Sharm el-Sheikh, Hurghada or Marsa Alam? Red Sea diving compared
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All three regions are on the Red Sea, and diving is available everywhere all year round. They differ mainly in how you get to the reef. In Sharm el-Sheikh, the day boat takes you into Ras Mohammed National Park, the Strait of Tiran, and on a dedicated excursion to the Thistlegorm. Hurghada has the most flights, day boats to the reefs off the city, and is the port for the North Route safaris. In Marsa Alam, you usually dive the house reef from the beach or pier, and only the safari boat reaches the distant reefs in the south.
Sharm el-Sheikh with Ras Mohammed and Tiran
In Sharm el-Sheikh, the day boats usually depart from the pier in Naama Bay or from the Travco Marina. After Ras Mohammed at the southern tip of the Sinai, which has been a national park since 1983, the boat ride from Naama Bay takes around an hour and a half, and up to two hours to the Strait of Tiran. At the back of Jackson Reef in Tiran, divers search for hammerhead sharks from August to early October.
The Thistlegorm, a British freighter sunk by German bombers on October 6, 1941, lies in the Strait of Gubal. The boat departs between 4 and 6 a.m., takes three to four hours, and returns around 5 p.m. You can dive the wreck once you have logged 20 dives and have a reliable buoyancy control. You can reach some sites from the shore, such as Ras Umm Sid via a pier at El Fanar Beach, and Dahab with the Blue Hole is a day trip by minibus.
For trips to Ras Mohammed and Dahab, the base has required a tourist police permit since April 2023, so you must register at the latest the day before. The free Sinai stamp at the airport is only valid for Sharm el-Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba, and Taba. For the Thistlegorm, the bases charge a $30 fee for the visa.
Hurghada with wrecks and the start of the safaris
Condor flies non-stop to Hurghada daily from seven German airports. The airport is located around 5 km southwest of the city center, 15 minutes from the marina. The day boat departs around 8:30 a.m. and takes around 45 minutes to the Giftun Islands and an hour to Carless Reef, El Fanadir, and Umm Gamar. Off Hurghada, a group of at least 200 Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins lives year-round, resting at reefs such as Shaab el Erg.
The bases offer the wrecks at the Abu Nuhas reef, including the Giannis D and the Chrisoula K, as long special trips when the weather and minimum number of participants are right. From Safaga, you can reach the Salem Express in around 90 minutes. Several bases in Makadi Bay, Soma Bay, and Safaga have a house reef accessible from the pier, but none in El Gouna. This is important because during storms, the Hurghada port authority often closes the port for one to three days.
The North Route safari boats depart from the Hurghada marina all year round for the Abu Nuhas wrecks, the Thistlegorm, and Ras Mohammed, requiring 10 to 20 logged dives. Only the safari boat reaches the Brothers Islands with whale sharks in October and November, with requirements of 30 to 50 dives depending on the charter company.
Marsa Alam with a house reef and safaris to the south
The Marsa Alam airport is located at Port Ghalib, 68 km north of the city by road, and the drive to the resorts in the south can take up to 185 km. More flights go to Hurghada, from where it takes around two and a half hours to the Marsa Alam airport without traffic.
Diving here usually takes place at a camp or hotel house reef. After a check dive with a guide, you go into the water with your buddy, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Marsa Shagra camp. Green sea turtles graze on the seagrass at Marsa Mubarak and Abu Dabbab, and if you're lucky, you'll see a dugong. Spinner dolphins are found at Sha'ab Samadai and Sataya, and boats must keep a 30 m distance from them.
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The bases offer Elphinstone as a special trip to Port Ghalib for divers with at least 50 dives. There and at Daedalus, divers log hammerhead sharks from June to August and whale sharks from October to December. You can only reach Daedalus, Rocky Island, Zabargad, and the reefs of St. John's by safari boat, usually from Port Ghalib and from March or April to November.
Water, flights, and crowds compared
The water temperatures come from the SSI app logbooks, as shown in the seasonal charts in the three volumes.
| Sharm el-Sheikh | Hurghada | Marsa Alam | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water in February | 22 °C | 22 °C | 22 °C |
| Water in August | 28 °C | 29 °C | 30 °C |
| Flight from Zurich | 4 h 10 to 4 h 20 | around 4 h | 4 h 10 to 4 h 40 |
| Airport | 15 km to Naama Bay | 15 minutes to the marina | 68 km to the city |
| Way to the reef | Day boat | Day boat, safari | House reef, day boat, safari |
Diving is most popular on all three coasts in October and least popular in January and February. From mid-November to the end of March, the air is cooler, and in winter you should bring a 5 mm or thicker wetsuit.
Which region is right for you?
Sharm el-Sheikh is right for you if you want to take a boat out every day and dive the Thistlegorm without a safari. Hurghada is right for you if you are looking for a wide selection of flights, like wrecks, or are planning a week on the North Route. Marsa Alam is right for you if you want to dive the house reef a lot, see turtles on the seagrass, or have enough experience to dive the sharks at Elphinstone and Daedalus.
The German Foreign Office warns against traveling to the northern Sinai, but these three regions are not included in that warning. Read its travel and security information before booking, as it changes.
Diving sites, bases, and sample weeks for each region are available in the Sharm el-Sheikh Diving Atlas, the Hurghada Diving Atlas, and the Marsa Alam Diving Atlas.