Safaga Diving

One of Egypt’s Top 5 dive spots, Safaga offers diverse barrier and table reef diving, a striking maze of coral pinnacles and walls plunging to over 300m depth. Enjoy breathtaking marine life at the iconic Salem Express wreck.

Soma Bay

A more luxurious Red Sea dive destination, Soma Bay has house reefs stretching endlessly along the coast, offering numerous protected dive sites for new divers. Venture just 10 minutes offshore and you can also enjoy striking coral pinnacles on sandy bottoms and octopi mating grounds.

 

Diving in Safaga

Located just south of Hurghada on the northern part of the Red Sea coast, in Egypt, in Safaga is a small, but bustling, port town and diving area. Whilst shore diving is available some of the best dive sites are located away from the coast so it is a popular area for Liveaboards of which there are many that operate here. It is in the top 5 most popular diving spots in Egypt. Aside from flourishing coral gardens and coral walls, there are also some impressive wrecks to be visited and large pelagic species to be spotted.

Best time to dive

Divers wanting to dive in the Red Sea have the benefit of being able to dive any month of the year as conditions in this area are ideal for diving throughout. Apart from the days with high wind, weather conditions are never too extreme here to prevent diving. Water temperatures reach a maximum of 28 degrees Celsius in the summer months between June and September and reach a minimum of 21 degrees Celsius in February. Visibility remains constant throughout the year at around 22-25 metres.

Types of diving

One of the top dive sites which divers come and visit here is the Salem Express which is a truly breathtaking wreck dive. It is not possible to dive inside the wreck but considering it sank almost 20 years ago, it has become its own ecosystem and is now home to many species of corals and fish life.
 
Most of the diving here, done by the dive centers, is shore diving as most of the best dive sites are located there. There are options for liveaboard diving as there are a few dive sites located offshore.
 
Night dives at the Seven Pillars dive site are also really fun due to the Lion Fish which start using your torchlight beams for hunting!

What to see

Abu Kafan is one of the dive sites here which really provides divers with the opportunity to spot some larger marine life, which is definitely always a thrill. Here there is the chance for divers to spot Hammerhead sharks, Sea Turtles, Barracuda, Blacktail Sharks and more species of reef sharks. At Panorama reef you can enjoy the plethora of Anemone Fish that have set up house here and who will defend their homes to divers enjoyment. This area, in general, does allow for more shark sightings, large Napoleons, and Eagle Ray every now and then, and not to forget the large schools of brightly colored reef fish which rain down on the reef.

Best places to dive

Salem Express wreck is a passenger ferry which sank in 1991 which, despite the tragedy, is now harbouring so much marine life and has become a spectacular dive wreck dive. Divers are not able to penetrate the wreck but just the outside is impressive enough. 
 
Panorama Reef is a large reef table which lies at 30 metres deep and includes a crevice which is filled with Gorgonia, a beautiful sight. Depending on the conditions, the currents here can allow for drift diving past the collection of Anemone Fish and reef fish. Divers also need to keep an eye out for Napoleon Wrasse, turtles and sometimes dolphins which sometimes show themselves here. 
 
Middle Reef, if drift diving is what you enjoy then you can’t get can much better than this. Fly past the impressive coral wall and eventually ascend to dive over the vast coral gardens.
 
Abu Kafan is a 300m long barrier reef plateau that houses huge Gorgonians and so much more coral reef life such as an array of soft corals and black corals. This dive site is for more advanced divers and also allows for drift dives and dives through overhang environments. The coral walls here drop down to 300 metres plus, which is an impressive sight to see these walls disappear down into the blue. This dive site is one of the most beautiful in its coral formations but it also provides the possibility of sighting bigger species such as Barracuda, Hammerheads and more.
 
The Seven Pillars is a unique dive site in its structure of seven coral pinnacles on a sandy bottom which results in a beautiful maze type diving. These pinnacles house some gorgeous marine life from flourishing corals to an array of fish species such as Lion Fish and a resident turtle. The pillars are located between 12 and 18 metres and this is a great dive site for beginners and experienced divers alike.

FAQ

Advanced Open Water Diver prices range from €240-€245. See all Advanced Open Water Diver courses in Safaga.

Open Water Diver prices range from €290-€300. See all Open Water Diver courses in Safaga.

You can obtain your Advanced Open Water Diver in Soma Bay.

You can obtain your Open Water Diver in Soma Bay.