The Red Sea, below the surface.
Day trips, PADI courses, liveaboard safaris and 38 documented dive sites — everything a diver needs, run by licensed local centres.
Everything for divers
Six doors into the Red Sea — pick where you are in the journey, from first breath to full logbook.
Diving trips divers come back for
Reefs, wrecks and walls — every trip run by a licensed dive centre.
From first breath to full logbook
Three steps, each one a real course with a licensed instructor — start wherever you are.
Never dived? Try it
Discover Scuba — pool practice, then a shallow guided reef dive with an instructor. No licence needed.
PADI Discover Scuba — Soma Bayfrom €29 · Half dayGet certified
PADI Open Water — eLearning, confined water and four open-water dives. Certified to 18 m, worldwide, for life.
PADI Open Water Diver Course — Hurghadafrom €162 · 3–4 daysGo further
Advanced, Rescue, Nitrox — deeper walls, wrecks and the offshore reefs the Red Sea is famous for.
PADI Advanced Open Water — Hurghadafrom €133 · 2 daysKnow the reef before you roll in
38 real sites across 2 regions — typical depths, what each wall or wreck is famous for, and where it sits on the map.
Giftun Island reefs
Drift diveHurghada · 5–25 m
Easy drifts, anthias clouds and frequent turtle and ray encounters.
Ben El Gebel
Wall / drop-offHurghada · 5–40 m
A steep wall, a sandy plateau with garden eels, and passing rays.
Erg Somaya
Coral reefSmall Giftun · 5–30 m
Glassfish-filled overhangs, moray eels and swirling anthias.
Sha'ab Sabina
Coral reefHurghada · 3–16 m
Coral ergs, lionfish and easy, protected conditions.
All 38 sites, one map
Reefs, wrecks, drifts and walls — tap any pin for depths, what it's famous for, and its full guide.
Who you might meet this month
Real seasonal patterns from our marine-life calendar — no promises, just honest odds.
The sea, right now
Live water and wind from Open-Meteo, plus what each season means for your suit and your wish-list.
| Season | Water | Suggested suit | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec – Mar | 22–24 °C | 5 mm full suit | Crisp visibility, quiet sites |
| Apr – Jun | 25–28 °C | 3 mm full suit | Whale-shark season begins |
| Jul – Sep | 28–30 °C | 3 mm or shorty | Hammerhead season offshore |
| Oct – Nov | 26–28 °C | 3 mm full suit | Oceanic whitetips return |
Stamp every dive in your Dive Passport
A personal logbook of the Red Sea: mark the sites you've dived, collect the stamps, and watch the map fill in — dive by dive.
Start my passportGiftun Island reefs
5–25 m
Ben El Gebel
5–40 m
Erg Somaya
5–30 m
Sha'ab Sabina
3–16 m
Safety is the whole point
Great diving is boring on the safety side — that's how we like it.
Licensed centres only
Every dive trip runs with licensed local dive centres and certified guides.
Small groups, real briefings
Site briefing before every dive — entries, currents, depth plan and the buddy check.
Conservative profiles
Guided dives stay within your certification limits, and we'll remind you of the 18–24 h no-fly window.
Insurance-friendly
Liveaboards usually require dive insurance with hyperbaric cover (e.g. DAN) — check before you fly.
Go deeper before you go deep
Long-form guides from the PacknPlan library.
Diver questions, straight answers
Do I need a diving licence to dive in the Red Sea?
For guided fun dives, yes — dive centres will ask for your certification card (and often your logbook). Never dived before? Book a Discover Scuba intro instead: after pool practice you make a shallow reef dive one-on-one with an instructor, no licence required.
How warm is the water — and what wetsuit do I need?
The Red Sea ranges from about 22–24 °C in winter (December–March) to 28–30 °C at the height of summer. Most divers use a 5 mm suit in winter and a 3 mm or shorty in summer. Dive centres rent well-maintained suits if you don't travel with your own.
When is the best time to see sharks and big animals?
It depends who you want to meet: whale sharks pass through in late spring (April–June), scalloped hammerheads school offshore in summer (June–August), and oceanic whitetips return to reefs like Elphinstone and the Brothers in autumn (October–December). Dolphins and dugongs are around all year. Our marine-life calendar tracks all of it month by month.
How good is the visibility?
Typically 20–30 metres on most reefs, often more on the offshore sites — the Red Sea has almost no river runoff, which is why it's famous for clear, blue water.
Do I need dive insurance?
For day trips it's recommended; for liveaboard safaris it's usually required — most boats ask for dive-specific cover (DAN or similar) that includes hyperbaric treatment. Check your policy before you travel.
Can I fly home right after diving?
No — plan a surface interval before flying: the standard guidance is at least 18 hours after repetitive dives (and 24 hours is safer after multiple days of diving, e.g. a liveaboard). Make your last day a beach or desert day.
Something else on your mind? Ask the AI concierge — it knows every trip and site on this page.