10 days: Best of the Red Sea-Daedalus-Rocky Island-Zabargad-St. Johns-Elphinstone

Itinerary Highlights

• The Daedalus reef is a huge reef formation that lies at about 180 km south of Brother Islands. The reef is surrounded by a sheer wall all around, featuring a plateau on its southern side that goes from 28 m beside the reef to 40m on the edge of the drop off. If the weather is good, try to get as far north as possible and drift along one of the sides of the reef. Reef and hammerhead sharks are often spotted here. Marine life is here more abundant than anywhere else, with schools of surgeons, fusiliers.
• Rocky Island is a mystical site that represents a diver’s dream. The indented reef that circles the entire perimeter of the island drops deeply to an astonished depth and the constant currents that flow all along the year favor the growth of different kinds of colorful marine life in a continuous struggle for a place on the reef. The walls are absolutely covered with the most beautiful soft corals, as well as gorgonias, fans, sponges and black coral trees.. Reef sharks, especially grey and silver tips, you can watch in the blue and may be manta rays, turtles and dolphins.
• The Island of Zabargad is a superb dive spot. Here you can dive along walls, hover over drop offs or dive slowly in the shallow area, watching the big amount of reef fishes or inhabitants and admire the beautiful coral garden.
• In the deep south of the Red Sea we find the St.Johns reefs. Big Habili and Small Habili with their fantastic drop offs overgrown with big gorginias and colorful bright soft corals promise you to be a fantastic dive. You find a lot of marine life at the reef itself and as well in the blue you may see barracudas, different sharks, sometimes dolphins or manta passing by. Umm Erug seems to be the place of unusual coral blocks.
• Next to the main reef in a depth of 12m to 30m you find many different block formations who remind you of everyday life`s figures. Schools of small reef fishes, camouflage artists and small critters you can explore. Around two hours drive to the north there is the area of St.Johns Cave. The name cave is program and Umm Hararim impresses of its unique cave and canyon system. The main reef surrounded by a beautiful hard coral garden is on its south-west side full of holes like a Swiss cheese. In shallow water you can dive through the open passages to see the light show of the sun and the nice soft corals growing inside.
• The reef of Elphinstone, a truly legendary reef, is one of the most beautiful reefs in the Red Sea, with its north and south plateau, and the walls covered in soft corals, black corals, wire corals and gorgonias. Hammerheads, oceanic white tip sharks and grey reef sharks can also be spotted here.