Erg Sabina

Two coral pinnacles on a white sand plateau in the Giftun Strait — one large, one smaller 50 metres to the north — connected by a scattering of table corals and coral blocks worth investigating on the transit. The main erg is best approached from its north face, where hard and soft corals build a dense canopy above shimmering curtains of glassfish. Predators — groupers, jackfish, mackerel — patrol the edges, occasionally lunging into the school and splitting it in half. On the sand below, crocodilefish lie motionless, their mottled skin indistinguishable from the substrate until you learn to spot the fringed eyes. The smaller northern erg is a quieter affair, draped in soft corals and hosting its own resident glassfish cloud.

Erg Sabina strips diving down to its essentials: a single coral tower on open sand, shallow enough that air and deco are non-issues, rich enough that 50 minutes passes before you notice. The glassfish behaviour is the centrepiece — not just their numbers but the predator-prey dynamics that play out in real time around the pinnacle. The sandy perimeter rewards patience too; crocodilefish are confirmed by every source that covers this site, and lobsters, nudibranchs, and clownfish hide in the coral base. Where the neighbouring Sabina Garden impresses with its coral architecture, Erg Sabina delivers its drama through animal behaviour on a simpler stage.

The Giftun Strait can funnel currents between Big and Small Giftun, and the site is not fully sheltered from wind. Conditions are usually calm, but your dive centre will make the call on the day. Budget 60-90 minutes of boat travel from central Hurghada. Bring a camera with macro capability — the ambient light at 10m and the cooperative crocodilefish make this a productive photography site. Look under every table coral on the sand between the two ergs; the hidden life there is easy to swim past.