Red Sea & Gulf of Aden · Egypt
Sharm El Sheikh — Ras Mohammed
The Thistlegorm's holds still stacked with motorcycles, trucks and rail cars
Photo: patano · CC BY-SA 3.0
Sharm El Sheikh sits at the tip of the Sinai Peninsula and serves as the launch point for Ras Mohammed National Park's coral walls and the Straits of Tiran's four current-swept reef pillars. The SS Thistlegorm, a WWII armed transport sunk in 1941 with motorcycles, trucks, and rail cars still stacked in its holds, lies in the Strait of Gubal near Sha'ab Ali, three to four hours north by day boat, and ranks among the most-dived wrecks anywhere. Day boats also reach Ras Ghozlani's sheltered slopes and the Dunraven wreck, pairing wall diving with wreck exploration in a single trip.
About diving in Sharm El Sheikh — Ras Mohammed
Diving here runs on a day-boat timetable. Boats load early at Sharm el Maya, Travco Marina or the Sharks Bay jetty, cross to the park or the strait, and fit two or three dives around a cooked lunch on deck before turning back in the late afternoon. Ras Mohammed has been a national park since 1983 and charges a per-diver entry fee; anchoring is out, so boats tie to fixed moorings and pick divers up downcurrent rather than waiting at the line. Trips to the northern wrecks leave hours earlier, and several operators sell them as a one-night safari so the hull can be dived before the day fleet arrives.
The three dive areas feel different underwater. Inside Ras Mohammed the headline dives are walls: a shallow reef top ends abruptly, the drop-off runs into open water, hard coral on the shoulder and current along the face, though sheltered corners are gentle coral slopes by comparison. The Straits of Tiran hold four reefs strung across a shipping channel, Jackson, Woodhouse, Thomas and Gordon, each dived as a drift down one flank with the mooring at the sheltered end; the freighter Loullia still stands aground on Gordon, a landmark of the strait since 1981. Closer to town, Ras Umm Sid, the Gardens and Temple are sloping coral and pinnacles, dived when wind shuts the crossings.
Two dives shape a week. One is the wreck day: repeat visits to a single hull, a surface interval spent comparing notes on the cargo, and usually a pass over the two locomotives blown clear onto the sand. The other is the current dive at Tiran or on the Ras Mohammed corner, holding on the blue side of the reef and watching what comes past. The debris scattered on the slope there is cargo from the Yolanda, a freighter lost in 1980 whose bathroom fittings still litter the reef while the hull itself slid into deep water.
Sharm suits divers who want variety without changing base. The town carries a lot of dive centres, from budget operations to technical schools, and the same harbours serve a first Open Water course on sheltered local reef and an early boat out to the exposed corners. It works for mixed groups, since resorts, restaurants and desert trips absorb people who are not diving. The trade-off is company: the best-known moorings fill up around the middle of the day, and anyone who dislikes full boats and fixed schedules will notice.
Best time to dive Sharm El Sheikh — Ras Mohammed
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair |
| Sea surface | 24°C75°F | 23°C73°F | 23°C73°F | 23°C73°F | 25°C77°F | 27°C81°F | 29°C84°F | 30°C86°F | 29°C84°F | 28°C82°F | 27°C81°F | 25°C77°F |
| Daytime high | 24°C75°F | 24°C75°F | 26°C79°F | 29°C84°F | 32°C90°F | 33°C91°F | 34°C93°F | 34°C93°F | 33°C91°F | 31°C88°F | 28°C82°F | 26°C79°F |
| Rain | 3 mm0.1 in | 1 mm0.0 in | 3 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 | 3 mm0.1 in | 1 mm0.0 in | 1 mm0.0 in |
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime |
| Sea surface | |||||
| 24°C75°F | 23°C73°F | 23°C73°F | 23°C73°F | 25°C77°F | 27°C81°F |
| Daytime high | |||||
| 24°C75°F | 24°C75°F | 26°C79°F | 29°C84°F | 32°C90°F | 33°C91°F |
| Rain | |||||
| 3 mm0.1 in | 1 mm0.0 in | 3 mm0.1 in | 0 mm0.0 in | 0 mm0.0 in | 0 mm0.0 in |
| Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair |
| Sea surface | |||||
| 29°C84°F | 30°C86°F | 29°C84°F | 28°C82°F | 27°C81°F | 25°C77°F |
| Daytime high | |||||
| 34°C93°F | 34°C93°F | 33°C91°F | 31°C88°F | 28°C82°F | 26°C79°F |
| Rain | |||||
| 0 mm0.0 in | 0 mm0.0 in | 0 mm0.0 in | 3 mm0.1 in | 1 mm0.0 in | 1 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 is the cool, windy stretch. The water drops to about 22 °C by February, and winter wind can chop up the surface, cut visibility and cancel the long runs to Tiran and the Thistlegorm, while the sheltered reefs near town keep working. March and April bring water of 23 to 26 °C and settling seas. May to October is the prime run: the water reaches 27 to 28 °C from July to September, the crossings are most reliable, and scalloped hammerheads are most often seen off the north side of Jackson Reef from July to September. November keeps warm water and is still a good month before the wind returns in December.
Best months: May, June, July, August, September, October
Sharm El Sheikh water temperature and weather by month
The sea surface runs from 23 °C (73 °F) in February to 30 °C (86 °F) in August. It is 24 °C (75 °F) or warmer from May to January. Rain is scarce: about 10 mm (0.4 in) falls in a typical year. Daytime highs reach 34 °C (93 °F) in August and drop to 24 °C (75 °F) in January. The coldest water here is about 21 °C (70 °F), so pack a 5 mm suit.
Dive types & marine life
Napoleon wrasse, grouper and turtles are resident on the park reefs; barracuda and jack schools stack on the exposed corners through the May-to-October prime stretch. Hammerheads are a June-to-September possibility in the strait, oceanic whitetips more an autumn one, both luck rather than bookable. Whitetip reef sharks are the resident shark at Tiran; grey reefs and eagle rays are occasional.
- Wall
- Drift
- Wreck
- Reef
- Pelagic & blue water
- Hammerheads
- Oceanic whitetips
- Reef sharks
- Napoleon wrasse
- Eagle rays
- Barracuda
- Trevally & jacks
- Sea turtles
- Groupers
Best dive sites in Sharm El Sheikh — Ras Mohammed
- 1
SS Thistlegorm
British supply ship bombed in 1941, upright at 16–32 m with its wartime cargo still in the holds.
- 2
Shark & Yolanda Reef
Twin reef peaks at the tip of Ras Mohammed, drifted past big fish schools and the Yolanda's scattered cargo.
- 3
Jackson Reef
Northernmost Tiran reef with some of Sinai's best walls and coral, and hammerheads off its north side in summer.
- 4
SS Dunraven
Steamer lost in 1876, lying upside down against the reef from 15 to 29 m, coral-covered and open inside.
- 5
Ras Umm Sid
Headland wall south of Na'ama Bay holding Sharm's largest gorgonian forest, dived from the beach or a boat.
- 6
Shark Observatory
Vertical wall on the Ras Mohammed headland falling to 90 m, with caves, big gorgonians and glassfish.
- 7
Anemone City
Broad reef shoulder just north of Shark Reef, carpeted in anemones and busiest in the morning.
- 8
Ras Ghozlani
Drift over some of the healthiest coral in Sinai, with napoleon wrasse, grouper and eagle rays on the slope.
Site guides
Reef
Anemones holding a permanent population of anemonefish
Reef
The freighter Loullia aground on the reef since 1981
Reef
Two enormous caves filled with shoaling glassfish
Scalloped hammerheads off the back of the reef in late summer
A 1984 freighter broken up in 10 to 12 m of water
Lagoon
Shallow hard coral lagoon on the west side of Tiran Island
Wreck
A 175 m bulk carrier aground off Nabq since 1996
Coral blocks from 2 to 40 m on a sea-grass bottom
Reef
Feathertail stingrays, barracuda and grouper over a broad plateau
Table corals still intact on a slope opened to divers recently
A column of gorgonian fans standing from 14 to 28 m
A freighter's bathroom cargo scattered across the reef at 25 m
A vertical wall that drops to 90 m before it slopes
An upside-down 1876 steamer with glassfish packed into the hull
BSA motorcycles and Bedford trucks still stowed in the holds since 1941
Reef
A tiny swim-through that opens out into the blue
Wall
Whitetip and leopard sharks resting on a ledge at 25 m
Wall
A gully with swim-throughs at 10 m and at 35 m
A canyon running parallel to the reef's eastern side
How to get to Sharm El Sheikh — Ras Mohammed
Almost everyone flies into Sharm El Sheikh International and stays in Naama Bay, Hadaba or Nabq, 10 to 30 minutes from the harbours. Diving is boat-based, and Ras Mohammed park fees are normally collected on the day on top of the trip price. Northern-wreck liveaboards also sail from here.
Photos from Sharm El Sheikh — Ras Mohammed
Mmelouk · CC BY-SA 4.0
Mmelouk · CC BY-SA 4.0
Mmelouk · CC BY-SA 4.0
Mmelouk · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dive videos
Diving the Legendary SS Thistlegorm Wreck – Sharm El Sheikh, 4K (2023 Red Sea Dive) · Scuba Notes by Dmitry on YouTube
SS Thistlegorm Wreck Dive | Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt 🇪🇬 | Shot on Insta360 | 4K · Above the Silence on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Is an Advanced certificate needed to dive Sharm El Sheikh?+
Not for most of it. Open Water divers can dive the sheltered reefs near town and easy park sites such as Anemone City. Shark & Yolanda Reef and the Tiran reefs run in current, and the Thistlegorm's deck at around 30 m suits Advanced divers, so drift and deep experience open up the best-known dives.
Can the Thistlegorm be dived on a day trip from Sharm El Sheikh?+
Yes. The wreck lies about 40 km from Sharm, roughly three hours each way by day boat, so it makes a long day with two dives. A liveaboard can dive it in the early morning before the day boats arrive, and allows more than one visit to the holds.
Is there a fee to dive Ras Mohammed National Park?+
Yes, a small per-person entry fee, usually collected on the day on top of the trip price. The park was declared in 1983 and covers 480 km²; boats tie to fixed moorings instead of anchoring, feeding fish and taking anything are banned, and visitors must leave by sunset.
What is the water temperature in Sharm El Sheikh?+
About 22 °C at its coolest in February, 23 to 26 °C from March to June, and 27 to 28 °C from July to September. December and January also bring the choppiest surface of the year.
When are hammerheads seen in the Straits of Tiran?+
Mostly from July to September, off the north side of Jackson Reef, although they can turn up at other times and are never guaranteed. The Tiran reefs are dived as drifts in often strong, unpredictable current, so these are dives for intermediate to advanced divers.
Sources
- Diving in Sharm El Sheikh — Dive The World
- Diving in Ras Mohammed, Egypt — Dive The World
- Diving in the Straits of Tiran, Egypt — Dive The World
- SS Thistlegorm: Red Sea Wreck Diving — Dive The World
- Ras Muhammad National Park — Wikipedia
- SS Thistlegorm — Wikipedia
- SS Dunraven — Wikipedia
- Ras Mohammed National Park: The Complete Diving Guide — Travel to Dive
- Sharm El Sheikh Diving & Dive Sites — Emperor Divers
Photo credits
- A school of fish glides over a coral reef in the deep blue water off Ras Mohammed, near Sharm El Sheikh. by patano, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Parrotfish and angelfish swim over a seagrass meadow in Ras Mohammed National Park. by Mmelouk, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A spotted wrasse swims across the reef in Ras Mohammed National Park, Sharm El Sheikh. by Mmelouk, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A striped angelfish glides over the sandy reef bottom in Ras Mohammed National Park. by Mmelouk, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- An emperor angelfish swims past coral formations in Ras Mohammed National Park. by Mmelouk, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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