Diving in Hurghada

Liveaboard, for most divers. Abu Nuhas is 90 to 120 minutes each way from Hurghada harbour, and day boats compete for space with other operators; a liveaboard gets you onto the wrecks early in the morning or at dusk when the day fleet is absent. Day-boat access and 2-day XXL trips from operators like James and Mac cover it for divers who cannot commit to a full safari.

Advanced Open Water is the practical minimum for the full four-wreck rotation, and several operators and liveaboards enforce 50 logged dives on top of that. The shallower reef and the Giannis D upper sections can be done by Open Water divers, but Kimon M reaches 32 m and the deeper approach to Chrisoula K sits beyond OW limits.

Yes. Gota Abu Ramada (The Aquarium), Sha'ab Eshta, Sabina Garden, Erg Sabina and Sha'ab El Erg are shallow, usually calm and fine for newly certified Open Water divers and supervised discover-scuba customers. Most hotel-paired centres run dedicated beginner programmes on these sites.

Sha'ab El Erg (Dolphin House) is the main site, with a resident Indo-Pacific bottlenose pod. The lagoon inside the horseshoe is where the pod rests, and the HEPCA code — formalised as a Red Sea Governorate decree, not a voluntary guideline — says never to follow dolphins into lagoons and rest areas. Boats keep a minimum 30 m clearance, approach only parallel to the pod's direction of travel at no more than 4 knots, and use the moorings. Swimmers must wear fins, mask, snorkel and a lifejacket, enter quietly, and never chase, touch or feed the animals. The dolphins decide whether to approach. Sightings are probable but never guaranteed.

Diveable all year. March to May and September to November are the consensus sweet spots, with 22 to 28 degree water, strong visibility and fewer crowds. June to August is hottest and busiest. December to February is cooler (20 to 22 degrees at depth) but often clearest. These liveaboard itineraries run March to November.

Around 20 to 23 degrees at the surface and 20 to 22 degrees at depth. Firsthand January and February logs show 20 to 21 degree bottom temperatures; a 5 mm full wetsuit is standard, with a hood recommended for deep wrecks.

The Rosalie Moller sits upright at around 30 m at the deck and 50 m at the seabed, with the bridge and upper structures producing a 17 m shallow point. It is treated as a technical dive, Nitrox is recommended, and silt on the bridge commonly reduces visibility on penetration.

Very little, and the Excalibur wreck is the exception that proves it: shallow enough to be reached from the shore as well as by boat. Beyond that, community consensus is that Hurghada itself has no shore site worth gearing up for, and hotel house reefs vary widely. Divers who want shore access typically base further south at Soma Bay or Sharm el Naga, or further afield at Marsa Alam.

Mixed, and the picture has improved recently. Close-in sites show the strain of heavy tourism; firsthand logs from 2012 already flagged stressed reef at Abu Nuhas and Sha'ab El Erg. 2025 community reports are more optimistic after a cooler year with less bleaching, and offshore sites are consistently described as the better coral. Fish density can feel lower than Indo-Pacific destinations.

Opinion is genuinely split. Soma Bay has a strong house reef and half-day boat trips, which suit families and non-diving partners. Hurghada offers a much bigger dive-site menu and the wreck corridor. Many divers base between the two at Makadi Bay or Sahl Hasheesh to cover both.