Egypt Itineraries:
Deep South Borderlands
This itinerary takes you further south than ever before in the Egyptian Red Sea!
Travelling south of St. Johns Reef, this itinerary offers the opportunity to explore the quiet and pristine dive sites close to the Egypt/Sudan border. Liveaboards rarely visit this region and with no day boats you will be left to explore the area in virtual solitude.
This reef based itinerary is perfect for those who have dived the Red Sea many times and are looking for something a little different. Zodiac diving is minimal, making this an ideal itinerary for those who prefer diving direct from the liveaboard. Please note that due to the nature of this itinerary, there will be some long sailings between dive sites, which can result in 3 longer dives rather than 4 slightly shorter dives.
QUALIFICATION NEEDED: You must be a PADI Open Water diver or equivalent and for your enjoyment we recommend a minimum of 30 logged dives to join this safari.
Sample itinerary:
**PLEASE NOTE** the itinerary below is just an example of the route taken and the order and dive sites are not guaranteed. All dives sites are subject to weather conditions and the final route taken is at the absolute discretion of the captain and dive guides.
Day 1 - Shaab Marsa Alam and Shaab Sharm.
Day 2 - Shaab Abu Fandera East and Shoab Ohrob Reef.
Day 3 - Habilli Ohrob Reef and Shoab Abu Fandera Fassma.
Day 4 - Habilli Abu Fandera and Dangerous Reef (St. Johns).
Day 5 - St. Johns and Fury Shoal.
Day 6 - Sataya Reef and Abu Galawa Small.
Itinerary highlights:
Habilli Abu Fandera: A submerged reef (habilli) with two main pillars which are easily explored during this lovely dive. The reef and pinnacles lie between 5m and 24m to the sand where you will find smaller pinnacles covered in soft corals and marine life. Schools of barracuda, jacks and tuna are common and keep your eye open for Bump Head Parrot Fish.
Habili Ohrob: This cluster of pinnacles is covered in beautiful soft corals of all colours and also a few large fan corals around the bottoms. Pinnacles start at around 6m and go down to around 25m. Large numbers of schooling fish such as barracuda, tuna and jacks can been seen between the pillars and in the deeper areas there is the possibility to see grey reef sharks. The reef tops are covered in yellow soft coral and anthias making for an absolutely stunning safety stop!
Shoab Abu Fandera East: The drop off point for this dive is on the Northern wall, where you will find many u-shaped cracks on the reef and vertical canyons that stretch all the way from the surface to the bottom (27m). This beautiful site is best dived first thing, but to reward you for your early get up is the possibility of schools of Bump Head Parrot Fish which are often sighted here!
Fury Shoal: An immense chain of reefs creating a host of outstanding dive sites including Abu Galawa in the north to Sataya in the south. Have fun exploring caves, tunnels, coral gardens, plateaus and drop offs! Abu Galawa is located within Fury Shoal - have fun exploring the wreck of 'Tug Boat'. The reef also has good coral dives on the west side.
St. John's Reef: Exciting drop-offs overgrown with huge gorgonians and colourful soft corals, stunning coral gardens and safe anchorages for night diving. Barracudas, Tuna and Mackerel are often sighted here and on rarer occasions Manta Rays and Dolphins. Hammerheads, Grey sharks, Silvertip Sharks and White tip Reef Sharks can often be spotted out in the blue.
Want to go? Check out the Schedules and Prices HERE
Underwater images featured by Dray Van Beeck - www.drayvanbeeck.com