Scuba Diving in St. John's Reefs

Diving in St. John's Reefs

Diving in St. John's Reefs puts you on Egypt's southernmost diveable water, more than 200 km (125 mi) south of Marsa Alam in Foul Bay near the Sudanese border. The area is a vast 290 km² (112 mi²) scatter of "gotas" (reefs that break the surface) and "habilis" (submerged reefs with peaks below the surface), part of the Elba National Park and accessible only by liveaboard. There are no day boats. The remoteness is the point: you'll regularly find yourself the only boat at the dive site, with shy species that have been chased off the busier northern reefs still behaving naturally here. The reefs are widely considered the healthiest coral in the Egyptian Red Sea, with the lowest diver pressure and the best soft and hard coral coverage.

The dive sites are clustered tightly together so you'll often complete 4 dives in a single area without sailing more than a few minutes. Trips typically depart from Port Ghalib as part of 7 to 10-night "Deep South" itineraries that combine St. John's with Fury Shoal, Sataya, Zabargad and Rocky Islands, and sometimes Elphinstone. You'll get 2 to 3 dive days at St. John's on a standard Deep South schedule. Night dives are permitted at some shallower gotas, unlike the Brothers and Daedalus marine park rules.

Conditions are gentler than the offshore Brothers/Daedalus/Elphinstone circuit. Visibility runs 25–40 m (80–130 ft) year-round and is excellent in spring and autumn. Water temperatures are slightly warmer than the northern Red Sea, sitting at 24 °C (75 °F) in February and climbing to 30 °C (86 °F) in August. Currents are typically mild compared to the offshore reefs but can pick up at Habili Ali, Gota Soraya, and the outer corners of the larger gotas where pelagic action concentrates. Most dives average 20 m (65 ft) with a maximum around 30 m (100 ft), which makes St. John's the most accessible of Egypt's offshore liveaboard destinations and a good option if you want pristine reef without the deep, demanding conditions of the BDE circuit.

Best Dive Sites in St. John's Reefs

The best dive sites in St. John's Reefs combine submerged habilis where shark schools patrol, surface-breaking gotas with tunnels and caves, and one of the Red Sea's most celebrated wall dives. Here are the five most-dived.

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Habili Ali

Habili Ali is the marquee shark dive of St. John's and the most-dived habili in the area. The submerged reef sits in the middle of the archipelago and drops past 70 m (230 ft) on its outer corners. You'll drop from the tender onto the reef top at 5–10 m (15–33 ft), work your way down the west side to 25–30 m (80–100 ft) where the pelagic action lives, and watch the blue for schooling hammerheads, silvertips, grey reef sharks, and the occasional oceanic whitetip. The walls hold massive gorgonian fans and black coral, with snappers, surgeonfish, triggerfish, and bottlenose dolphins regularly cruising the deeper sections. Manta rays show up occasionally. The shallow reef flat at 5–8 m (15–25 ft) is dense with juvenile fish and works as a relaxed safety stop after the deeper exposure.

Depth: 5–40 m+ (15–130 ft+) | Visibility: 30–40 m (100–130 ft) | Current: Moderate, often drift | Level: Advanced Key species: Scalloped hammerhead, silvertip shark, grey reef shark, oceanic whitetip, bottlenose dolphin, occasional manta ray, giant gorgonian fans

Gota Kebir

Gota Kebir (also Gota Kebira) is the largest reef in the St. John's area at over 800 m (2,625 ft) long and one of the most varied dives in the southern Red Sea. The reef is famous for its tunnel system on the eastern side, where shallow swim-throughs at 5–15 m (15–50 ft) cut through the coral plate into open caverns with the kind of light shafts cave divers travel for. The south plateau extends out at 20–30 m (65–100 ft) and is where the pelagic action concentrates: jacks, barracuda, the occasional manta, and reef sharks patrolling the deeper edge. The northern section has two smaller plateaus that hold whitetip reef sharks, blue-spotted stingrays on the sand, and a steady drift dive along the wall. The tunnels are easy enough for novice overhead-environment divers, which makes Gota Kebir a popular intro to Red Sea cave diving.

Depth: 5–30 m (15–100 ft) | Visibility: 30–40 m (100–130 ft) | Current: Gentle to moderate, splitting at the corners | Level: All levels (Advanced recommended for tunnel penetration) Key species: Whitetip reef shark, blue-spotted stingray, schooling jack, barracuda, occasional manta ray, Napoleon wrasse

St. John's Caves (Umm Kharalim)

St. John's Caves, known locally as Umm Kharalim, is the most photographed dive in the southern Red Sea. The site is a system of connected shallow tunnels cut through the coral plate at 5–15 m (15–50 ft), with multiple openings to the surface that send shafts of sunlight cascading down through the chambers. The diving itself is easy: gentle, shallow, no current to speak of. The point of the dive isn't the marine life (though juvenile reef fish and Napoleon wrasse are present) but the light. Most operators run this as a morning or midday dive when the sun is high enough to send the strongest beams through the openings, and it's also occasionally run as a night dive for the dramatic effect of the cave lights cutting through the dark. Bring a wide-angle lens.

Depth: 5–15 m (15–50 ft) | Visibility: 25–35 m (80–115 ft) | Current: None to very gentle | Level: All levels (Advanced recommended for overhead environment comfort) Key species: Napoleon wrasse, juvenile reef fish, glassfish, scorpionfish, anthias

Gota Soraya, St. John's Reefs

Gota Soraya is widely rated as the best wall dive in the Red Sea and the most reliable shark dive of St. John's. The reef rises sheer from depth and the eastern wall drops vertically past 100 m (330 ft), covered in soft coral coverage that ranks with the best of the BDE circuit. The wall has dramatic overhangs, deep cracks, and small caverns packed with glassfish and sweepers in the shallows. Pelagic action lives in the blue off the wall: grey reef sharks year-round, silvertips reliably, schooling hammerheads in summer, and occasional oceanic whitetips and threshers. The dive runs as a drift south along the wall with a tender pickup, or as a wall hover at 25–30 m (80–100 ft) watching the blue if the current cooperates.

Depth: 5–40 m+ (15–130 ft+) | Visibility: 30–40 m (100–130 ft) | Current: Moderate to strong, drift | Level: Advanced Key species: Grey reef shark, silvertip shark, scalloped hammerhead, occasional oceanic whitetip, thresher shark, glassfish swarms, sweepers, dense soft corals

Habili Gafar

Habili Gafar (also Habili Gaffar) is a smaller submerged reef in the central St. John's archipelago, only about 30 m (100 ft) across at the surface with a ledge running around it at 20–35 m (65–115 ft) before the reef drops vertically into deep water. The size means you can circumnavigate the entire reef 2 or 3 times in a single dive, which makes it one of the more relaxed habilis in the area. Marine life is dense: shoals of snappers and butterflyfish around the reef flat, barracuda hanging off the corners, and a soft coral coverage that's particularly photogenic in afternoon light. Mantas, grey reef sharks, and silvertips all pass through in the blue off the ledge, and the smaller habili size means encounters tend to be closer than at Habili Ali.

Depth: 5–35 m (15–115 ft) | Visibility: 30–40 m (100–130 ft) | Current: Gentle to moderate | Level: All levels with Advanced recommended for the deeper ledge Key species: Schooling snapper, butterflyfish, barracuda, grey reef shark, silvertip shark, occasional manta ray, dense soft corals

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Best Time to Dive St. John's Reefs

The best time to dive St. John's Reefs is March to May and September to November, when the air temperatures are pleasant, the wind is calm, and visibility runs 35–40 m (115–130 ft). Spring (March–May) is the best balance for first-time visitors: warm water (24–27 °C / 75–81 °F), excellent visibility, and the start of the manta season. Summer (June–August) brings the hammerhead schools to Habili Ali and Gota Soraya in the largest numbers, with water temperatures peaking at 30 °C (86 °F), but the air on land can push past 40 °C (104 °F) and the crossing from Port Ghalib gets longer in heat. Autumn (September–November) is the second sweet spot with warm water, calmer seas, and the best macro photography conditions. Winter (December–February) is the coldest at 24 °C (75 °F) but St. John's remains diveable year-round unlike the Brothers and Daedalus, since it sits in a sheltered bay rather than fully exposed offshore.

Diving Conditions

Marine Life in St. John's Reefs

Marine life in St. John's Reefs is the southern Red Sea at its richest. The combination of remote location, low diver pressure, and the meeting of currents from the Sudanese reefs to the south makes for some of the densest reef life in Egypt, with several signature species tied to specific gotas and habilis.

Scalloped hammerhead sharks: May to September, especially around Habili Ali and Gota Soraya. Scalloped hammerheads (Sphyrna lewini) school at the deeper habilis in the warm summer months, with the western corners of Habili Ali and the wall at Gota Soraya the most reliable spots. Schools are typically smaller than at Daedalus (5–15 individuals vs Daedalus's 20–50+) but encounters are more intimate because the boat traffic is so low.

Silvertip sharks: Year-round, especially around Habili Ali and Gota Soraya. Silvertips (Carcharhinus albimarginatus) are more reliably found at St. John's than anywhere else in the Egyptian Red Sea, patrolling the deeper sections of the major habilis and the Gota Soraya wall. Sightings of 1–3 individuals per dive are common at the right depth and current.

Oceanic whitetip sharks: October to December, especially around Habili Ali. Oceanic whitetips (Carcharhinus longimanus) arrive at the deeper habilis in autumn alongside the Brothers and Daedalus migration. Sightings at St. John's are less frequent than at Elphinstone but tend to be longer and closer when they happen, since the sharks aren't being chased away by multiple liveaboards on the site.

Manta rays: Spring (March to June), occasional across the larger reefs. Reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi) pass through St. John's in spring chasing plankton blooms, particularly at Habili Gafar and Gota Kebir's south plateau. Encounters are unpredictable but can be exceptional when conditions align.

• Reef community: Bottlenose dolphins, Napoleon wrasse, bumphead parrotfish, schooling snappers and fusiliers, surgeonfish, butterflyfish, anthias clouds, and dense soft and hard coral coverage populate every dive. The remote location and Elba National Park protection mean the reef community is in better shape than anywhere else in the Egyptian Red Sea.

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Practical Information

Dive Prices

• Standard Deep South 7-night liveaboard: $1,300–$2,200 USD covering St. John's, Fury Shoal, Sataya, and sometimes Zabargad and Rocky Islands
• Premium Deep South 7-night liveaboard: $2,200–$3,800 USD on newer boats with smaller groups and better facilities
• Extended 10-night Deep South: $2,000–$3,500 USD for more dive days at St. John's plus Elphinstone or other southern reefs
• Marine park fees: $80–$120 USD per week typically included in liveaboard pricing
• Nitrox supplement: $80–$150 USD per week, recommended for the deeper habilis

Getting There

St. John's is reached only by liveaboard, with all departures from Port Ghalib (15 minutes from Marsa Alam Airport / RMF). The sail south is long: typically overnight from Port Ghalib (8–10 hours) directly to St. John's, or broken up with stops at Sataya and Fury Shoal along the way. Fly into Marsa Alam Airport (RMF) for the shortest road transfer, or Hurghada International Airport (HRG) and arrange a 3–4 hour road transfer south to Port Ghalib if your flight schedule demands. Both airports connect with European charter carriers and Cairo transfers.