10 days: Deep South until Elba Reef

Itinerary Highlights

• 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 gorgonians, fans, sponges and black coral trees. Because of its exponated situation everything seems to concentrate on the surroundings of this small island. Reef sharks, especially grey and silvertips, 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.
• Elba Reef is located at the Halaib Triangle on the Egyptian and Sudanese border with very nice plateaus on its North and South side. It is a triangle-shaped reef, the Plateau in the North is long and starts at around 20m and ends at around 45m depth. At the edge of the plateau plenty of huge coral fans can be found.
• One of the main attractions, at the edge of a deep drop-off at the South plateau, is the large Wreck of “SS Isola di Levanzo” that sank in the early 1900s. She is a rarely visited beautiful Wreck which is surrounded by scattered sherry bottles all over the sea bottom. The propeller of the ship lies at 18m and the entire upper or stern section can be penetrated.
• Further inshore, the reef is relatively shallow but well grown with a variety of corals. All around the Reef Fish life is interesting as from reef species to sharks everything can be spotted.
• On the way back visiting the St. Johns reefs is a must. Big Habili and Small Habili with their fantastic drop offs overgrown with big gorgonians 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 12 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.
• Fury Shoals is a Mecca for dolphins. Here are tons of beautiful reefs with thousands of colorful fishes. The biological diversity on corals, both hard and soft, is astonishing. Diving varies from easy to quite challenging depending where one dives such as Sha'ab Maksour with drop off and drift dives, Sha'ab Claudio with caves and his local Napoleon that greets our guests most of the time. Sha'ab Sharm offers a good observation point for viewing passing sharks.
• Photogenic wrecks can be found at Abu Galawa and not to forget the main spot at the Fury Shoal, Satayah, the dolphin reef with it's easy dives and snorkeling possibility.
• 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 with soft corals, black corals, wire corals and gorgonians. Hammerheads, oceanic white tip sharks and grey reef sharks can also be spotted here.