Are you planning to go to Hurghada to admire the beautiful underwater world of the Red Sea? You can do snorkeling like you always used to do, but you can also experience something new, Scuba Diving!
If you have never dived before, you can opt for an introductory dive. Or you can start the PADI Open Water Diver diving course with diving school located there.
Hurghada is the new popular scuba diving destination of the Red Sea. It is the second main diving area in Egypt after Sharm El Sheikh. It was a quiet fishing village and is now growing and growing with many hotels, resorts and dive centers.
Hurghada offers daily diving as well as being a favourite leaving point for many liveaboards. Liveaboard trips leave from here to explore a greater range of sites either north or south. There are many itineraries to choose from; some specialise in wrecks whereas others offer a mix of wrecks and reefs. There’s a range of boats available with some of the most luxurious boats plying these routes. Trips are mostly seven days but shorter ones are available.
Local daily diving offers some perfect conditions for those new to diving or with the intention of learning; conditions are suitable for children too. The more advanced sites do experience some current and are deeper and not appropriate for the newer diver. Hurghada is a great place for wreck enthusiasts; popular sites like the Thistlegorm and Giannis D are in reach of day trips too. Dive boats are comfortable and purpose built for divers.
There are nice reefs around Hurghada and especially around the nearby Giftun Islands. There are also few local wrecks such as the El Mina or the Salem Express a bit more far away. These dives sites are shallow and easy with good visibility and an interesting reef life. This is the perfect spot to learn scuba diving and many Europeans come here to get their Padi Open Water Certification or CMAS 1 Star. However, for the experienced divers, the most interesting dive sites are located Northern around Abu Nuhas for superb Wreck Diving!
Wrecks of Northern Red sea
The area is well looked after thanks to the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA). They have, for instance, installed a boat mooring system to protect the reefs and wrecks from boat anchors.
Thistlegorm
A fantastic dive site, which has been voted one of the Top Ten Dives in the World. You'll need to do this more than once to explore more than a tiny part of the wreck.
Thistlegorm is Gaelic for Blue Thistle. A British vessel, it was attacked from the air and sunk in 1941 whilst carrying a cargo of war supplies: rifles, motor bikes, train carriages, trucks. A big wreck - 131 metres long. Currents can be strong, and in different directions at the surface and at the wreck.
Abu Nuhas Wrecks
There are four (Actually 5 but the last one is way too deep!) Wrecks on the Abu Nuhas Reef! The Wrecks (Kimon M, Giannis D, Chrisoula K and the Carnatic) are very close from each other and what is really interesting is that they come from different periods and are different kinds of ships. Moreover the wrecks are shallow with good conditions and it is possible for inexperienced divers to dive the Abu Nuhas Wrecks.
The Marine Life is great with Turtles, Barracudas, Jacks, Blue Spotted Stingrays, lion fishes and all the usual reef fishes of the Red Sea!
The Abu Nuhas Reef is located North of Hurghada. It is possible to dive these spots on a day trip but it will take from 2 to 3 hours each way to go there.
May be the most recent one of the 4 wrecks is the Ghiannis D. The reef has always been the last obstacle for ships before reaching the safer waters of the Red Sea. Unfortunately the Ghiannis D was not able to overcome this obstacle and hit the reef hard on April 19, 1983.
It is a very photogenic wreck and a relatively easy dive. It is best to start the dive at the stern section as this is the deepest part of the wreck at 23-34m, and move on upward from there. This part of the wreck lies on her portside and you can see the starboard screw and its blades that had been twisted by the power of the collision. The great anchor chain is coiled on the reef.
In the midsection where the ship broke into two there are still some rotted remains of the cargo of softwood she was carrying. Large groupers are the usual residents here along with snappers, jackfish, eagle rays and even sharks. This section of the wreck is abundant in parrotfish.
El Mina Wreck
This Red Sea dive site features the wreck of an Egyptian minesweeper ship which sank just outside the harbour in Hurghada. It is named after its location, El Mina meaning "the harbour" in Arabic. It was a 58m long ship which was attacked by Israeli phantom jets (during the war between Egypt and Israel) and sunk while at anchor. The date of the sinking is a matter of some debate but seems to have been in 1967 or 1973. Nowadays, it is a perfect site for a wreck dive. Show more
Giftun Island
One of the 2 islands that comprise Giftun National Park, Small Giftun is the more frequently featured on liveaboard itineraries and by diving daytrip boats from Hurghada. Where the land dips underwater, the wall drops to great depths of over 100m and there are 2 plateaus which you may visit depending on your dive plan.
The Ulysses Wreck
Built in 1871 in Newcastle, England, this 95m long cargo vessel was sunk after hitting the reef of Gobul Seghir in 1887. It now lies at a maximum depth of a little over 30m, making it the ideal depth for Red Sea wreck divers to explore. Having been submerged for such a long time the Ulysses has been well and truly 'marinated' and is now completely encrusted with hard corals, blending in with the natural substrate of the Red Sea.
Dolphin House
Dolphins feel comfortable in warm water, so most of the time you will find this amazing animals at the Dolphin house in Hurghada. This destination is very popular for divers and snorkelers. Dolphin house is located about 90 minutes from Hurghada, where you will spend more time to join the dolphins.
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