Red Sea & Gulf of Aden · Egypt
Safaga
Panorama Reef's plateau drops away on every side into soft coral walls
Photo: Thomei08 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Safaga is a working port an hour south of Hurghada with a quieter dive scene than its neighbours and two outstanding offshore reefs. Panorama Reef is a plateau falling away on all sides into steep walls of soft coral, and Abu Kafan is a narrow ridge in open water that catches current and holds sharks and big schools. The ferry Salem Express, which sank in 1991 with heavy loss of life, lies on her side at 30 m and is dived as a memorial, without penetration.
About diving in Safaga
Diving here is day-boat work out of the harbour, and the timetable answers to the wind rather than the clock. Crews generally take the long crossing to the offshore marks first, while the sea is at its flattest, then work back towards the coast for a shallower second dive and lunch at anchor. Fixed moorings are the norm on the busier reefs, so entries are a giant stride off the platform and, when the surface is moving, a straight descent down the line rather than an amble down the slope.
The sites fall into two kinds. Offshore, isolated reefs rise out of deep water with steep outer faces and shallow tops, and you dive them as a loop: down one flank with the blue on your shoulder, round the point where the current divides, then back onto the coral shallows to off-gas. Inshore is gentler ground — coral heads standing on sand, sheltered bays, slow drop-offs, straightforward navigation. Exposure rather than depth is what separates the two, so the same site can give a very different dive from one day to the next.
What people come back for is the soft-coral cover on the exposed vertical faces and the blue-water hang out on the current-swept ridge, holding position at the reef edge and watching what passes. Those marks are the first to go when the weather turns, and Safaga's northerlies are reliable enough that the bay, screened by Safaga Island offshore, has long doubled as a windsurfing and kiting base. The wind that fills those sails is the wind that cancels the crossing, though a blown-out morning usually reshuffles the plan rather than ending it.
Liveaboards sailing south from Hurghada can stop on the offshore reefs and the Salem Express, so a dawn mooring shared with a bigger boat is not unusual. Anyone hoping to dive the Salem Express should raise it at the booking stage rather than assume: not every operator runs her, and where she is offered it tends to be as her own outing rather than a slot in a routine two-tank day. Published casualty figures from the 1991 sinking have never been reconciled, differing by hundreds between official counts and later estimates, and briefings cover conduct on the wreck as carefully as the dive plan.
Best time to dive Safaga
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair |
| Sea surface | 23°C73°F | 23°C73°F | 23°C73°F | 23°C73°F | 25°C77°F | 27°C81°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 28°C82°F | 27°C81°F | 25°C77°F |
| Daytime high | 28°C82°F | 31°C88°F | 35°C95°F | 39°C102°F | 43°C109°F | 44°C111°F | 44°C111°F | 44°C111°F | 43°C109°F | 39°C102°F | 33°C91°F | 29°C84°F |
| Rain | 2 mm0.1 in | 0 mm0.0 in | 0 mm0.0 in | 0 mm0.0 in | 0 mm0.0 in | 0 mm0.0 in | 0 mm0.0 in | 0 mm0.0 in | 0 mm0.0 in | 3 mm0.1 in | 1 mm0.0 in | 0 mm0.0 in |
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime |
| Sea surface | |||||
| 23°C73°F | 23°C73°F | 23°C73°F | 23°C73°F | 25°C77°F | 27°C81°F |
| Daytime high | |||||
| 28°C82°F | 31°C88°F | 35°C95°F | 39°C102°F | 43°C109°F | 44°C111°F |
| Rain | |||||
| 2 mm0.1 in | 0 mm0.0 in | 0 mm0.0 in | 0 mm0.0 in | 0 mm0.0 in | 0 mm0.0 in |
| Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair |
| Sea surface | |||||
| 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 28°C82°F | 27°C81°F | 25°C77°F |
| Daytime high | |||||
| 44°C111°F | 44°C111°F | 43°C109°F | 39°C102°F | 33°C91°F | 29°C84°F |
| Rain | |||||
| 0 mm0.0 in | 0 mm0.0 in | 0 mm0.0 in | 3 mm0.1 in | 1 mm0.0 in | 0 mm0.0 in |
2011–2025 averages. Sea surface: NOAA Coral Reef Watch, measured at the surface, so deeper water can run colder. Daytime high and rain: NASA POWER.
December to February: the coolest months, with the sea around 22 °C in February; the Tobia and Gamul reefs behind the Abu Soma peninsula stay diveable in almost any weather, so days are rarely lost even when the crossing to the open reefs is off. March: the water starts to warm. April to June: prime, with comfortable air and warming water. July and August: the warmest water of the year, around 29 °C in August, under the hottest air, so these months rate good rather than prime. September and October: prime again. November: still good as the water cools. In every month the wind decides which reefs open. Panorama, Middle Reef and Abu Kafan lie an hour to 90 minutes out and need a calm day, so a stay of several days gives the best odds of reaching them.
Best months: April, May, June, September, October
Safaga water temperature and weather by month
The sea surface runs from 23 °C (73 °F) in February 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 44 °C (111 °F) in August and drop to 28 °C (82 °F) in January. The coldest water here is about 21 °C (70 °F), so pack a 5 mm suit.
Dive types & marine life
The big-animal interest sits on the exposed offshore ground, where reef sharks and barracuda hold in the current; getting out there depends on sea state, and the flattest odds fall in the prime months of Apr-Jun and Sep-Oct, with November still good. Inshore, napoleon wrasse, groupers and turtles are around all year, nudibranchs reward a slow eye, and dolphins turn up on the crossings.
- Wreck
- Reef
- Wall
- Drift
- Coral garden
- Night
- Reef sharks
- Reef fish swarms
- Napoleon wrasse
- Sea turtles
- Barracuda
- Trevally & jacks
- Groupers
- Nudibranchs
- Dolphins
Best dive sites in Safaga
- 1
Panorama Reef
Free-standing reef an hour out; a 35 m plateau and outer faces dropping past 100 m.
- 2
Abu Kafan
Long open-water ridge over 90 minutes out; current on the north plateau brings sharks.
- 3
Salem Express
Ferry lost in 1991, on her side at 29 to 32 m; dived as a memorial, with no entry.
- 4
Middle Reef
Mushroom-shaped reef 80 minutes out, with caves and tunnels along its south side.
- 5
Tobia Arbaa
Seven coral pillars on sand at 10 to 12 m with little current; the photographers’ dive.
- 6
Gamul Kebir
Shallow 16 m reef off Safaga Island, sheltered enough to dive when the wind is up.
Site guides
Drift
A current-swept ridge where grey reef sharks hold out in the blue
Reef
A drift-free reef with south-side blocks, 90 minutes offshore
Reef
Shallow 16 m reef, 25 minutes out, divable when the wind is up
Reef
Main reef to 14 m, with the south side dropping to 20 m
A mushroom-shaped reef with a labyrinth of caves along its south side
Reef
An anemone garden of 40-plus anemonefish above a 35 m plateau
A 115 m ferry lost in 1991, dived as a memorial without entry
Bottom depths from 14 m to 30 m on the reef's western side
Pinnacle
Coral pillars rising from sand at 12 m almost to the surface
How to get to Safaga
Hurghada is the airport; Safaga sits about an hour south by road, and the town plus the hotels strung along the bay are the usual bases. Diving is day-boat from the harbour, with hotel house reefs covering shore dives. The bay's black sand also supports a long-standing health-tourism trade, so hotel clienteles are mixed.
Photos from Safaga
Alexander Vasenin · CC BY-SA 3.0
HotPepper · CC BY 3.0
Hossam el-Hamalawy حسام الحملاوي · CC BY-SA 2.0
Matthieu Sontag · CC BY-SA 3.0
Julien Renoult · CC BY 4.0
SEJanssen · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dive videos
Salem Express Wreck Dive 4K July 2020 Red Sea Egypt Gopro 8 · Mirkos Eye on YouTube
Red Sea series episode #5 – MV Salem Express (Strong Images) · andreandrade on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Can Safaga be dived on a liveaboard safari?+
Yes. Week-long liveaboards from Hurghada heading south to the Brothers and Elphinstone can stop at Panorama Reef, Middle Reef and the Salem Express, and ask for Advanced Open Water and about 50 logged dives. Most local diving is by day boat from the harbour.
Can divers visit the Salem Express wreck?+
Yes, as a memorial dive. The ferry sank on 15 December 1991 and lies on her side on sand, the bow at 32 m and the stern at 29 m. She is a declared maritime tomb, so entering the wreck is forbidden apart from the cargo area, and the depth suits advanced divers.
How far are the dive sites from Safaga harbour?+
Between 20 and 90 minutes by boat. The sheltered Gamul and Tobia reefs are 20 to 30 minutes out, Panorama Reef about an hour, and Middle Reef and Abu Kafan 80 to 90 minutes or more, which is why those go only in calm weather.
How do I get to Safaga?+
Fly into Hurghada, 53 km to the north, and transfer south by road. Divers stay in the town or in the hotels along the bay and board day boats in the harbour.
What is the water temperature in Safaga?+
The sea averages about 22 °C in February, the coolest month, and about 29 °C in August, the warmest. Spring and autumn pair mid-range water with the most comfortable air.
Sources
- Safaga — Wikipedia
- MV Salem Express — Wikipedia
- Safaga dive sites: fourteen local reefs and pinnacles — Red Sea Diving
- Top 10 best diving spots in Safaga — Dune World
- Panorama Reef — PADI
- Abu Kafan — PADI
- Middle Reef — Divers Guide
- Safaga, Brothers and Elphinstone liveaboard itinerary — Emperor Divers
Photo credits
- Coral-encrusted railing and superstructure of the Salem Express wreck in blue water by Thomei08, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Open cargo hold on the Salem Express hull, coral growth on the rails, small fish nearby by Alexander Vasenin, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Close-up of a coral-covered circular emblem on the Salem Express wreck by HotPepper, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Weathered superstructure of the Salem Express wreck, coral growth along the beams and portholes by Hossam el-Hamalawy حسام الحملاوي, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Openverse
- A dark parrotfish with white spots rests among corals at Abu Soma Garden, Safaga by Matthieu Sontag, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A red blacktip grouper rests among pink corals on a reef near Safaga by Julien Renoult, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A triggerfish digs in the sand among butterflyfish on a coral reef near Safaga, Egypt by SEJanssen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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