The contrast between the deserted coastline, devoid of vegetation, on which Sharm el-Sheikh was built, and the beautiful underwater world of the Red Sea, for which thousands of tourists from all over the world come here, is amazing.
Diving in Sharm El Sheikh is a pleasure available to every guest. It's that simple! Know how to handle scuba diving, have dived more than once - pay for equipment rental and sailing on a yacht to the open sea to the most popular local dive sites. Never dived with underwater equipment - go to the nearest diving center, of which there are more than a hundred, agree with an instructor about a diving course, learn the basics in a week and go to open water - to the most beautiful reefs.
Those who are reluctant to spend time learning can practice snorkeling - snorkeling and fins on the surface of the water and observe the multicolored marine life. The Red Sea in the Sharm el-Sheikh area is clean and transparent, so you can see a fish swimming 50 meters away from you.
Ras Muhammad Nature Reserve
In Sharm el-Sheikh, reefs are located close to the coast, so corals and their inhabitants can be watched completely free of charge from special bridges. However, divers prefer to sail further out to sea. The most interesting places for diving are considered to be the reefs of the Ras Mohammed Marine Park and the vicinity of Tiran Island. The diving center employees recommend to go to them early, because by 10 o'clock in the morning boats with divers accumulate around the reefs, and it is unlikely that it will be possible to swim alone with the fish.
The Ras Muhammad Nature Reserve is located 25 km from the resort. It is a set of hidden from prying eyes lagoons, sandbanks, coral islets, hills of compacted sand and, of course, reefs. In one boat trip to Ras Mohammed, divers have the opportunity to make two dives of 40 minutes each.
Most popular dive sites:
- Ras Gozlani. If you want to see a large number of fish and corals, this is the place for you;
- Jackfish alley. Probably, this site is not missed by any diver arriving in Sharm. The reef starts at a depth of 6 meters and goes down, resting on a flat area. You can swim along it, or you can find a cave located 3 meters below the top of the reef. At the very bottom of the wall there is an interesting coral corridor-alley;
- Garden of eels. Next to Jackfish Alley is a sandy area with a small grotto where eels live;
- Shark Observatory. The name is not deceiving. Indeed, large predatory fish live here - sharks, barracudas, etc.
Sunken ships
In the vicinity of Sharm el-Sheikh, there are several interesting sites, diving to which you should choose if you suddenly get tired of the fauna of the Red Sea.
The British ship "Thistlegorm", which sank in the Strait of Suez during the Second World War, is called the Underwater Museum. It went under the water with all its cargo, it was not lifted up, it is kept in the hold. And when scuba diving, you can see it. There are still units of military equipment inside the ship: jeeps, motorcycles, etc. The ship is located at a depth of 30 meters, therefore it is accessible for inspection only by experienced, self-confident divers. It is better if someone from the diving club team will insure you during the dive. By the way, there is a rather strong current around the ship, so here you can see sharks, barracudas, and garfish.
Another ship that sank near Sharm el-Sheikh is called "Dunraven". It should be looked for in the territory of the Ras Muhammad reserve. This merchant ship, sailing from India to Britain, went under water in the second half of the 19th century. Its remains are shallow, so diving is offered here even to novice divers who want to test their strength in open water.
Tiran Island Sites
On the border of the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea, there is the amazing Tiran Island, surrounded by reefs teeming with colorful fish and marine predators. For underwater photography on turtles, sharks and rays, you need to go to the sunken ship "Kormoran", which is already beginning to be covered with corals. Life does not freeze around him for a second. Red groupers swim here, turtles glide, yellow, blue, purple sailfish, angels, zebrosomes, clowns scurry about.
The Laguna site is famous for the colony of anemones. Predators live on Jackson's reef. There are always a lot of divers here, so those who like swimming alone will not get pleasure here. Woodhouse Reef is very long. Thomas's Reef, on the other hand, is small in size, but is chosen by thousands of fish who consider this place their home. There are especially many of them in the canyon with beautiful arches. People usually go to Gordon's Reef in order to guarantee seeing sharks.
