Diving the Brothers Islands and Safaga | Egypt

Brothers Islands and Safaga diving features

MARINE LIFE:
Hammerhead sharks
Thresher sharks
Soft corals
Turtles

SAFAGAS
TOP DIVE SITE:
Wreck of the Salem Express

DESTINATION OVERVIEW
Scuba diving liveaboard trips to the much hyped Brothers Islands usually start from the busy Red Sea town of Hurghada. Check-out dives are done on local reefs prior to sailing to the Brothers. The Hurghada reefs are in reasonable condition and although the coral has taken quite a battering over the years the marine life is still plentiful.

The Brothers consist of two rocky islands that protrude up from the sea. Underwater, sheer walls drop to well beyond 40 meters and can be swept by strong currents. The Brothers are known for pelagics, especially shark sightings but not all divers are lucky enough to see them, especially if time there is restricted (see pros and cons below).

After the Brothers, liveaboard boats cruise back to dive the reefs around Safaga. These are in good condition and you may see a hammerhead, turtles, tuna and schooling jacks. There are great octopus encounters and even critters like seagrass ghost pipefish. The wreck of the Salem Express is an outstanding dive, if rather sad as the sea bed is littered with evidence of her demise – suitcases and items like shoes strewn around the edges of the hull. Dived with respect though, this is one of the best wrecks in the Red Sea.

Seasons
Year round
Visibility:
10 – 40 metres
Water temperature:
20 – 28º C.
Deco chambers:
Sharm el Sheik, Hurghada, El Gouna

Charter flights from across Europe are cheap and frequent
Dive operators and accommodation options change more often than most people can keep track of. Most are good, some are not... try to get a recommendation especially if you are booking a liveaboard.

PROS AND CONS
Some of the most spectacular dive sites in Egypt can be found at the Brothers but getting there isn't straightforward. Diving permits for the area are supposed to be limited, but the authorities hand out more than they should. Some operators will promise more time in the park than they can give and may be less than truthful about access to the park, the number of dives included in a trip and so on. Often this will be the fault of the the authorities rather than the boat itself.

SCUBA DIVING CONDITIONS
While we were at the Brothers Islands the visibility was endless, the corals were pristine and currents were minimal. Consequently, there were very few sharks but we did glimpse our first-ever scalloped hammerhead and a couple of distant thresher sharks

OPINION
We travelled on a liveaboard that had a permit but arrived to find no available moorings. This meant we could not stay which was heartbreaking as each of the small number of dives we did there was stunning. Would we go back? Unlikely, it was just too crowded and we really don't like diving with that many people in the same area all at once.