With over 1,800 miles of pristine coastline, Egypt is more than just the land of ancient pyramids and timeless monuments—it’s a true scuba diver’s paradise. The Red Sea and Mediterranean offer crystal-clear waters, vibrant coral reefs bursting with marine life, and mysterious wrecks waiting to be explored.
Whether you dream of drifting over colorful shallows or plunging into history on a legendary wreck dive, Egypt delivers world-class underwater adventures at surprisingly affordable prices. If you’re ready to trade desert sands for ocean depths, try to explore the 5 best scuba destinations in Egypt that every diver should experience.
The History of Scuba Diving in Egypt
Scuba diving in Egypt has been popular in for centuries. It’s considered a fantastic way to explore the numerous hidden wonders underwater in the country, from ancient archaeological sites to colorful coral reefs.
Scuba diving in Egypt began in the early 1900s when scuba divers begin to explore the Red Sea. Since then, Egypt has become one of the popular destinations for divers of all skill levels.
In the early days of scuba diving in Egypt, scuba divers used basic equipment and techniques compared to today. Divers only depended on their strength and skill to navigate and avoid any underwater obstacles. They had to avoid getting lost or running out of air while exploring. Regardless of these challenges, Divers explored some of the world’s most beautiful sites.
Jacques Cousteau (the french explorer) did the first recorded dive in Egypt in 1933 with two other divers. They explored Abu Qir Bay off the coast of Alexandria. This dive marked a major milestone in scuba history, opening new possibilities for exploration and discovery.
Since then, Scuba diving in Egypt has grown in popularity thanks to its attractions, such as coral reefs, shipwrecks, and underwater ruins that hidden beneath the waves. The Red Sea is famous for its abundant marine life, including turtles, dolphins, sharks, rays, eels and more than 1,000 different species of fish!
Egypt also include some of the best scuba destinations around the world, including Ras Mohammed National Park (near Sharm El Sheikh on the Sinai Peninsula), Hurghada, (with many wrecks sites), Dahab (which is famous for its colorful coral gardens, Elphinstone Reef which is ideal for drift diving, and St. John’s Reef with its coral-covered walls and marine life).
In addition to these fascinating scuba destinations, you can find many wrecks scattered throughout Egyptian waters, for example:
- SS Thistlegorm inSharm El Sheikh, which was sunk during World War II.
- Dunraven in Hurghada, which sank due to a storm in 1876.
- Salem Express in Safaga which sunk after hitting an uncharted reef in 1991.
- Giannis D in Marsa Alam which sankduring World War II after hitting an underwater minefield.
- Numidia in Port Ghalib which sankdue to a storm in 1901.
The 5 Best Scuba Destinations in Egypt
Egypt’s waters are home to some of the world’s most breathtaking dive sites. From vibrant coral reefs to legendary wrecks, here are the 5 best scuba destinations in Egypt every scuba diver should experience:
- Alexandria.
- Dahab.
- Sharm el-Sheikh.
- Hurghada
- Marsa Alam.
1. Alexandria
If you are one of the history enthusiasts or divers seeking for challenges, you must visit the Mediterranean-based seaport of Alexandria. It is one of the best scuba destinations in Egypt, because there you can explore many sunken ancient ruins hidden in the dark, cool waters, such as Cleopatra’s palace and the Lighthouse, in addition to historical shipwrecks from periods throughout history.
Alexandria lacks vibrant corals and fish, but a day trip to Omu Sukan offers beautiful corals which is a home to triggerfish, white-tip reef sharks, turtles, and eagle rays.
2. Dahab
The laid-back village of Dahab is considered one of the best scuba destinations in Egypt (the Red Sea if we want to be specific). If you are a beginner diver, Lighthouse Bay is the perfect spot for you with its fantastic reefs which have vibrant hard and soft corals, curious parrotfish, moray eels, and gobies.
The Blue Hole will only take a short drive up the coast, with a depth of 100 meter and can be an excellent spot for technical divers. There, you can spot large pelagics such as barracuda and tuna. The nearby Canyon is a deep rocky crack that is considered a shelter to green turtles, spectacular reefs, and large schools of bannerfish.
3. Sharm el-Sheikh
3.Sharm el-Sheikh is considetred the most popular scuba destination in Egypt with a wealth of Red Sea dive resorts. It hosts Ras Mohammed National Park, known for some of the region’s best diving.
Shark and Yolanda Reefs feature striking corals teeming with jacks, trevallies, and barracuda, while Anemone City features fantastic underwater topography in addition to plenty of anemones and clownfish.
In the Straits of Tiran, you can practice fast drift diving along vast walls of coral On the other hand, the world-famous wreck of the SS Thistlegorm offers a challenging dive with strong currents.
4. Hurghada
Hurghada is the Red Sea’s largest resort and a top diving hub. With reefs in shallow, sheltered bays, it’s an ideal spot for beginner divers. It also offers challenging sites for more advanced scuba divers including impressive wrecks at Sha’ab Abu Nuhas and El Gouna.
Hurghada is the main departure point for Red Sea liveaboards heading south. A day trip to the Giftun Islands offers hard and soft corals, steep drop-offs, and caves for experienced divers. You’ll also spot hefty napoleon wrasse, and schools of pelagic fish such as tuna and barracuda.
5. Marsa Alam
Marsa Alam offers a peaceful alternative to Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh, with shore dives where you can see reefs and schools of fish without long boat rides. Here, you can do day trips to magnificent dive sites, like Elphinstone in which you can encounter white-tip and hammerhead sharks.
In addition to that, you won’t like to miss the chance to dive with the resident population of dugong at Marsa Abu Dabab ( One of the Red Sea’s last remaining populations of these gentle creatures).
