We have expanded our safari tour destinations in Egypt! If you have already been to Hurghada, Safaga, the Deep South, the Brother Islands, Daedalus, Rocky and Zabargad, then it is time to discover our new routes this year! We offer three completely new itineraries!

Our new itineraries

THE TIRAN ISLANDS

One of the most popular North tours originating from Sharm el Sheikh is the one to the Tiran Islands.

We are widening our safari destination offers in 2010, one of which is an expanded North safari originating from Hurghada. In our new itinerary the boat does not turn back at Ras Mohammed but continues towards the Tiran.

The coral reefs we visit from South to North are: Gordon, Thomas, Woodhouse and Jackson. The reefs got their names from 19th century British map-makers who were the first to make maps of this area.

The Tiran Islands which hide a virtual coral reef forrest on the sea bottom, lie at the entrance of the Akaba Bay and almost block the way to the Red Sea. There are only two narrow strips allowing entry through: the Enterprise on the West and the Grafton on the East, where the depths are at 360m, quite shallow compared to the depths of 1,800m to the North and South from here.

This creates currents rich in nutrients, providing an excellent habitat for fish and large whale species.

We recommend the Tiran Islands especially to advanced divers.

ELBA AND ABU FENDERA

Divers visit these reefs for two reasons: either they go through here when sailing from Egypt to Sudan or they come here to find a place where there are no other boats or hoards of other divers.

Abu Fendera is one place like that as is Elba Reef. From all the Egyptian liveaboards, only one or two sail this far South when an adventurous group books a week on them.

Abu Fendera lies South of St Johns and the Elba Reef can be found on the Egyptian and Sudanese border with a good plateau on its North and South side as well.

On the South plateau lies the large wreck of “SS Isola di Levanzo” that sank in the early 1900s. She is a rarely visited beautiful wreck which is surrounded by scattered sherry bottles all over the sea bottom. A few interesting facts about the wreck:

The “SS Isola di Levanzo” was built in 1901, weighed 3,713 tons with a length of 339.6 feet and a breadth of 46.3 feet. She was a single-flueted and double-masted vessel with a maximum speed of 11 knots and was able to accommodate up to 900 passengers.

She was built by the Orlando Brothers in Leghorn (Livorno) and she was launched in 1901 as the latest vessel of the Southern Marine Transport Association.

The boat laiden with salt and other cargo ran aground on the Elba Reef in the Red Sea on March 14, 1923 on the way from Genova to Durban. On March 28 during a salvage operation the towing rope snapped, the boat drifted onto the rocks and sank.

And finally, do not miss snorkelling in the Elba Reef lagoon.

These two destinations (Abu Fendera and Elba) can be reached by only high-speed vessels since several close to 10-hour-long night sailings dot the week-long itinerary to make sure the divers can start their next dive early in the morning at a far dive site. (The distances are: Hamata-St Johns, St Johns-Elba, Elba-Abu Fendera.)  And for these distances are just perfect the two robust steel vessels: Cassiopeia 5* and Andromeda 5*.

My name is Silke and I am from Austria, but I have never dived in cold water in Europe. What I like is tropical seas, therefore I travel a lot. My favorite countries for diving are Egypt and Indonesia, but I have been diving in many more countries around the globe.

I did my SSI-Open Water in Sharm El Sheikh in 2001 and my PADI Dive Master with the same Dive Center (Anthias Divers) in 2005. I started photographing underwater in 2003 in Columbia where I bought a really simple Sealife analog camera on the island of San Andrés. I am not into the SLR-camera-thing, I still take pictures with my Canon Powershot G 9 with an Ikelite housing and a Sea&Sea external strobe.

All this gear is a lot to carry around, that’s why I will stay on this level of photography I guess! Sometimes I use a macro lens because what I like much more than sharks or other big fish is the very small stuff – the smaller the better! If I cannot go diving I like to take macro pictures of flowers, insects and spiders.

In my normal life I am an audio and light engineer and have a company together with my partner Peter. As soon as my calendar gives me a free week I am hopping onto an airplane to Egypt to go diving for it is my favorite hobby and the best relaxation for me.

Websites:
www.flickr.com/photos/silkebaron
www.myspace.com/prilfish

Silke’s photos:

Location: Egypt / Safaga
Description: Reef / Coral garden / Caves
Depths: 3-78 meters

Panorama is also known as Abu Alama, meaning “Father of the Mast”. This is a reference to the concrete pillar which once marked its northern shores but has now been replaced by a high-tech automated beacon. It lies 60-90 minutes (weather dependent) outside of Safaga. It is an elliptical-shaped reef on a North-West-South-East axis. On the North end is a dramatic plateau (15-25 metres) and drop-off. Down the East and West sides runs a narrow, sloping ledge at the same depth.

The journey across can get very rough, especially since your boat will be taking it on the beam and therefore will roll a lot. Once you get there however, the reef gives ample protection for several boats. The current comes almost always from the North. It can get very strong, howling across the North plateau (beware of up-currents and down-currents) and ripping down either side of the reef. The South plateau is usually calm.

A drift dive on the North plateau offers some of the best diving. However to get there, you will need very calm weather or alternatively, a zodiac. After investigating the plateau, you can head down either wall to your boat, now moored in the lee of the reef (South). This is a long swim if unaided by current. The Western wall of the reef is best and the South-East corner boasts many gorgonians.

The North plateau swarms with lots of big fish, like surgeonfish, unicornfish, barracuda, giant trevallies, whitetip sharks (especially on the West side), grey reef sharks (especially in the afternoon), eagle rays, dolphins, silvertips and even longimanus, the oceanic whitetip shark. Everywhere are turtles. On the South plateau lives a family of three Napoleonfish alongside morays, crocodilefish, scorpionfish and a turtle with a deformed shell. Also, there is a large colony (50-60) of anemones.

Location: Egypt / Marsa Alam / Fury Shoals
Description: Reef / Coral garden / Caves
Depths: 12 – 24 meters

Sha’ab Claudia (sometimes known as Sha’ab Claude) is a small reef with lots of disturbed water at the surface and can have quite large swells in the top 5m of water. The west side of the reef has lovely hard coral formations, with stony and boulder corals cascading down to 20m like an underwater waterfall. Current will normally run from north to south and boats usually moor on the more sheltered south side, although surface conditions can still be rocky on the boat.

There are some reef fragments to the west which also have great hard coral, and yet more reef pieces to the south. Although the southern pieces are sparser in terms of coral growth there is some nice small marine life and in the top 5 metres the reef is densely populated with antheas.

Location: Egypt / Hurghada
Description: Reef with coral garden
Depths: 18 meters

Abu Hashish is the island at the centre of a wide bay, 90 minutes South of Hurghada. The island was once used as a drop-off point for smugglers bringing hash into the country. A tongue of reef extends about 1 kilometre South of the island. The dive site is at its Southernmost tip. There is a shelf between 15 and 22 metres outside and beyond that a steep but fairly bare drop-off, usually with superb visibility. Inside the tongue of reef is a scattering of long ergs.

Rough seas often make this site inaccessible from Hurghada, although the site itself is well protected. Current is mainly North to South and strongest along the drop-off.

Divers leave the lagoon through an obvious channel filled with table corals, cross the shelf to the drop-off and follow it North. There are some beautiful caves in the 30-metre region. They return along the inside of the shelf and finish the dive back on the lagoon amongst the ergs.

Along the drop-off pelagics, such as jackfish, barracuda, Spanish mackerel, whitetip sharks and now and then, hammerhead sharks and feathertail rays may be seen. On the shelf turtles, bluespotted rays, Spanish dancers, morays, lunartail and leopard groupers live while in the lagoon schools of squid and baby barracuda play.

Egypt is rightly famous for its pharaohs, pyramids and last but not least, for its marine life, thanks to spectacular dive sites, great weather and warm waters. The most memorable experiences come from diving safaris onboard diving liveaboards when we travel for a week in luxury and visit untouched sites far from civilisation, the city noise and the office.

A Liveaboard holiday will ensure that divers reach some of the best wrecks and reefs in the world, including world famous dive sites such as the Brothers Island, Deadalus, Elphinstone and St. John’s, as well as historical wrecks, including Rosalie Müller, Salem Express and Thistlegorm.

The Red Sea lies between the continents of Asia and Africa. The Sinai Peninsula sits at its most northerly point and stretches over 1000 miles south to join the Indian Ocean, between Ethiopia and Yemen. The southern opening is only a narrow passage that connects the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean, making the Red Sea an almost isolated body of water with a high temperature and salinity.

The Red Sea is home to over 1,000 invertebrate species, many of which can only be found here. More than 1100 species of fish have been identified as well as 200 soft and hard corals.

Whatever choice you make, you will not be disappointed. The Egypt’s Red Sea has so much to offer that you will feel you cannot get enough!

Away from the office. Signal occasionally. No e-mails, no phones. Yesterday you was still sitting in the office in your uncomfortably tight blouse and desperately struggled all day with colleagues. So drastic change! As far as the eye can see, sky-blue sea. White, sandy beach of the uninhabited islands. The much-talked-about coral reefs, and of course the fishes…they are amazing! The life is not much…eat, sleep, dive!

The liveaboard experience certainly spoils divers. The simplicity of life on the waves coupled with first rate diving and superior service make liveaboards a deservedly popular option. And no where will you find more choice than in the Egyptian Red Sea. From learner divers to hardened tekkies there is a route to suit in the Egyptian Red Sea.

Long gone are the days when divers had to make do. Today’s liveaboards are designed to make your every dream come true. Generous sized cabins, en suite bathrooms, nitrox, water maker, air con – these are just some of the standards you can expect on each and every one of our boats. Have a waterpipe after dive sunsets and your week is certain to be a success, no mater which criteria you judge it by.

Liveaboards depart from Hurghada or Marsa Alam, depending on the itinerary. The Northern Red Sea itineraries are ideal if you are new to this way of dive travel or if you want to visit the many world class wrecks the region is so famed for. The Deep South is a mixture of elegant pinnacles and delicious hard coral gardens. Sail out to any of the Marine Parks for adrenalin fueled drift diving and big fish a plenty. The last night and day of the trip can be spent ashore for a meal or a few drinks.

Your trip can also be tailored to either include a few days or extra week at a beach resort or we can construct an itinerary to take in some of the historical sites for which Egypt is so famous. We have extensive knowledge of the interiors of the fascinating country and use only the very best hotels and tours personally checked by our staff.

Location: Egypt / Marsa Alam / Fury Shoals
Description: Reef with small wreck
Depths: 22 meters

Along with Sha’ab Claudia, this is one of the most visited and famous reef in the Fury Shoals reef system. The main attraction here is the southern part of the reef, which is situated directly next to the boat. This is an explorer’s dream. The reef formation is like a playground of craggy corals, canyons and labyrinthine caves all waiting to be discovered.

It is also possible to explore the northern part of the reef where a beautiful hard coral garden lies. Be sure to dive the west and east side close to the reef. Here there are large coral blocks with an amazing cover of hard and soft corals. Almost every kind of Red Sea fish can be found here. Even at the south end of the reef, you can find enough coral blocks here to make four dives! This is one of the most prolific dive sites in the Red Sea and not to be missed.

Location: Egypt / Sha’ab Abu Nuhas
Description: Japanese freighter
Depths: 4 -24 meters
Length: 100 meters

The Sha’ab Abu Nuhas large coral reef lies in the Gubal straight. This reef is just as well known (although feared) among sailors as it is among divers. There are seven ship wrecks lying on the bottom of the sea, one of them the Ghiannis D. She hit the reef in April of 1983 and over the course of two weeks slowly split in two and sank. She is undoubtedly one of the best wreck dives in the Red Sea.

To find the Ghiannis D, leave the lagoon via the channel to the West. Proceed slowly along the Nothern reef at a distance of about 50 metres. It can be seen from the surface after about 200 metres. This is the most accessible of the other wrecks in rough seas. It takes extremely foul weather to make it out of bounds to divers equipped with a zodiac. Current is minimal.

The best part of the wreck is the stern section. It lies on the seabed at 28 metres, upright but slightly skewed to one side. She is an ideal wreck for penetration with a number of entry and exit points. Because she is skewed, the interior has impossible angles and perspectives. You find yourself swimming up a stairwell which your mind tells you is heading down.

The effect is very disorientating and the conflict between balance and vision can even lead to sea sickness. The engine room is at the centre of this zone. It is large and spacious but dark. Take a torch. There is a large air pocket in the engine room. This should be avoided unless you want to be covered in the layer of oil that floats on the water’s surface.

Outside the stern section the masts, railings, wires and cables are festooned with soft corals. Some dramatic photographs can be taken of the superstructure silhouetted against the light. The bow section is also picturesque but it is a long swim away. Your time and air might be better used exploring the shallow mast and rigging of the stern, where you can also do your safety stops.

Large potato cod often hang out to the North. Free swimming morays, snapperfish, eagle rays, mackerels, groupers and sharks can also be seen.

Location: Marsa Alam / Fury Shoals
Description: Reef / Drop off / Coral garden / Lagoon
Depths: 12 – 40 meters

Dolphin Reef is one of the most famous divesite because of it’s dolphins and walls. This is a horseshoe-shaped reef found in the Red Sea. It lies in open water to the northeast of Ras Banas. The eastern side has a steeply sloping wall profile, giving way to a sandy slope. Many species of fish can be found in the area. Angelfish, Butterflyfish, Cuttlefish, bluespotted and blackspotted stingrays are common. Several types of sharks are also frequently spotted, and there are regular reports of dolphins along the reef or inside the lagoon.

Napoleon fish, waiting for morsels of food, are parked under the boats anchored on the left side of the reef. They are used to the presence of divers and boldly swim among them.

In the mornings we can see schools of dolphins inside the lagoon. Getting closer to them can be a bit tricky and since they are resting this time of the day, we usually just watch them from the boat.