Marsa Shouna

Marsa Shouna is a 360-metre wide bay that liveaboard captains use as both a warm-up and a refuge — a reliable dive when the offshore reefs are off-limits due to weather, and a place where coral block terrain and seagrass beds reward slower, more attentive diving than the deep south pelagic circuit.

Two routes define the experience. On the outer reef: a zodiac drop 200 metres north and a drift south with the wall on the right shoulder, working back to the mooring at 12-18 m. The topography guides divers naturally into the bay at that depth, and a weak southward current assists the return. The inner bay route stays inside among coral blocks rising from the sandy floor. Crocodilefish lie pressed flat against the substrate, stonefish sit motionless at the base of each block, and octopus shift colour as they move between rocks. When the sun sits low, light angles through the water and the sandy floor becomes the kind of photographic set piece that most divers miss by rushing to the next site. The seagrass beds in the bay's centre are where turtles graze and dugongs, when they visit, feed.

Night diving here runs Route B: the enclosed, calm water makes conditions significantly better than on exposed reef sites. The cryptic fauna that camouflages in daylight is easier to find under torch light, and the sheltered conditions make for a productive dive that most liveaboard programmes skip entirely.

One practical measure says more about this bay than any dive guide description: part of Marsa Shouna has been formally closed to motorized vessels after propeller injuries to the resident dugong. That designation means the seagrass beds where they feed are genuinely protected, not just marked on an itinerary.

The site is wide enough that divers spread out across the entire reef rather than clustering. Liveaboards with multiple groups moored in the bay rarely produce crowds. This is unusual on the Marsa Alam circuit, where popular seagrass bays can feel busy from mid-morning onwards. Because the bay is large, Marsa Shouna stays manageable even when the afternoon boat groups arrive.

Divers who arrive focused on pelagics sometimes find the relaxed macro character underwhelming — that assessment shifts the moment they slow down and start looking at the bottom. The coral block terrain at 10-15 m rewards patient, methodical searching. Stonefish sit in plain sight at the base of each block. Octopus are half-visible in crevices. Nudibranchs dot the coral faces. At busier, more obviously spectacular sites, most divers walk past all of this. One diver who counts himself a macro devotee rather than a pelagic hunter was direct about it: Marsa Shouna was reason enough to favour the deep south circuit over other Red Sea routes.

Shore access exists via a coastal road, but crossing the fringing reef is awkward and zodiac transfer from Port Ghalib remains the standard approach (20-40 minutes). Liveaboards moor in the bay and can do multiple dives.

On Route A, depth discipline matters: stay above 20 m in limited visibility, because the topography only guides you back into the bay at that depth and below it the terrain offers little and navigation becomes less reliable. The outer reef section known as Shaab Shuuna drops to 30-40 m and carries a different profile than the bay, with seahorses reported there; Advanced Open Water is recommended for that section. Water temperature in October runs 28-30°C; a 5mm wetsuit covers winter visits.