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Sandy point and watchtower along Hurghada's turquoise Red Sea shoreline

Hurghada & El Gouna · Egypt · Pinnacle · Coral garden

Erg Sabina

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

Area photo: Tanya Dedyukhina · CC BY 3.0

Erg Sabina is a shallow coral erg in the Giftun Strait off Hurghada, dived between 10 and 12 m. Butterflyfish and crocodile fish live on the coral, turtles and eagle rays pass by, and a smaller soft-coral erg just north of the main reef draws divers for its glassfish.

Also known as Erg Sabrina.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Erg Sabina: typical dive 10–12 m (33–40 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit10 m12 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

27.2168° N, 33.9541° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

The dive stays between 10 and 12 m, past butterflyfish and crocodile fish, with turtles and eagle rays as the larger visitors. Just 50 m north of the main reef sits a charming small erg, a soft-coral oasis covered in delicate soft corals and glassfish.

Marine life and season

  • Sea turtles
  • Eagle rays
Month-by-month season rating for Erg Sabina
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Season follows Hurghada & El Gouna: Diving runs all year; the seas settle from March to November and are calmest in summer, while February brings the coolest water.

Know before you go

  • Currents can arise here because of the unusual shape of the Giftun Strait.

Dive videos

erg sabina · Splash Red Sea Hurghada on YouTube

Sources

  1. Erg Sabina - Blue Paradise — Blue Paradise Dive Center
  2. Erg Sabina (OpenStreetMap) — OpenStreetMap contributors

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

to 30 mintermediate

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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

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25–32 madvanced

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