World dive sites

Egypt Diving

Land Temperature:
Damn Hot! A desert climate with virtually no rainfall.

Water Temperature:
As low as 19°C in February and around 28°C from May to October.

When to go:
All year round although the European summer months are best.

Wetsuit required:
A 3mm shorty from May to October. A 5mm full length from November-April.

Visibility:
Excellent. Average 30m. Sometimes as high as 60m, occasionally just 20m.

Diving types:
Reefs, wrecks, drop offs, pinnacles, canyons – you name it, it’s here.

Experience Level:
Beginner to experienced.

Marine life:
Sharks, Turtles, Rays, Lionfish, Jacks, Snapper etc etc etc

After diving:
The pyramids, Luxor, Cario, there are so many options. Or just take it easy with a bottle of Sakara Gold beer.

Egypt Dive Sites

Egypt has centuries of history and a multitude of topside attractions to explore but it also has world class diving. When you plan your Egypt dive vacation you will have some difficult choices to make because there are so many quality dive options to choose from. From learning to dive at a resort to deep technical dive on historic wrecks, Egypt has it all.

The best known, and easiest to reach destinations are Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada but other areas are developing fast. Along the coast line on the edge of the desert are Taba, Dahab, Safaga, El Gouna, Marsa Alam, Sharm Fugani and El Qusier.

Not surprisingly, tourist numbers have fallen since 9/11 but thankfully for the locals who rely on the tourist income, lots of divers are still visiting.

So what can you the diver expect to see underwater in Egypt? The short answer is anything and everything. If you’re into shark dives you can pretty much guarantee them in the marine parks and the further south you go the more you’ll see and the bigger they’ll be. Grey reef sharks and white tip reef sharks are common. Schools of Hammerhead sharks can be seen in certain locations.

Scared of sharks? How about doing a wreck diving safari instead? Some liveaboards out of Sharm specialize in the famous wreck dive sites. You can also visit wrecks on day trips dive boats. The most famous wreck is the HMS Thistlegorm, we challenge you not to be awed by this incredible dive site. We also urge you to dive it soon. The Giannis D and Carnatic are two other popular wrecks dived either from liveaboards or day boats.

The beauty of Egypt coral reefs will leave you breathless (not literally we hope!). The soft coral gardens are made all the more beautiful by the red sea’s crystal clear water that allows the sunshine to penetrate deep down. This truly is a photographer’s paradise. The great thing about coral is that it prefers the shallows where the sun can reach it so a great dive in Egypt doesn’t have to be a deep one which is perfect for new divers or those who like a longer dive. Safety stops are a joy in Egypt.

Of course Egypt has its fair share of deep dives as well including the famous, or should we say infamous, Blue Hole at Dahab. If you like wall dives, the Ras Mohammed Marine Park in the Sinai Peninsular, which is often listed as one of the ten best dive sites in the world (along with about 100 other sites), has 800m drop offs that will amaze you as you drift along taking in the coral formations. And as any good diver knows, deep water plus currents usually means big fish and lots of ‘em.

Now for the downside. Lots of divers have heard about how good Egypt’s diving is and some dive sites can get crowded with boats and divers. Come out of season to avoid the crowds (and to get the best discounts) or dive on a liveaboard that gets to the best sites before the day boats. Sharm and Hurghada are the busiest diver areas because they have the direct flights from Europe. The southern sites like the Brothers, Rocky Island, Daedelous and Elphinstone among others are further from the crowds and well worth the extra distance travelled. We recommend these sites to those jaded divers who “think” they’ve seen it all.

HMS Thistlegorm Dive Site

Jacques Cousteau discovered and first dived the HMS Thistlegorm in the 1950’s and photographed it for National Geographic. He removed one of the motorbikes as well as a safe and the ships bell. (He wouldn’t be the last looter of the Thistlegorm). However he kept the location a secret and it wasn’t until 1992 when she was rediscovered by a group of divers that the HMS Thistlegorm really became famous throughout the dive community. Situated North East of Shag Rock in the area of Sha’ab Ali, the HMS Thistlegorm can be reached from both Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh on daytrip dive boats or by liveaboard dive boats.

The ship lies upright and on an even keel in 32 metres of water, a perfect depth for a scuba divers wreck. This, plus the good visibility (average 25-30 metres) and accessibility from shore is what has made her such a favourite among divers. The bridge is at just 10 metres and the currents are generally light so, unlike a lot of wreck dives around the world, it’s an easy dive that does not require long decompression procedures or tek dive training.

However, what helps to make the Thistlegorm so popular is also proving to be her undoing, as too many divers are visiting her and too many mooring dive boats are rapidly deteriorate the superstructure. Divers always come away from the wreck talking about the amazing cargo, but every time a diver revisits the Thistlegorm they inevitably bemoan the fact that more and more has been stolen and more damage has been caused by looters. The WWII trucks are still parked in the holds with the motorcycles still on the backs, but badges, pedals, tool kits and other “souveniers” have long been looted. All brass fittings are gone of course. It is not too strong to call this theft as the wreck is officially a war grave.

Despite the damage the Thistlegorm is still an amazing wreck, still one of the world’s best wreck dives. The dive is normally started on the front section which is still in very good condition and all the winches, blocks and windlasses are still in place. Swimming aft there are Bedford trucks and motorcycles in the starboard and port side holds but the port side hold has been pushed in from above by a railway water carrier so it is slightly more hazardous. There are more vehicles in hold number one along with a mountain of spare parts. Lower down on the port side are two large armoured cars and on the upper deck there are two paravanes and a railway tender. But this is all just the appetizer. The main course starts as you fin gently through hold number 2 then hold number 3 on the starboard side.It is here that you pass lorries, trailers, motorbikes and different calibre weapons packed in boxes. There’s ammunition boxes near a Bren gun and further on some 14 inch shells. It’s like diving through museum of war and obviously one dive is not enough to take it all in, you would ideally need a week at this one dive site alone. You should just have time to see the two deck mounted guns at the stern before making your way back towards the bridge for your ascent. From above the wreck you can look down on the devastation caused by the bombs behind the bridge. Looking off to the port side you can see one of the locomotive engines on the seabed.

Most divers aren’t diving here for the marine life but plenty have made their home on the wreck, including grouper and black tip reef sharks which can be spotted on the early morning dives.

Thistlegorm History

Launched in 1940 in Sunderland the HMS Thistlegorm was owned by the Albyn Line and was one of a number of “Thistle” ships. She was designated as an armed freighter although her guns were actually misfiring leftovers from WW1 due to a general weapons shortage at the time. She made three voyages to the USA, South America and the West Indies before returning to Glasgow for repairs to her boilers. Then on 2 June 1941 under the command of Captain William Ellis the Thistlegorm set sail for Alexandria to resupply the 8th Army. Supplies on board included land mines, shells, ammunition, weapons, Bedford trucks each with three BSA motorcycles parked on the back, armoured cars, vehicle spares, radios and much more. She was also loaded with rolling stock intended for the Egyptian railway which was nothing to do with the army supplies but a commercial consignment of the Albyn Line. This rolling stock included two locomotives, tenders and water carriers.

The Thistlegorm first sailed down the west coast of Britain before rendezvousing with a large convoy off the south coast of England. The safest route to Alexandria was via South Africa due to the heavy presence of enemy military forces along the northern Mediterranean coastline. The light cruiser HMS Carlisle joined the convoy in Capetown and they sailed up the east coast of Africa before finally entering the Red Sea at the Gulf of Suez in September. The Thistlegorm then had to wait at the entrance to the Gulf of Suez for two weeks while a blockage was being cleared further up. This should not have been a problem in what was supposedly a safe anchorage because enemy ships and aircraft were rarely seen in this area. However, German Intelligence had received information that a large troopship was due to travel through the Suez Canal with 1200 British troops destined for North Africa and tasked their twin engined Heinkel 111’s based in Crete to seek and destroy.

On a clear night, shortly after midnight on 6th October 1941 two Heinkels had been searching without success for the troopship. Just as they were about to return home, as their fuel ran low, one of the pilots spotted a ship at anchor. He came in low over the sea and, as he approached the bows of the Thistlegorm, he released two bombs right over her bridge.

Both bombs penetrated the holds aft of the bridge, ripping open the rear decks and sending the locomotives that were loaded there flying over the rails. The Thistlegorm had been caught unawares and had no defense. She began to sink quickly and the crew abandoned ship. With hardly any time to launch the lifeboats, most of the crew jumped overboard straight into the sea. Captain Ellis and the other survivors were rescued by HMS Carlisle and then taken to Suez where the captain reported that 4 members of his 39 crew and 5 of the 9 Royal Navy ratings had lost their lives. Captain Ellis was subsequently awarded the OBE for War Services by King George VI. A crew member, Angus McLeay was awarded the George Medal and Lloyd’s War Medal for Bravery at Sea for his rescue of a trapped crewman on the burning deck.