Hurghada & El Gouna

About diving in Hurghada & El Gouna

Best time to dive Hurghada & El Gouna

December to February sit outside the calmer stretch of the year, and the water reaches its coolest in February. From March the seas settle, a window that lasts until November. June to August bring the calmest seas of the year, and the water peaks in July. September to November keep the calmer seas before winter returns. The boats run through every month, so the calendar decides comfort rather than whether diving happens.

Best months: June, July, August

Hurghada & El Gouna water temperature and weather by month

The sea surface runs from 22 °C (72 °F) in March to 29 °C (84 °F) in August. It is 24 °C (75 °F) or warmer from May to December. Rain is almost unknown: under 10 mm (0.4 in) falls in a typical year. Daytime highs reach 40 °C (104 °F) in July and drop to 27 °C (81 °F) in January. The coldest water here is about 21 °C (70 °F), so pack a 5 mm suit.

Dive types & marine life

The headline animals are residents rather than visitors: the spinner dolphin pod rests in the Shaab El Erg lagoon during the day, though sightings are never guaranteed, and napoleon wrasse live on Gota Abu Ramada. Turtles, eagle rays and barracuda reside at Fanous East, and hammerheads at Careless Reef are an early-morning chance.

• Reef
• Wreck
• Drift

• Dolphins
• Sea turtles
• Napoleon wrasse
• Eagle rays
• Barracuda
• Trevally & jacks
• Groupers
• Nudibranchs

Best dive sites in Hurghada & El Gouna

1. 1

   Gota Abu Ramada

   The Aquarium: an easy reef with the densest fish life around Hurghada, napoleon wrasse among it.

2. 2

   Giannis D

   Cargo wreck at Abu Nuhas, known as the Wood Wreck because its cargo was soft wood.

3. 3

   El Mina Wreck

   Egyptian minesweeper sunk by aircraft in 1970, lying on her port side from 25 m at the bow to 32 m at the stern.

4. 4

   Shaab El Erg

   Big horseshoe reef north of Hurghada whose shallow sandy lagoon a resident spinner dolphin pod uses to rest.

5. 5

   Careless Reef

   Reef with a drop-off where tuna, giant trevallies and large groupers patrol.

Site guides

Reef

Abu Hashish

A table-coral channel from the lagoon out to a pelagic drop-off

to 30 mintermediate

Reef

Banana Reef

An anemone city where hundreds of anemonefish guard their young

to 20 madvanced

Pinnacle

Ben El Gebel

A calm lagoon of pinnacles sheltered when the outer reef is pounded

8–20 mbeginner

Pinnacle

Careless Reef

Two pinnacles on a 16-metre plateau, with a wall dropping to 60 metres

12–17 m · max 60 mintermediate

Wreck

Carnatic

An 1869 P&O steamer rotted back to her iron ribs at 24 m

16–24 m · max 27 mintermediate

Wall

El Fanadir, North

One big pinnacle full of glassfish and moray eels

to 12 m · max 70 mintermediate

Wall

El Fanadir, South

A wall, a 20 m-wide plateau, then a drop-off past 70 m

to 70 madvanced

Wreck

El Mina

A minesweeper on her port side, 25 minutes from the marina

25–32 madvanced

Wall

El Sakhwa

A small canyon at the foot of the drop-off, 40 m down

to 40 madvanced

Pinnacle

Erg Abu Ramada

Soft-coral peaks where moray eels swim with napoleon wrasse

10–30 m · max 60 mintermediate

Pinnacle

Erg Sabina

A small soft-coral erg full of glassfish beside the main reef

10–12 mbeginner

Wall

Erg Somaya

A chimney at the northeast corner of the erg

to 30 mintermediate

Wreck

Excalibur

A dive boat lost to fire in 1996, on the seabed just past 20 m

to 20 mintermediate

Wall

Fanous East

Two soft-coral pinnacles wrapped in glassfish and silversides

8–27 mintermediate

Reef

Fort Arabesque Makadi Bay

Sheltered from the north wind, so it dives on rough days

to 18 mbeginner

Wreck

Giannis D

The stern lies canted 45 degrees to port at 24 metres

4–24 m · max 30 mintermediate

Reef

Giftun Islands

A vertical eastern edge dropping to 30 metres off Small Giftun

10–30 mintermediate

Coral garden

Gota Abu Ramada

Anthias clouds thick enough to lose sight of your buddy

10–14 mbeginner

Pinnacle

Gota Iris

The last coral block off Shaab Iris, averaging 14 m

to 14 mintermediate

Pinnacle

Gotha Abu Galawa

Pinnacles full of glassfish and anthias, all above 10 m

4–10 mbeginner

Reef

Hamda

A gigantic green lettuce coral almost right under the boat

to 30 m · max 50 mintermediate

Reef

Marsa Abu Galawa

Seahorses among the seagrass beds of a quiet lagoon

to 35 madvanced

Reef

Ras Abdallah

Reef slope, a plateau at 22 m, then a wall to about 70 m

to 22 m · max 70 mintermediate

Drift

Royal Azur Makadi Bay

An easy drift with turtles asleep on the coral at 20 m

to 20 mbeginner

Reef

Shaab El Erg

A resident pod of 100-plus spinner dolphins rests here each morning

8–10 m · max 28 mbeginner

Reef

Shaab Iris

A main reef and a scatter of coral blocks, averaging 14 m

to 14 mintermediate

Drift

Shaab Sabina

A coral garden cascading from the reef top to the sand

5–14 mintermediate

Reef

Shab Tag Makadi Bay

A desalination pipe sheltering crocodilefish and lionfish

to 18 mbeginner

Reef

Shabruhr Umm Gamar

Remains of an Egyptian army supply ship on the deeper slope

14–30 mintermediate

Wall

Umm Gamar

A coral tower that opens into a cave at 28 m

12–40 madvanced

How to get to Hurghada & El Gouna

Hurghada's airport is about 8 km west of the resort strip and about 10 km from Sigala. El Gouna lies 20 km north of Hurghada and Makadi Bay 30 km south, and both use Hurghada airport.

Photos from Hurghada & El Gouna

• 

  anagh · CC BY-SA 3.0

• 

  Tanya Dedyukhina · CC BY 3.0

• 

  Tanya Dedyukhina · CC BY 3.0

• 

  Tanya Dedyukhina · CC BY 3.0

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Dive videos

Scubadiving Egypt: Hurghada & Abu Nuhas Wreck Diving 2026 (English Subtitled) · The Big Koslowski on YouTube

Scuba Diving ICONIC Red Sea SHIPWRECK The Giannis D - Egypt Diving Adventure · Blue Horizon Diving on YouTube

Questions divers ask