Erg Sabina

Two coral pinnacles stand roughly 50 m apart on a flat sand floor at 10-12 m in open water in the Giftun Strait. The standard route circles the larger southern erg, weighted toward its north face where the glassfish school is densest and hard-coral cover thickest. Jacks and surgeonfish work the edges of the school. From there, divers cross the sand corridor north, scanning slowly and low for crocodilefish, scorpionfish, and bluespotted stingrays buried in the substrate, then circle the smaller erg with its purple soft-coral drape and its own resident glassfish cloud. The figure-of-eight route covering both ergs is the standard plan when bottom time and conditions allow. Small overhangs on the east side of the main erg and the north side of the smaller one reward a torch peek. When the strait runs, the route compresses; the schooling fish hover facing the current, and the dive becomes a drift along the reef line rather than a circuit.

A single coral tower on open sand, shallow enough that bottom time is generous, with the glassfish-and-jack interaction at the north face as the consistent draw. The site appears at the top of multiple Hurghada day-boat shortlists and the wider Sabina area carries strong diver reviews. Where the neighbouring Sabina Garden impresses with labyrinthine coral architecture, Erg Sabina works on a simpler stage. The sandy corridor between the two ergs is where slow scanning rewards: crocodilefish turn up reliably for divers who hover and look low, lobsters and nudibranchs hide in the coral base, and the pair of pinnacles gives the dive a clean structural plan that newly certified divers can follow without a long brief.

Current is the one thing to take seriously. The Giftun Strait acts as a bottleneck between Big and Small Giftun islands, and reports range from calm to strong. The dive centre makes the call on the day; when the strait runs, switch to drift diving rather than fighting it. Carry a surface marker buoy. Boat travel from Hurghada is 50-90 minutes depending on departure point. National park status applies via Giftun National Park; park fees are usually bundled into the trip price rather than charged as a per-diver permit at this site. Independent diving is not permitted in Egypt; access is through licensed operators only.