Scuba Diving in Sharm El Sheikh

Diving in Sharm El Sheikh gives you access to three of the Red Sea's most famous dive areas from a single base. Drop south to Ras Mohammed National Park for the legendary walls of Shark Reef and Yolanda Reef. Head north to the Straits of Tiran for drift dives along Jackson, Woodhouse, Thomas, and Gordon reefs. Or push west into the Strait of Gubal for the SS Thistlegorm, the most famous wreck dive in the world. No other Red Sea hub puts this much elite diving inside a single day-boat range.

Conditions here are some of the most reliable in the country. Visibility sits at 20–40 m (65–130 ft) most of the year, and water temperatures range from 21 °C (70 °F) in February to 28 °C (82 °F) in August. Currents vary by site, gentle in Naama Bay's sheltered reefs, ripping at the corners of the Tiran reefs, and unpredictable at Shark Reef on a strong tide. Most dives are run from day boats out of Sharm's marinas, though Sharm also serves as a popular liveaboard departure point for northern wreck routes covering Thistlegorm, Rosalie Moller, and the Abu Nuhas wreck graveyard.

What sets Sharm apart from Hurghada and the southern coast is the depth and density of headline sites within easy reach. You can dive Ras Mohammed in the morning, the Thistlegorm on a long day trip, and Jackson Reef the next day, all without changing operators or boats. That range is why Sharm has been Egypt's most established dive hub since the 1980s and why it consistently ranks among the most-visited dive destinations on Earth.

Top Dive Sites

The best dive sites in Sharm El Sheikh span three distinct dive zones, all reachable as day trips from the town's marinas. Here are the five most-booked sites.

Shark Reef and Yolanda Reef

Shark Reef and Yolanda Reef sit at the southern tip of Ras Mohammed National Park where the Gulf of Suez meets the Gulf of Aqaba. You drop in on Shark Reef's vertical wall, which plunges to charted depths of nearly 800 m (2,625 ft), then drift south to a saddle that connects to Yolanda Reef's plateau. Yolanda holds the scattered cargo of the Yolanda wreck, a 74 m (243 ft) cargo ship that struck the reef in 1980 carrying bathroom supplies, including the now-famous toilets and bathtubs still sitting on the reef. Currents can be strong and unpredictable, especially on a falling tide when downwellings are possible at the corner of Shark Reef. Summer brings huge schooling jacks, snappers, and barracuda hunting the reef wall, and grey reef sharks, blacktips, and occasionally oceanic whitetips show up in the blue.

Depth: 5–40 m (16–130 ft) | Level: Advanced

SS Thistlegorm

The SS Thistlegorm is a 128 m (420 ft) WWII British transport ship sunk by German bombers on 6 October 1941 in the Strait of Gubal. She sits upright on a sandy bottom with the deck at 16 m (52 ft) and the propeller at 32 m (105 ft). The cargo is what makes this dive: BSA and Norton motorcycles, Bedford trucks, Universal Carrier armoured vehicles, Lee-Enfield rifles, Wellington boots, two LMS Stanier Class 8F steam locomotives, and stacks of ammunition, all still in the holds 80 years later. Day boats from Sharm run an early start (3–4 hour crossing) and most operators book two dives, one outside the wreck for orientation, one inside the holds. Currents can be strong and the depth profile demands Advanced Open Water with 50+ logged dives.

Depth: 16–32 m (52–105 ft) | Level: Advanced

Jackson Reef

Jackson Reef is the northernmost of the four Tiran reefs and the most famous for big-animal encounters. You drop on the sheltered southern moorings where the wall starts at 40 m (130 ft), follow the reef southwest, and round the corner into a shallow coral garden at 6 m (20 ft). The north side of the reef, dived only in calm conditions, is the blue-water spot for schooling scalloped hammerheads from July to October. The wreck of the Lara, a 137 m (450 ft) Cypriot freighter that ran aground in 1982, sits twisted on the northern reef top in 6–8 m (20–26 ft), mostly stripped but still recognisable. Currents at the corners can be strong, and the channel between Jackson and Woodhouse, nicknamed the "washing machine," gets chaotic in bad weather.

Depth: 6–40 m (20–130 ft) | Level: Advanced

Ras Umm Sid

Ras Umm Sid is Sharm's most accessible signature dive, just minutes from the marinas at the southern edge of town. The reef wall starts in the shallows and drops steeply, and the site is most famous for its giant gorgonian forest, fan corals up to 2 m (6.5 ft) across at depths of 15–35 m (50–115 ft). You'll also see dense schools of glassfish in the shallows, batfish hanging in the blue, and the occasional whitetip reef shark patrolling the wall. Currents are usually mild, which makes this an excellent first dive of any Sharm trip or a relaxed second dive after Shark and Yolanda.

Depth: 5–35 m (16–115 ft) | Level: All Levels

Thomas Reef

Thomas Reef is the smallest of the Tiran reefs but the most dramatic underwater, with a series of canyons and arches along the eastern wall. The famous Three Thomas Arches start at 35 m (115 ft) and drop to 90 m (295 ft), putting the full sequence in technical-diving territory, but recreational divers can still swim the upper canyon at 25–30 m (80–100 ft) and see the entrance to the first arch. Currents at Thomas are notoriously unpredictable and can switch direction mid-dive, so this site is run only as a drift. Marine life is dense thanks to the constant nutrient flow: giant morays, schooling fusiliers, soft coral walls, and occasional eagle rays cruising the corners.

Depth: 8–40 m (26–130 ft) | Level: Advanced

Explore Interactive Map

Best Time to Dive

The best time to dive Sharm El Sheikh is March to May and September to November, when water temperatures sit at 24–28 °C (75–82 °F), winds drop, and visibility regularly tops 30 m (100 ft). Summer (June to August) brings the warmest water and the best chance of hammerheads at Jackson Reef and pelagic action at Shark Reef, but air temperatures push past 40 °C (104 °F) and reefs get crowded. Winter (December to February) is the coldest at 21–23 °C (70–73 °F) and brings stronger northerly winds that can cancel Thistlegorm and Tiran trips for days at a time, though Ras Mohammed and the local reefs stay diveable.

Diving Conditions

Marine Life

Marine life in Sharm El Sheikh is shaped by the convergence zone at Ras Mohammed, where currents from the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba meet and bring nutrient-rich water that feeds the entire region. Expect over 1,000 fish species, dense soft coral coverage above 20 m (65 ft), and consistent shark and pelagic activity at the outer sites.

Scalloped hammerhead sharks: July to October, especially around Jackson Reef. Scalloped hammerheads school in the blue water off Jackson Reef's north side during the summer months. Calm conditions are required to access the site, and most encounters happen on the first dive of the day before the trade winds pick up.

Grey reef sharks and blacktips: Year-round, especially around Shark Reef. Resident grey reef sharks patrol the deeper sections of Shark Reef year-round, with sightings most common at 25–35 m (80–115 ft). Blacktips are more often seen in the shallows over the Yolanda plateau.

Oceanic whitetip sharks: October to December, especially around Ras Mohammed. Oceanic whitetips occasionally appear in the blue water off Shark Reef during the autumn shoulder season, though they're more reliably seen at offshore sites further south like Elphinstone and the Brothers.

• Pelagic action: Schools of barracuda, jacks, snappers, and tuna patrol the convergence zones at Shark and Yolanda from June through September. Eagle rays and Napoleon wrasse are common across all sites year-round.
• Reef dwellers: Crocodilefish, scorpionfish, moray eels, lionfish, and giant clams populate every reef. Glassfish swarms fill the wrecks at Thistlegorm and Dunraven and the swim-throughs at Thomas Reef.

Practical Information

Dive Prices

• Fun dives: $50–$85 USD per single dive, $70–$110 USD per two-tank day trip
• Liveaboard: $1,300–$2,500 USD per 7-night trip on northern wrecks or BDE routes
• Park/permit fees: $15 USD per day at Ras Mohammed National Park (effective late 2025), free Sinai-only stamp for stays under 15 days

Getting There

Sharm El Sheikh International Airport (SSH) receives direct flights from most major European cities, with seasonal direct routes from the UK now restored. The airport sits 15 minutes from Naama Bay (the main dive hub) and 25 minutes from the marinas at Sharks Bay and Travco Marina, where most day boats depart. Most dive centres handle airport pickups and morning transfers to the boats. Cairo is a 1-hour flight or roughly a 6-hour drive.