Also known as: El Akhawein (Small), El Ikhwa (Small), Little Brother, Little Brother Island, Small Brada, Small Brother
Small, exposed Red Sea island with near-vertical coral walls dived as drifts and a northern plateau where sharks are watched in the blue.
Last updated October 2026
Little Brother is a small, uninhabited island around 170 metres end to end, open to the sea on every side. Dives start from a tender, and the guides choose the entry point on the day according to the current. Most dives follow one of three patterns. On the north plateau, where the reef runs out from the northern point before dropping away, divers hold near the edge and watch the blue. Along either wall the drift passes gorgonian sea fans and dense soft coral, with open water on the other shoulder. At the southern tip, where the moorings sit, the current can circulate, so briefings give the exit as much attention as the entry. When the current allows, the wall circuit can be linked into a single dive.
Oceanic whitetips are met most often on the northeast wall, typically in the middle third of the dive once you are clear of the structure. Threshers hold deep, which makes gas and no-deco time the limit on any thresher dive.
Soft coral is the first reason divers rate this island. Many place the coral above the sharks, and two guides single it out: one credits lighter diver traffic for the walls' condition, another prefers them for soft-coral photography.
The north plateau is the second. The dive turns outward there, and the sharks come out of the blue: grey reef sharks are the most regular, oceanic whitetips, threshers and hammerheads appear with season and conditions, and hammerhead schools, not just single animals, are possible in the May to October peak, a pattern guides tie to this island.
The current is the dive's main variable. It can turn severe, downwellings have been reported on the walls, and it can push divers off the wall and away from the boat, so carry a surface marker buoy you can deploy and stay close to the reef when the flow turns. Wind adds chop at the surface, which makes the tender entry and exit physical.
In January and February rough seas occasionally lead operators to skip the island, so a Little Brother day is worth confirming with the operator as a firm booking before sailing.
Stay with the group throughout: the current and the open-water sharks both argue against splitting off with a buddy to surface alone.
What makes this dive site stand out.
Gorgonian sea fans and dense soft coral cover near-vertical walls on both sides.
The reef runs out from the northern point and divers hold at its edge to watch the blue.
Around 170 m end to end, with a wall drift that can be linked on one tank.
Threshers sit deep, and early-morning wall dives give the best odds.
Current can run severe, and rough seas occasionally lead boats to skip the island.
26.3000°N, 34.8630°E
Hammerheads peak from May to October; threshers are reported around November, with a chance all year. In January and February rough seas occasionally lead operators to skip the island.
Dived only on liveaboard itineraries; the government reef tax is paid on board.
Guides put the realistic minimum at Advanced Open Water with 50 or more logged dives, a bar set by the current and the exposure. One operator presents 50 logged dives as a Red Sea Marine Park minimum that no operator can waive.
Summary
Current that can turn severe, downwellings on the walls, open-water sharks and a tender entry and exit in chop.
Safety considerations
What can go wrong here, and what divers do about it. Conditions change - take the briefing from the operator on the day.
Multi-day safari boats with this site on their itinerary.
41m, 26-guest wooden liveaboard running Master Liveaboards' full Egyptian Red Sea catalogue from Hurghada and Port Ghalib, from northern wrecks and Tiran through the offshore Brothers, Daedalus and Elphinstone to the far-south Rocky, Zabargad and St John's reefs.
38 m wooden liveaboard with 13 ensuite cabins for 26 guests, on 7- and 10-night Red Sea trips from Hurghada and Port Ghalib.
Compact 18-guest, 9-cabin wooden liveaboard focused on Deep South and St John's routes from Port Ghalib, reaching remote Rocky Island and Zabargad.
26-guest sister of Superior with Junior and Executive suites, ranging across Emperor's Egypt catalogue from northern wrecks and offshore Brothers, Daedalus and Elphinstone to the Deep South.
13-cabin, 26-guest wooden liveaboard running Emperor's northern Red Sea wreck-and-reef weeks from Hurghada, plus offshore Brothers, Daedalus and Elphinstone.
Red Sea Explorers' largest liveaboard: 37.5m, 28 guests across 14 cabins, running the same GUE-leaning offshore and deep-south Egypt route catalogue.
36m, 22-guest steel liveaboard with a dedicated camera room and gas-blending deck, running the Brothers, Daedalus, Deep South and Fury Shoal weeks.
Red Sea Explorers' tech flagship: a 37m, 22-guest steel liveaboard with a full trimix/CCR fill station and scooters for offshore and deep-south Egypt safaris.
Threshers are deep here. A diver on one trip followed a very large thresher from about 30 m to about 43 m, and another group at about 30 m saw threshers around 50 m, too far down to photograph. Guides advise early-morning dives on the wall for the best odds, and a 2013 trip report put thresher season around November with a chance all year, a single account. Gas and no-deco time set the limit on a deep shark, and no thresher is worth a descent past it.
Often, yes. Being smaller and more exposed, it tends to bring more demanding surface conditions and current than Big Brother. Both call for advanced, current-comfortable diving, and Little Brother is the one operators drop first when the sea is too rough.
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