The Best Hurghada Diving Sites: A Diver’s Paradise Awaits

Hurghada is a beach resort city stretching 40 kilometers along Egypt’s Red Sea coast. It is famous for scuba diving, and includes many diving shops and schools in the modern Sekkala area. There are many restaurants, bars and nightclubs, while the old city of Dahar Is home to traditional Egyptian cafes and markets. Resort hotels line Hurghada’s long, sandy beach.

Here are the best Hurghada diving sites

Shaab Sabina

Shaab Sabina, or otherwise said Reef Sabina, is located in the southern part of Giftun Island in a channel between two islands – Big and Small Giftun – belonging to Giftun National Park. It is located 60 to 90 minutes from Hurghada by boat. It’s consider one of the best Hurghada diving sites.

The Red Sea here Is quite calm on the surface but beware of the sometimes strong currents. Because it is a shallow dive site, it is suitable for all levels of divers, from beginners to advanced. Diving depth at Shaab Sabina can range from 5 to 14 meters. Shaab Sabina are also suitable for drift diving.

Shaab Sabina is consisting of the major reef, a protected sandy lagoon and an erg standing alone on the north.

North of the main reef, a maze of ridges and arbors make for dramatic underwater landscapes and to the northwest is a delightful coral garden. The hills are densely covered with hard corals which are a haven for small species of fish. It’s like being in a valley surrounded by mountains of coral reefs.

The upper reef angle separates the northern coral garden from the sheltered southern side. The southern part of this reef is mostly dead. At about 150 meters of the major reef, is a picturesque shallow lagoon.

The nutrient-rich water made the north side of the reef wall sparkle with life and the bottom around the vein was mainly sandy with some fiery coral formations.

The most beautiful table and brain corals are found in the Shaab Sabina. Shaab Sabina is diving mainly because of its magnificent coral scenery.

Immerse yourself in this exceptional coral garden, which steps down from the top of the reef to the bottom at a height of 14 meters. The coral maze provides a stunning sight as the waves send reflections of light dancing on the shiny sandy bottom. In the south of this maze, the main reef wall extends from a depth of 8 to 10 meters to the surface. Hard corals grow on top of each other and give the impression of a Japanese garden.

Reef sharks, eagle rays or  barracudas are regularly spotted here.

During your dive, you can encounter pufferfish, turtles, porcupine fish, parrotfish, butterflyfish, and surgeonfish.

The beauty of the corals and the topography of the place make your dives unforgettable and one of the best Hurghada diving sites .

Erg Sabina

Erg Sabina is about a 90-minute boat ride from Hurghada, and is located on the eastern side of the narrowest part of Giftun Island. Erg Sabina is a small, beautiful coral reef 10-12 meters deep, where the word biodiversity finds its meaning.

This dive site is not 100% protected from the wind, but as a shallow dive place, it is always suitable for all levels. The Sabina Erg can experience strong currents – due to the bottleneck shape of the Giftun Fjord – depending on the season, so be alert and take all safety considerations into account.

The area Is ideal for underwater photography. The clear waters and coral reefs create a wonderful panorama.

Erg Sabine is surrounded by a sandy plateau that extends northward and ends at another, smaller erg.

Erg Sabina is the most beautiful place on the north side. In addition to the coral reefs, there are some large coral reefs, along with schools of fish in the current. About 50 meters north, you’ll find a breathtaking little vein filled with soft corals and glass fish. And if you take the time to look under the coral or coral clumps under the table, you might be surprised at what you can find.

The major attraction of the site is a gigantic coral pinnacle overgrown with hard and soft corals, boasting of amazing fire corals where marine life abounds. Nudibranch, angelfish and lobsters are regular residents.

Life around Erg Sabina is magical. Amazing schools of crystal fish swim by. You can spot colorful butterfly fish, alligator fish, turtles and eagle rays. Lionfish, groupers, clownfish, jackfish, surgeonfish, and many other species live around coral reefs.

The huge amount of small fish also attracts predators such as mackerel, grouper and scorpion fish. You can be witness to an amazing spectacle: a school of glass fish rushes through the water in response to a ferocious attack from a predator, which tries to split the school in half, and the suspicious ones will become lunch. At the sandy bottom of the reef there are well camouflaged alligator fish that hunt from there. If you’re lucky, you might come across a whale shark whose appearance is always interesting.

Erg Sabina, with its rich underwater world, provides exceptional dives, and consider one of the best Hurghada diving sites.

The Abu Ramada dive site offers 3 beautiful dives places :

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Erg Abu Ramada

It is situated on the southeastern side of Abu Ramada Island. At this dive site you will find many peaks close together and forming a single line, on a sand plateau at a depth of 18 meters.

The largest peak Is entirely inhabited by glass fish and lion fish. All the peaks are covered with beautiful gorgon trees.

As marine life, you’ll find schools of grouper, barracuda, tuna and napoleon. Erg Abu Ramada is suitable for all levels of divers.

Abu Ramada South

It is located on the southern side of Abu Ramada Island. It is a popular diving site and is protected.

This area also has a warning at a depth of about 20 meters, where you can see starfish, octopus or lionfish.

Southwest of the reef you will find a steep slope with peaks where moray eels and lipsticks permanently live.

On the western side of South Abu Ramada, you can pass through a beautiful coral garden where you may encounter turtles. There is a long coral formation and on the other side there is amazing marine life, such as lionfish and glassfish. There is even an eel garden. Moray fish, blue-spotted stingrays and Napoleons pass by regularly. On your way back to the boat, you’ll pass beautiful coral reefs where you might find alligator fish or a school of goat fish.

Abu Ramada North

This is mostly done as drift diving, due to the harsh sea conditions. But if the current is good, it can be done as a normal dive. It is also called the “Aquarium” due to the enormous marine life you can encounter on this side of the reef.

It starts on a beautiful plateau, and heads towards an endless decline.

The wall is covered with gorgonians and soft corals. In the blue you can see barracuda, tuna, jacks, and from time to time even eagle rays and reef sharks.

Abu Ramada Island is just a great dive site with lots of diving or even snorkeling possibilities.

Careless Reef

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Careless Reef is located to the north, about an hour’s sailing from Hurghada. This reef is known as one of the best Hurghada diving sites, both for its marine life and its beautiful coral reefs.

High waves and strong currents are frequent at Careless Reef, so many diving centers dive in this place only in good weather conditions.

When diving in good weather conditions, this dive place is suitable for beginners to advanced divers. But if you decide to dive the Careless Reef area in unsuitable weather conditions, you better be an advanced diver. The average depth at Careless Reef is 18 m.

Most of the time visibility at the dive site is very good (about 30 meters).

The reef itself is a coral plateau in the middle of the sea and consists of two coral pinnacles with a 16 meter deep valley between these coral pinnacles.

The composition of coral reefs is diverse, with most types of coral found, both hard and soft corals. Don’t forget the beautiful table coral and fire coral found in this reef.

Careless Reef is known to be home to many reef sharks and other large fish due to its strong currents.

Octopuses and rays as well as turtles and dolphins are common sightings.

It is recommended to dive through the Coral Garden, across the plateau to a wall that easily drops to 60 meters. Nothing but blue on the other side, hopefully a hammerhead shark.

Take your time to admire the bands of coral that shine like stained glass through the sun.

When diving around the pinnacles, you will notice numerous moray eels up to 2 meters long inside the coral heads. Diving at Careless Reef gives you the feeling that you are diving into a picturesque aquarium

Experienced divers can also explore some of the caves at a depth of 40 meters or more. Sharks, tuna, jacks and barracuda can be spotted at deeper depths.

You should consider diving at Careless Reef, which is a great and popular diving area. Don’t miss the opportunity to discover this enchanting and moving underwater world, like the charming brown grouper that hides among the sea enthusiasts or the adorable warty clownfish that swims around and protects its home, the sea anemone.

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Abu Hashish

Abu Hashish is an island in the middle of a wide bay, 90 minutes south of Hurghada. If you are told that the island was once used as a warehouse by smugglers who brought cannabis into the country, do not believe it. Hashish translated from Arabic means grass.

Banana Reef

Between Ben el, Gebel and Giftun is Banana Reef, which is also known as Gota Ben el Gebel, Shaab Farasha or Gota Torfa el Shait, which means “reef dragonfly”. It’s consider one of the best Hurghada diving sites. It looks in the shape of the letter “Y” and has a flat bottom depth of 15 meters.

Ben El Gebel

It’s situated between Giftun Soraya and Giftun Kebir, there is a small reef road, the arcuate shape of which stretches along Giftun Soraya from its northern side. Ben el Gebel means “between the mountains” and is also known under the names Shaab Dorfa, Shaab Torfa, and Torfa el Shait.

El Aruk

North of Gota Abu Ramada (45-75 minutes from Hurghada), there is extensive lame erosion on the sea floor (20 m depth), resembling the removal of a mushroom. It is one of the best Hurghada diving sites, and spread in the direction from southwest to northeast and is divided into three main regions. Aruk Diana (southwest), Aruk Giftun (centre), Aruk Gigi (northeast).

El Fanadir

Fanadir is a long and narrow coral reef north of Hurghada. It can dive from the southern and eastern sides, and in good weather also from the northern side. The eastern side of the reef is the most popular. It is protected from the weather by the small curvature of the reef itself.

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Erg Somaya

A 75-minute boat ride from Hurghada, Erg Somaya is located east of Giftun Soraya. To the south of the reef you will find the police tower and to the north of it is a small mountain range. The reef wall descends onto a sand plateau 15-24 meters deep, at its end reaching a depth of 50 meters.

Fanous – East

These reefs have several names: Torfa el Famous, which means “coral reef with torch lighting,” Dolphin Reef, or Dolphin Stadium. Whatever you call it, it will always be FAMOUS – EAST is”a narrow reef, surrounding a large lagoon to the north-west of Giftun Kebir.

Fanous West

In the western part of the reef there is the “hole” or narrow channel leading to a lagoon 9 meters deep, where there is a coral garden with a large number of coral columns and two huge coral masses at a depth of 12-44 meters.

Hamda

Hamda is situated on the northernmost part of Giftun Kebir, at the foot of a ridge of towering cliffs and opposite a white pebble beach. This reef has several names: Hamda, Hamata, Umm Dom or Stone Beach (rocky beach). It’s consider one of the best Hurghada diving sites.

North Abu Ramada

Abu Ramada is located a 60-90 minute boat ride from Hurghada. Where the reef island ends, its rectangular plateau begins, 20-30 meters deep, slowly falling into the sea abyss. In its northern part, it suddenly breaks off, and the southern side of the plateau will appear before the eyes of divers with steep rocks.

North Umm Gamar

North Umm Gamar has two dive sites: North Plateau and Halq Umm Gamar (“Neck or Gamara”). The northern plateau is characterized by huge coral reefs, large fish and strong currents. Halg Umm Gamar is a bay surrounded by a wall to the south and a 60-degree coral slope to the north. In its center, on a sandy bottom, there is a deep coral reef. It’s consider to be one of the best Hurghada diving sites.

Ras Disha

About 90 minutes south of Hurghada, there is a wide bay on the coast with Abu Hashish Island in the middle. The island is known by an edge in its northern part called Ras Disha.

Shaab Abu Nugar

At a distance of 60-90 minutes east of Hurghada is the city of Shaab Abu Nugar, which is a T-shaped coral reef in the west and a flat plateau with a large number of coral blocks in the east.

Shaab El Erg

One of the northern reefs in the Hurghada area and located about a two-hour boat ride from the port. The reef is a large horseshoe frame

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Shaab Abu Nuhas

Shaab Abu Nuhas Reef (Abu Nuhas) is the most remote of all the reefs in the eastern part of the Global Canal. The coral reefs are located 4 km north of the Shadwan Island reefs and 3.5 km east of the Shaab Umm Usk reefs. Considering the location of the reef itself and the main ship route it passes through, it becomes clear why Abu Nuhas has earned the notorious “ship graveyard” reputation.

Shaabruhr Umm Gamar

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Like Umm Gamar, which lies one kilometer to the north, Shaabruhr is a narrow reef that runs from north to south. The reef does not have islands or lighthouses, but rather there are three ships that found permanent refuge near its walls.

Small Giftun

At a distance of 60-90 minutes by boat from Hurghada is the small Giftun, which attracts the attention of many divers. Here you can dive upstream, past a gorgonian-covered reef wall, which descends to a huge plateau, past a steep rock.

Small Giftun (drift)

An hour and a half away from Hurghada, opposite the small Giftun police booth, there is a diving place in the area that arouses more passion and enthusiasm than any other.

Umm Gamar

Umm Gamar – a long, thin strip of coral reef, located in a “north-south” direction, an hour and a half drive from Hurghada to the north. On the northern and southern sides of the reef there are small plateaus with a radius of about 20 m. The eastern side of the reef is a vertical wall that ends in a muted blue abyss. It’s one of the best Hurghada diving sites.