Local Dive Sites of Sharm El Sheikh

Located at the tip of the Sinai peninsula, the Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheikh is a popular destination for scuba divers. The warm, clear waters make for relatively easy diving and compared to some places in the world, the prices are reasonable.

The diving around Sharm el Sheikh is ideal for all levels of divers from those learning to dive up to experienced divers. To the north of Sharm el Sheikh are the Tiran straights with their wonderful coral gardens and in certain months, it is possible to go looking for Hammerhead Sharks.

To the south of Sharm el Sheikh lies the Ras Mohammed National Park where you will find the areas most popular dive site, Shark and Yolanda. As this dive site is at the southern most point of the Sinai, currents and visibility can vary but it is definitely one of the best dive sites in Egypt.

However, closer to Sharm el Sheikh are a number of local dive sites to both the north and south of the resort. Immediately north of Na’ama Bay are the Gardens; Near Garden, Middle Garden, Fiddle Garden and Far Garden. These dive sites are located either at or very close to some of the 5* hotels in Sharm and every day, boats from the various dive centres in Sharm will moor here and their divers will enter the water here.

To the south of Na’ama Bay are more dive sites along the coast of the Sinai including Ras Katy, Temple, Ras Umm Sid, Paradise, Turtle Bay, Amphoras, Pinky Wall, Tower and Sodfa.

Despite not having the prestige of the dive sites of Ras Mohammed and Tiran, my own dive log shows that there is no shortage of fantastic marine life to be found at the local dive sites including Napoleon Wrasse, Torpedo Rays, Octopus, Devil Rays as well as an abundance of smaller marine life.

It was at Middle Garden on 30th July 2008 that one of the most amazing sites at Sharm in recent memory was spotted. About 300m off the shore at the Hyatt Regency Hotel a massive baitball of fish stretching from 5m to 22m deep was spotted. It was being attacked by 4 whale sharks. Small fish such as sardines form bait balls when threatened and is more commonly associated with the “Sardine Run” which occurs annually off the KwaZulu Natal coast in South Africa.

The whale sharks were first spotted at around 8.30am and it wasn’t long before dive boats from all over were heading to the area to see this spectacle of nature. Many experienced dive instructors can’t remember seeing anything like it in the area and those who were lucky enough to see it, will never forget it.

Tiran and Ras Mohammed remain the focal points for Sharm el Sheikh diving but the local sites should not be ignored as you are just as likely to have a memorable dive there too.