The Red Sea is two trips. The north, around Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada, is wreck and reef country that you can dive all year. The south has the offshore reefs, and you reach them by liveaboard.
The Egyptian coastline runs from the Sinai Peninsula in the north to the remote border with Sudan, and the diving changes dramatically as you move south. The north has the SS Thistlegorm, the Dunraven, the Abu Nuhas fleet and the sheer walls of Ras Mohammed National Park. Further south the Brothers Islands, Daedalus and Elphinstone are remote pinnacles and plateaus where hammerheads and oceanic whitetips are the draw, and thresher sharks are possible at depth.
When to dive the Red Sea
The Red Sea can be dived all year, with peaks in March to May and September to November. For the species-by-species detail, see the month-by-month guide.
Month by month
Northern Red Sea
Peak months are March to May and September to November, and wrecks score highest from March to November.
| Month | Conditions | Go for |
|---|---|---|
| January | Good | Wrecks, hammerheads, reef sharks. Winter wind can limit offshore access around Ras Mohammed and Tiran |
| February | Good | Wrecks, reef sharks. Winter wind can limit offshore access around Ras Mohammed and Tiran |
| March | Peak | Wrecks, reef sharks. Warming water and good visibility |
| April | Peak | Wrecks, reef sharks |
| May | Peak | Wrecks, reef sharks |
| June | Good | Wrecks, reef sharks |
| July | Shoulder | Wrecks, reef sharks |
| August | Shoulder | Wrecks, reef sharks |
| September | Peak | Wrecks, reef sharks |
| OctoberNow | Peak | Wrecks, hammerheads, reef sharks. Hammerheads are most reliable from October to January at Ras Mohammed and Tiran |
| November | Peak | Wrecks, hammerheads, reef sharks. Hammerheads are most reliable at Shark Reef in November and December |
| December | Good | Wrecks, hammerheads, reef sharks. Winter wind can limit offshore access around Ras Mohammed and Tiran |
Southern Red Sea
The south peaks from October to December, when oceanic whitetips are at their best.
| Month | Conditions | Go for |
|---|---|---|
| January | Good | Dugongs, oceanic whitetips, hammerheads, reef sharks, turtles, wrecks. Winter wind can limit offshore access |
| February | Good | Dugongs, oceanic whitetips, reef sharks, turtles, wrecks |
| March | Good | Dugongs, oceanic whitetips, mantas (reported at Elphinstone in March and April), reef sharks, turtles, wrecks |
| April | Shoulder | Dugongs, mantas, reef sharks, turtles, wrecks |
| May | Good | Dugongs, reef sharks, turtles, wrecks |
| June | Good | Dugongs, reef sharks, turtles, wrecks |
| July | Shoulder | Dugongs, reef sharks, turtles, wrecks. Pelagic activity thins in summer |
| August | Shoulder | Dugongs, reef sharks, turtles, wrecks |
| September | Good | Dugongs, oceanic whitetips, reef sharks, turtles, wrecks |
| OctoberNow | Peak | Oceanic whitetips (encounter rates peak in October and November), dugongs, hammerheads, reef sharks, turtles, wrecks |
| November | Peak | Oceanic whitetips, dugongs, hammerheads, reef sharks, turtles, wrecks |
| December | Peak | Oceanic whitetips, dugongs, hammerheads, reef sharks, turtles, wrecks. November and December are the most consistent months for pelagics across the south circuit |
From our Red Sea season records, checked 9 October 2026. Conditions is the record's season word. Go for lists the animals and sites the records score as a main reason to go or a good chance; occasional sightings are not listed. Sources disagree on the hammerhead window: in our season data the most reliable period is October to January, while outside sources report summer sightings.
Where to dive in the Red Sea
Northern Red Sea: wrecks, Ras Mohammed and Dahab
The north is where most divers start and where the best-known sites are. Sharm El Sheikh is the main liveaboard departure point for Northern Red Sea itineraries. The Thistlegorm, Ras Mohammed, the Dunraven, Abu Nuhas (a reef with four wrecks on it) and Tiran Island are all within range. Hurghada serves the same region from the western shore. The Red Sea wrecks guide ranks the six best wrecks and the order to dive them in.
Dahab, further up the Sinai coast, is a different experience: a slow shore-diving town where the Blue Hole and The Canyon are reached straight from the beach, without a boat.
| Site | Depth, level | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| SS Thistlegorm | 30–32 m, Advanced | A WWII wreck with motorcycles, trucks, locomotives and rifles where they were loaded in 1941. Full dive guide |
| Ras Mohammed (Shark and Yolanda Reef) | 20–40 m, Intermediate | Coral walls and anemone cities |
| The Blue Hole (Dahab) | 5–40 m+ | A vertical sinkhole. Levels vary, so read the Blue Hole guide for depth limits |
| Gota Abu Ramada | 15 m, Beginner | "The Aquarium", for its fish life |
Depths show the whole site. Dive within the limits of your certification: 18 m (60 ft) for Open Water, 30 m (100 ft) for Advanced Open Water (PADI).
Southern Red Sea: the offshore reefs
The further south you go, the more remote the diving. Brothers Islands, Daedalus and Elphinstone are not sites you visit from a day boat. They need a Southern Red Sea liveaboard itinerary from Hurghada or Marsa Alam.
| Site | Depth, level | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| The Brothers (El Akhawein) | 40 m, Advanced | Twin islands with sharks and two deep wrecks |
| Daedalus Reef | 30 m, Advanced | A remote offshore reef known for hammerhead sharks |
| Elphinstone Reef | 30 m, Advanced | A long, narrow plateau known for oceanic whitetips |
| Sataya Reef | 10–15 m, All levels | A large lagoon with resident spinner dolphin pods |
| Abu Dabbab | 15 m, All levels | A sandy bay with green sea turtles and dugongs |
Depths show the whole site. Dive within the limits of your certification: 18 m (60 ft) for Open Water, 30 m (100 ft) for Advanced Open Water.
To compare the two regions in detail, read Red Sea Liveaboard: North vs. South Itineraries.
Which level do you need for the Red Sea?
The Red Sea is a good place to learn to dive and to build your first logged dives. Visibility is good, high salinity makes buoyancy easier, the water is warm for most of the year, and the dive centres in Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh make instruction accessible and competitively priced.
Dahab is worth a specific mention. You can walk in off the beach and rack up dives without boarding a boat. Newly certified divers can stay on the Blue Hole's inner rim, within the 18 m Open Water limit, and get volume without current and boat logistics. The Bells entry needs Advanced Open Water, and The Canyon, with its swim-throughs, is for more experienced divers (Blue Hole guide).
I personally lived in Dahab for 2 months and the dive sites kept me entertained for that entire duration, just from shore.
Manie Eksteen, PADI Staff Instructor
The caveat is honest: not all Red Sea sites are suitable for beginners. The SS Thistlegorm, the offshore pelagic reefs and the deeper walls at Ras Mohammed require Advanced Open Water certification and solid buoyancy at minimum. Know which category your sites fall into before you book.
What you'll see in the Red Sea
A 2016 review in the Journal of Biogeography documented 1,071 shallow-water fish species in the Red Sea and 346 stony coral species. About 13% of the fish are found nowhere else (DiBattista et al., 2016). The offshore reefs act as cleaning stations and hunting grounds for sharks, including scalloped hammerheads and oceanic whitetips, with thresher sharks possible at depth. In the sandy shallows of the south, dugongs graze on seagrass, and pods of spinner dolphins are frequently met in lagoons like Sataya. Napoleon wrasse often approach divers, and nudibranchs cling to the walls.
Whale sharks are possible in the south from May to August. Reports from the north are inconsistent, and our season data does not score them, so do not plan a trip around them.
Red Sea: liveaboard or resort?
You can reach most northern sites (the Thistlegorm, Ras Mohammed, the Abu Nuhas wrecks) on day trips from Sharm or Hurghada. A liveaboard gets you there earlier and gives you more dives on each site. For the southern and offshore reefs a liveaboard is the only practical option: Brothers Islands and Daedalus Reef are 12–18 hours by boat from Hurghada.
The verdict: an experienced diver who wants the offshore reefs should take a liveaboard, no question. For a first Red Sea trip or a mixed travel group, a resort in Sharm or Dahab works, with a long day trip to the Thistlegorm if your certification allows it.
| Route | Length | Covers | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Red Sea, from Sharm El Sheikh | 5–7 days | SS Thistlegorm, Ras Mohammed, Dunraven, Sha'ab Abu Nuhas, Tiran Island | The wreck-and-reef combination most divers associate with the Red Sea |
| Southern Red Sea, from Hurghada or Port Ghalib | 7–10 days | Brothers Islands, Daedalus, Elphinstone | Experienced divers chasing sharks and open-ocean encounters |
| North and south combined | 10–14 days | Both | The full Red Sea trip |
Choose a liveaboard if you want the north and south, wrecks and pelagics, in one trip. The list of top-rated Red Sea liveaboards is a good place to start, and how to choose the right liveaboard helps you compare.
Choose a resort if you are on a first or second diving trip, travelling with non-divers, or specifically want the Dahab shore-diving experience. A week based in Sharm with day trips to Ras Mohammed and the Thistlegorm is a good Red Sea trip, and you do not need a liveaboard to have a great time here.
Ready to look at boats?
Before you go to the Red Sea
Summer is hot on deck, so book shade and cabin air conditioning.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Getting there | Flights from most of Europe take three to five hours |
| Experience level | Beginner to professional, depending on the site |
| Typical depth | 18–30 m (60–100 ft) |
| Summer heat | Air above 40 °C in Sharm is not unusual. Book a liveaboard with good shade and air conditioning in the cabins |
| Currency | Egyptian pound (EGP), although USD and EUR are widely accepted at dive centres |
| Language | Arabic. English and German are widely spoken in the dive industry |
Check the boat as well as the route: UK government travel advice says safety standards of Red Sea resort diving operators and boats vary considerably (GOV.UK).
The 2026 dive season calendar shows the full year at a glance.
Questions
Do you need a liveaboard to dive the Red Sea?
It depends on which sites you want. The northern sites around Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada, including Ras Mohammed and day-trip access to the SS Thistlegorm, are reachable without a liveaboard.
The offshore reefs in the south (Brothers Islands, Daedalus, Elphinstone) are only realistically accessible by liveaboard, as they sit 12–18 hours from the nearest shore base. If those pelagic sites are on your list, a Southern Red Sea liveaboard itinerary is not optional.
Is the Red Sea good for beginner divers?
Yes. Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh have PADI and SSI centres, warm clear water and a range of easy sites suitable for newly certified divers. Dahab on the Sinai coast is particularly good for building dive numbers through affordable, accessible shore diving.
The important caveat is that sites like the SS Thistlegorm and the offshore pelagic reefs require Advanced Open Water certification and solid experience. Know which category your planned sites fall into before you book.
What sharks can you see diving the Red Sea?
Hammerheads at Daedalus and the Brothers Islands are the headline act. They are most reliable from October to January in our season data, and outside sources report summer sightings. Oceanic whitetips are regularly seen at Elphinstone Reef, particularly in autumn, and thresher sharks are possible at depth along the offshore plateaus.
Grey reef sharks are common at most sites year-round. A single week on a liveaboard can produce three or four shark species without any of them being the point of the trip.
What is the best Red Sea liveaboard route?
It depends on your priorities. The Northern Red Sea route (from Sharm El Sheikh, typically 5–7 days) covers the SS Thistlegorm, Ras Mohammed, Dunraven, Sha'ab Abu Nuhas and Tiran Island. The Southern Red Sea route (7–10 days, from Hurghada or Port Ghalib) targets Brothers Islands, Daedalus and Elphinstone, and suits experienced divers chasing sharks and open-ocean encounters.
Combined itineraries covering both run 10–14 days and give the full Red Sea experience.
When is the best time to dive the Red Sea?
The Red Sea can be dived all year. In the north the peak months are March to May and September to November, and wrecks score highest from March to November. In the south the peak is October to December, when oceanic whitetips are at their best. Winter wind can limit offshore access around Ras Mohammed and Tiran in December, January and February. The month-by-month guide has the species by month.
What are the best wreck dives in the Red Sea?
The north has the best-known wrecks: the SS Thistlegorm (30–32 m, Advanced), the Dunraven and the four wrecks of the Abu Nuhas reef. Wrecks score highest from March to November. The Thistlegorm needs Advanced Open Water at minimum. The Red Sea wrecks guide ranks the six best wrecks, with depths, levels and the order to dive them in.
How do you choose a safe Red Sea liveaboard?
Check the boat, not only the route. The UK government's Marine Accident Investigation Branch advises booking liveaboard dive holidays only through reputable vendors who can give assurance about the boat's safety standards, and asking the crew for a thorough safety briefing before departure. The advice was published on 6 February 2025 (MAIB). UK travel advice adds that safety standards of Red Sea resort diving operators and boats vary considerably (GOV.UK). To compare routes, read how to choose the right liveaboard.
How deep are the Red Sea dive sites?
The sites on this page run from 5 m to 40 m and beyond, and the typical dive is 18–30 m (60–100 ft). Open Water divers stay at or above 18 m and Advanced Open Water divers at or above 30 m (PADI). Depths show the whole site, not what you should dive: Ras Mohammed, the Brothers Islands and the Blue Hole all reach 40 m, and the Blue Hole goes deeper.
Plan your Red Sea trip
All our Red Sea guides, in the order you plan a trip.
Where to dive
3 guides
When to go
1 guide
How to dive it
2 guides
Which boat
1 guide
What you'll see
9 guides
- Diving Abu Nuhas: four wrecks on one Red Sea reefArticle · 7 min
- Diving Daedalus Reef, Red SeaArticle · 7 min
- Diving Elphinstone Reef in the Red SeaArticle · 7 min
- Diving Marsa Alam, Red SeaArticle · 8 min
- Diving Ras Mohammed National ParkArticle · 8 min
- Diving the Brothers Islands, Red SeaArticle · 10 min
- Diving the SS ThistlegormArticle · 11 min
- Diving the Straits of Tiran, Red SeaArticle · 9 min
- Red Sea wreck diving: the six best wrecks and where to startArticle · 11 min