Red Sea & Gulf of Aden · Egypt
El Quseir
Shore-entry house reefs from a 4 m bay at the ancient port to rope-marked canyons
Photo: Michele Gardini · CC BY-SA 3.0
El Quseir is a port town with 5,000 years of history on Egypt's Red Sea coast, 138 km south of Hurghada, and its diving is a string of hotel house reefs entered from the shore. El Quadim sits in a 4 m bay beside the ancient harbour, Mangrove Bay is one of the oldest known dive sites in the area, and Soug Bohar is entered through a tunnel into caves with a rope for the way in and out. Ras El Quseir's wall stands over sand with coral blocks and seagrass, the bays reach about 30 m, the walls at Flamenco Beach and Abu Sawatyr run to 40 m, and visibility on a calm day is around 20 m.
About diving in El Quseir
Diving here is built around hotel house reefs strung along the coast rather than a harbour, and most dives begin on foot. Entries differ from reef to reef: a walk in across the 4 m bay at El Quadim, a jetty, or a hole in the reef top that drops straight into 6 m at El Mohgar. Centres run a minibus along the coast road to other hotels' reefs, some charging an entrance fee, and boats cover the rest: diving.de Quseir, at the Silver Beach hotel since 2008, runs a day boat with free Nitrox 32, Anemone Garden is a speedboat drop at a buoy, and the Sharm Taahtany wall is reached by boat from Mangrove Bay. The Brothers are a popular target from here, but by liveaboard, not in a shore-diving week.
This is fringing reef: a shallow reef top, then sand with coral blocks that gathers into a small wall. Coral gardens of reef blocks and black corals line the house reefs at Torfa Sabaa and El Mohgar, El Quseir's largest anemone garden sits on the blocks at Anemone Garden, Ras El Quseir and El Mina have coral walls over seagrass, and El Wezer mixes reef, canyon and pinnacle over sand busy with small life. Soug Bohar and Soug Bahar are different, with tunnels and canyons through the reef marked by a rope. Maheleg and Soug Bahar bottom out at about 30 m; Abu Sawatyr's sand and the wall off Flamenco Beach carry on to 40 m. Current is mostly light and visibility on a calm day is about 20 m.
It suits divers who want unhurried shore diving with a snorkelling partner, anyone in training, and those wanting a base with a 5,000-year-old port and an old fort behind it. Pharaoh Dive Club at the Roots Red Sea resort north of town is BSAC-affiliated and also teaches PADI, and Nemo Tec on the corniche is locally owned. Big animals are not the point: the dugongs of Abu Dabbab and the dolphins of Sha'ab Samadai are further south under Marsa Alam, the Brothers and Daedalus are liveaboard destinations with their own listing, and Zabargad and Rocky Island sail with the St John's trips. Some house reefs and bases were reported closed at time of writing, so confirm which are open before booking.
When to dive El Quseir
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair |
Sheltered shore dives, so the winter wind that disrupts boat schedules from October to April matters less; water falls to 23 °C by February and peaks near 30 °C in late summer.
Dive types & marine life
The interest is in the coral rather than big animals: black corals on the northern house reefs at Torfa Sabaa and El Mohgar, El Quseir's largest anemone garden on the blocks at Anemone Garden, and small life on the sand at El Wezer. Seagrass meadows at Ras El Quseir and El Mina make turtles a possibility rather than a fixture. Dugongs and dolphins belong to the bays further south under Marsa Alam.
- Reef
- Coral garden
- Wall
- Cave & cavern
- Night
- Pristine corals
Notable dive sites in El Quseir
Sand slope
Sandy bay sloping to 40 m between coral gardens that reach 30 m
Coral garden
Hole-in-the-roof entry to coral blocks rising from 10 to 40 m to the surface
Jetty-entry wall to 40 m dived for tuna, dolphins and passing whale sharks
Coral garden
Sheltered bay with a coral garden and a wall, listed to 30 m, only light current
Cave & cavern
Rope-marked route through reef canyons and caves to 30 m
El Quadim
Resort house reef in the ancient port bay north of town: a 4 m bay with a deeper section, old amphorae and an anchor.
Mangrove Bay
One of the oldest known dive sites in the area, an easy shore entry over healthy coral for all levels.
Utopia Beach House Reef
Sheltered twin reefs south of town; shallows used for training and night dives, coral blocks merging into a mini wall.
Soug Bohar
Entry through a tunnel into several caves, with a rope for the way in and out and a coral garden at the southern end.
Anemone Garden
Coral blocks reached by speedboat with a descent at a buoy, topped by El Quseir's largest anemone garden.
Ras El Quseir
Overgrown wall at the town's headland, with large coral blocks and a seagrass meadow on the sand below.
Getting there
Marsa Alam airport is 68 km south of El Quseir and Hurghada 138 km north; Upper Egypt Travel buses link the town with Cairo, Safaga, Hurghada and Marsa Alam. Centres are diving.de Quseir at the Silver Beach Boutique Hotel, Pharaoh Dive Club at the Roots Red Sea resort at KM14 on the Safaga road north of town, and Nemo Tec on the corniche.
Photos from El Quseir
Michal Gorski · CC BY-SA 3.0
JOADL · CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo credits
- Juvenile black-and-white snapper hovering over coral near Al-Qusayr by Michele Gardini, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- El Quseir's minaret and waterfront buildings seen from the beach by Michal Gorski, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A lamplit jetty reaching into the Red Sea at sunset near Al-Qusair by JOADL, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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