Dive Sites in Sharm El Sheikh

Diving Sharm el Sheikh is one of the most famous diving locations in the world. The sites combine coral gardens, wrecks, drop offs, with a huge diversity of reef fish and invertebrates, as well as turtles, rays, moray eels, octopus, and larger fish including Napoleonfish, Barracuda, small sharks and dolphins. The summer time brings the bigger fish and whale sharks are often spotted!.

Sharm el Sheikh is back dropped by the stunning Sinai Mountains , home to a desert people called Bedouins. Diving holidays to Sharm el Sheikh are great with the right people. Active Adventures hold high accommodation and service standards, and use local experience to provide a treasure chest of extras that really make your holiday.

Diving in the Sharm el Sheikh includes diving in Ras Mohammed, at the tip of the Sinai peninsula, diving the straights of Tiran and their reefs, in the Gulf of Aqaba. Diving the Thistlegorm is considered by many as the best wreck to dive in the world.

Most of the diving is in the Ras Mohammed National park so don't touch coral or feed the fish, otherwise you may find yourselves with a ticket from the rangers. Take only photos leave only bubbles!

Ras Mohammed National Park

The reefs at Ras Mohammed, are magnificent, their beauty and diversity always amazes us. Thousands of colorful fish and other marine creatures together form a complete ecosystem. You will find microscopic creatures to whale sharks all look for food or hiding from predators. The coral spreads its wings in many forms, shapes and colors. From the largest colonies of hard corals to the tiniest swaying soft ones.

Ras Mohammed is spectacular. It is a protected national park, and dive sties like Shark and Yolanda reef offer an incredible diversity of marine life. Ras Mohammed national park is a must for any diver's logbook.

“My permit to Ras Mohammed was already included in the price I paid. It was these little things that really made my holiday.” Sarah Parker

Ras Mohammed alone has 218 species of hard and soft coral and more than 1,000 fish species. Ras Mohammed was the first established national park in Egypt , covering 97 square kilometres. This was extended 5 years later in 1988 to cover 480 square kilometres. 76% of this protected area is water.

Shark Observatory , Shark Reef , and Yolanda Reef are the most famous sites in Ras Mohammed.

Shark and Yolanda Reefs are two twin mounts in a sandy sea bed that extends for hundreds of meters (thousands of feet) below the surface. They are both joint at the base. The site is separated from the coast by a shallow channel some hundred meters wide. shark Reef starts at about 26 meters below the surface and resembles a submerged mountain peak. The eastern end of the site is a sheer vertical wall that extends to the sea bed downwards. It is the same wall that extends all the way up to Ras Atãr further North. The other side facing the west, the saddle, is much shallower and constitutes part of the plateau that surrounds Yolanda Reef.

Every possible fish species is found here. Hammerheads, gray tipped, white tipped, and all the other open sea fish, including barracudas and gigantic tuna can be found east of the vertical Eastern Wall. There also seems to be a permanent school of Snappers hovering there at all times. A strange phenomena encountered is how some schools of these pelagic and open sea fish tend to encompass divers. Either they have been over-visited or the currents cause them to do so. There are literally thousands of Jackfish, Batfish, and all kinds of sting rays on the densely corralled saddle amongst the massive population of the other typical reef fish. The scorpion fish is readily available here although it is quite a rare sight elsewhere.

Coral growth here is relatively good with sparse growth on the wall but quite dense on the saddle. As is the case in neighboring Anemone city , there are plenty of anemones here with the usual clownfish crowd. Here is a good place to see the giant moray eels. Visibility is good averaging 20m (65ft) for the whole site. This might decrease somewhat if the thermal spring in the site is active.

This site is named after a freighter that was wrecked here on the reef in 1980, the Yolanda . Together with Shark Reef this site comprises what is known by most people as the Ras Mohamed Diving Site. Simply put, it is the best diving site in the whole world.

All kinds of fish congregate around this site, especially in the summer months when the currents bring the richest nutrients. Here you will no doubt see many barracuda, the largest Napoleons, trunk fish, and snappers. On the reef itself there are thousands of different reef fish of which the gigantic moray eels, blue spotted and black spotted sting rays are the more significant. Sharks of all the typical species are quite frequently seen here as well, although not as much as was a few years ago. Large schools of jackfish and the occasional gang of dolphins are also often present here.

Currents are very strong here and can be potentially very dangerous if you are not with an experienced guide that knows them well. They are strongest east of the site where the vertical ones can really cause havoc. There are some ropes at a depth of 15 meters for this purpose .Visibility is good and averages at 20m for the whole site.

There are hundreds of other dive sites in Sharm el Sheikh, like the Straits of Tiran, Shark Bay and many more. Our team have been diving the sites for over 15 yrs. We know many secrets and hidden treasures that only experience and local knowledge can gain.

 

Diving the Thistlegorm

The Thistlegorm: Arguably one of the most famous wrecks in the world, the Thistlegorm was discovered by Jacques Cousteau in 1955. Diving the Thistlegorm is quite an experience, with its incredible cargo of 1940's motor bikes, cars and ammunition cases, beautiful sea life and huge size. As an "Armed Freighter" with an additional armoured Gun Deck built over the aft section, an old 4·7" gun and a heavy calibre machine gun - of WW1 vintage, can be seen when diving the Thistlegorm.

The Thistlegorm was launched on the 9th of April 1940. Its name means ‘blue thistle', and it was a British transport ship, 126.5 metres long with the capacity of 4,898 tons (9,009 displacement tons), and had a three cylinder steam engine developing 1,860 HP, that gave the vessel a speed of around 10 knots.

In May 1941, a crew of 39 men left on the Thistlegorm from Glasgow , with a cargo including munitions, bombs, anti-tank mines, Lee Enfield MK II rifles, BSA motorcycles, Morris and Ford trucks, tanks and even two steam locomotives. Two German bombers coming from the German airbase in Crete, sighted the Thistlegorm as it sat in the Strait of Gubal , awaiting the clearance of German mines in the Suez Canal .

They attacked the Thistlegorm. Two bombs hit the fourth hold, where the munitions deposits were situated. The resulting explosion tore the ship in two, whilst catapulting the two 126 ton locomotives, despite being tied to the deck, into the air. The crew and Captain were rescued by the HMS Carlisle, but nine men lost their lives during the attack.

“I completed two dives on the Thistlegorm, and reckon I only need eight more to really get to see it all!” Michou

The wreck was discovered by, of course, Jacques Cousteau in 1955, and later appeared in the National Geographic in 1956. Cousteau did not reveal the position of the wreck, and it went forgotten for almost 40 years until 1992 when it was rediscovered by an Israeli skipper.

The Ship Today
The SS Thistlegorm sits mast and funnel above all others shipwrecks. Such is the pulling power of this single vessel that she attracts more Divers than any other underwater site - anywhere in the entire world! Since being re-discovered in the early nineties, the Thistlegorm has consistently remained "The World’s Foremost Diving Attraction" and after my own very first visit, I found myself calling her "The Mighty Thistlegorm!"

What makes this ship so extra-special is a combination of several factors. Despite extensive damage aft of the Bridge, the main section is upright and on an even keel. Then, there is the story of her passing, with all it’s ingredients of War, Heroism and Tragedy - something that is never re-created in any vessel deliberately sunk. Lest we forget, even the Titanic would have passed into obscurity were it not for the manner of her sinking! Then, prevailing conditions and accessibility all come into play. These include an acceptable climate, relatively warm waters, very good underwater visibility and a maximum depth of just 32 metres to the seabed.

What more could be asked of any shipwreck you might ask - and the word "Cargo" springs to mind. Within the Thistlegorm, that cargo is a veritable underwater "World War II Museum."

Acknowledgements must go to Ahlan at Rasmohammed.com nature reserve. Click here for more info.

The diving speaks for itself and is world renowned. Diving sharm is a privilege and the holiday is amplified with good accommodation and a great service.