100°F (38°C) with the water temperature rising to 85°F (28°C) but 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 and whale shark season is from March to June
Sudan: The Sudanese coast has arguably the best diving in the Red Sea but the weather can be oppressively hot in the summer and the seas particularly rough and uncomfortable in winter thanks to a powerful wind (usually Force 8 or stronger) blowing off the desert. Surface water temperatures can get as high as 91°F (33°C) although it cools down to a balmy 84°F (29°C) at depth. The summer sea is calm.
Diving Red Sea Reader Reports and Feature Articles
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Latest Reader Reports from Red Sea
from the serious divers who read Undercurrent
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All 10,000+
Reports |
SS Glorious Miss Nouran Report
in Red Sea/Southern Region
"Disapointed!" filed Sep 19, 2023 by Larry Klumb (Experience: Over 1000 dives, 2 reports)
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Admittedly I recently dived Palau from the Black Pearl, so you might say I have a bias. But my Red Sea experience during August, 2023,... ... Read more
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Mar Rosso Report
in Red Sea/Saudi Arabia

"new pastures" filed Aug 28, 2023 by Michael Joest (Experience: Over 1000 dives, 40 reports, Top Contributor )
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“Visit and enjoy the Red Sea like it was 20 years ago” the ad said and each of you like me would have for sure out of curiosity looked ... ... Read more
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Emperor Report
in Red Sea/southern Red Sea

"Great guide, nice living accommodations, excellent food, some problems" filed Aug 9, 2023 by Harvey Cohen (Experience: 501-1000 dives, 25 reports, Sr. Contributor )
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I booked in advance a private guide for USD500 (which seems to be the typical Red Sea rate). This is the second time I've taken a priva... ... Read more

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Grand Sea Explorer Report
in Red Sea/Northern Red Sea
"Lots of fish, coral, and wrecks" filed Nov 17, 2022 by Susan M Fuchs (Experience: 251-500 dives, 5 reports, Reviewer )
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We were told Egypt wanted a COVID QR code to verify vaccination, but this was never asked for by the airlines, immigration or boat. Luc... ... Read more
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Blue Force Report
in Red Sea
"Red Sea ... in August!!!!" filed Nov 6, 2022 by Ed Noga (Experience: Over 1000 dives, 10 reports, Sr. Reviewer )
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This was my third trip to the Red Sea, which is pretty much a "best kept secret" for Americans, who from my experience are afraid to ... ... Read more
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Complete Articles Available to Undercurrent Online
Members; Some Publicly Available as Indicated
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Diving Red Sea Articles - Liveaboards
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MY Vita 2, Red Sea, Egypt, eight wrecks and reefs in a week, 8/23 |
The Deadly MY Hurricane Fire, yet another liveaboard tragedy, 8/23 |
Carlton Queen Capsizes in the Red Sea, what happened next, 7/23 |
Two Liveaboards Capsize and Sink in April, 5/23 |
Red Sea Liveaboard Smacks into a Reef at Night , Are liveaboards getting reckless?, 2/23 |
Raja Ampat, St. Lucia, Rangiroa, Vancouver Island, some great diving, some questionable characters, 11/22 |
Scuba Scene – Another Liveaboard Burns, with conflicting perceptions of the aftermath, 6/22 |
Were You Booked on a Future Scuba Scene Trip?, 6/22 |
Blue O Two a Casualty of COVID, 1/22 |
South Caicos, Jupiter, St. Vincent, Cozumel , Undercurrent subscribers are traveling again, 10/21 |
Available to the Public |
Harrowing Tales from the Red Sea Aggressor I Fire, errors led to the disaster and post-disaster mismanagement, 1/20 |
American Diver Dies in Red Sea Aggressor I Fire, 11/19 |
Why Are Red Sea Sharks Biting More Often?, 1/19 |
MV Tempest, Red Sea, Egypt, great diving on a liveaboard we’d never recommend, 8/18 |
Our Picks for Top Red Sea Liveaboards, 8/18 |
Wooden Hulls, Tumble Dryers and Single Engines, 1/18 |
Fire Aboard a Red Sea Liveaboard, and a crew ill-equipped to deal with it, 6/17 |
Sick Divers, Macho Divemasters, travels in Egypt, Fiordland, Bonaire, the Bahamas... , 11/16 |
Egyptian Diving Market Sinks, 4/16 |
Red Sea Aggressor, Egypt, big critters will give you bang for your buck, 11/14 |
Fire Aboard!, how John Bantin escaped a burning Red Sea liveaboard, 8/14 |
Bahamas, Hawaii, the Red Sea. . ., one Micronesia resort worth visiting, another that’s not, 7/13 |
The Red Sea, Egypt, three great dive trips, three prices, 2/12 |
Andromeda, Red Sea, Sudan, Americans, you’re missing out on fantastic diving, 7/11 |
Curacao, Fiji, Papua, Maui . . ., dive sites where you can expect the unexpected, 4/11 |
Heaven Diamond, The Red Sea, Egypt, a desert oasis of world-class diving, 1/07 |
Three Perish in Red Sea Live-Aboard Explosion, 4/04 |
The Red Sea, North and South, for big fish action, avoid the day boats, 2/01 |
Sea Surveyor, Red Sea, 1/96 |
Red Sea: Poseidon's Quest, 8/95 |
Poseidon's Quest, 11/94 |
The Gazala I, Red Sea, Some Things Never Change, 1/89 |
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Diving Red Sea Articles - Land Based
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Available to the Public |
Raja Ampat, Bonaire, Maldives, Cozumel . . ., and endless trash spilling into the water, 7/19 |
Bait al Aqaba Resort, Jordan, a Red Sea site worth seeking out for its wreck diving, 2/19 |
St. Vincent, Maldives, Roatan, Belize, destinations for everyone, 4/18 |
Ambergris, the Red Sea, Raja Ampat, bad briefings, free flowing regulators, overflowing toilets, 9/17 |
“The Most Dangerous Dive Site in the World” Claims Free Diver, 9/17 |
Two Deadly Dive Sites, where Americans rarely go, thankfully, 1/16 |
Egypt? Now? Yes!, 11/14 |
Eritrea, Kiribati, Sipadan . . ., why to consider Wananavu, when not to consider the Odyssey, 9/13 |
Cancun, Cabo San Lucas, Fiji, Truk. . ., plus unexpected cold water, and a liveaboard to avoid, 8/12 |
Yes, But Is Egypt Safe?, 2/12 |
At What Cost For a Third Dive?, not so charming at Sharm El-Sheikh, 7/10 |
Caribbean, Hawaii, Indonesia, Red Sea…, hidden travel charges, Hawaiian fish, and a good Caribbean site, 8/09 |
Flashing the Marine Life, 8/09 |
Serious Diver Impact on the Red Sea, 1/09 |
Diving The Red Sea, 1/89 |
Fantasea, Red Sea, And Fantasy It Is, 10/85 |
The Red Sea, Update And Mini-Review Of The Sun Boat And La Mer Tours, 2/80 |
Diving the Red Sea: The Egyptian and Israeli Accords, 5/79 |
The Ultimate Underwater Wilderness, The Red Sea Part II, 2/79 |
The Red Sea; Sharm-el-Shiekh: Part I, There's no need for exaggeration, 1/79 |
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Red Sea Sections from Our Travelin'
Diver's Chapbooks
Reader Reports filed for
that year |
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
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.
There's a Cockroach in My Regulator
by Undercurrent
The Best of Undercurrent: Bizarre and Brilliant True Diving Tales from Thirty Years of Undercurrent.
Shipping now is our brand new, 240-page book filled with the best of the unusual, the entertaining, and the jaw dropping stories Undercurrent has published. They’re true, often unbelievable, and always fascinating. We’re offering it to you now for the special price of just $14.95.
Click here to order.
You might find some other books
of interest in our
Editor's Book Picks
section.
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