Sinai and Hurghada, Egypt
Red Sea North
Sheltered northern end of the Egyptian Red Sea holding the best-known wreck in recreational diving, plus hard coral walls and drop-offs, dived year-round from resorts and short liveaboards.
- Wreck
- Reef
- Liveaboard
Best season
Best Mar–May
Minimum cert
Open Water
Water
21–30°C
Current
moderate
Season
When this place works
Open year-round with no closure; this is the sheltered end of the Red Sea and the reason the north has a twelve-month resort economy while the southern offshore itineraries do not. Winter brings wind and cooler water, summer brings heat…
Why dive here
What this place is known for
- 01wreck
SS Thistlegorm
British armed merchant ship bombed in 1941 with her cargo holds still full of Bedford trucks, BSA motorcycles, rifles and rolling stock. Rediscovered by Cousteau. The reason most people book the northern Red Sea, and it earns it: cargo wrecks this intact and…
- 02wreck
Abu Nuhas wreck cluster
Four wrecks on one reef, including the Giannis D and the Carnatic. Under-mentioned next to the Thistlegorm but delivers more wreck diving per boat day.
03reefLow confidenceHard coral walls at Ras Mohammed
Surprise relative to the headline. The north is booked on wrecks, and Shark and Yolanda Reef at Ras Mohammed is one of the densest fish-and-hard-coral walls anywhere in the region, with summer schooling aggregations of barracuda, snapper and batfish.
Marine life
Twelve-month species timelines
Ubiquitous on sand patches. Included as one of the genuinely reliable northern Red Sea animals rather than a headline.
Habituated individuals at several northern sites.
The northern Red Sea is not shark diving. Encoded as unreliable in all months deliberately: the shark itineraries are in the south, and conflating the two is the most common Red Sea booking error.
Conditions
What the water is like
Water temp
21–30°C
15°C — 32°C
Visibility
20–30 m
0 m — 40 m
Current
moderate
mild — strong
Thermoclines
Not typical
unlikely
Minimum certification — Open Water
Low confidenceThe most beginner-accessible destination in this dataset alongside Cozumel and Moalboal, and that accessibility is a condition rather than a highlight: warm, clear, minimal current at most sites, extensive shore diving, and one of the…
Entries — boat, shore
Recommended & required
- wreck_penetration — recommended. The Thistlegorm's holds are routinely entered on guided dives, but the cargo decks are an overhead environment with silt and entanglement hazards.
- nitrox — recommended. Thistlegorm sits at 16-30m and is usually dived twice in a day.
Logistics
How people dive it
3-14 days
scuba
Very large resort market at Sharm el-Sheikh, Dahab and Hurghada. Day boats reach Ras Mohammed and the Straits of Tiran; the Thistlegorm is…
5-7 days
scuba
Short northern itineraries covering Thistlegorm, Abu Nuhas, Ras Mohammed and the Straits of Tiran. The efficient way to dive the wrecks…
1-14 days
scuba
Dahab in particular is a shore-diving town, including the Blue Hole. Note that the Blue Hole's arch is a technical dive at 55m with a…
Operators
Who to book with
Loading operators…
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