Small Tiran reef with a no-mooring drift along gorgonian and black coral walls, plus a canyon with three arches for technical divers.
Last updated October 2026
The recreational dive starts at the reef's south-eastern section and follows a wall covered in gorgonians, whip corals and black corals down to a broad ledge at about 25 metres. Whitetip reef sharks and leopard sharks are often found resting there. On the wall corals, look for longnose hawkfish, boxfish and pipefish, and for bursts of anthias. The Advanced dive stays between roughly 20 and 30 metres.
With no mooring points, the rest of the dive is a drift. The northern wall has spits in the rock where divers find some shelter from the frequent strong currents. The west wall, when it is dived, is darker: overhangs and caves hold glassfish and sweepers, a school of large barracuda cruises the face, and in summer the largest tuna appear.
A canyon opens on the reef's inner side at 35 metres and runs 80 metres alongside the wall, crossed by three swim-throughs formed by fallen rocks, the Thomas Arches. It is technical, overhead diving to about 90 metres, and the feature technical divers know the reef for.
The rest of Thomas is a small reef with plunging coral walls, small enough to circle in a single dive unless a counter-current meets you at the northern part.
Currents on Thomas are frequently strong, and a counter-current can meet you on the northern section. Use the spits on the northern wall for shelter. There are no moorings, so the group drifts and the boat collects it afterwards: carry a surface marker buoy and deploy it for the ascent.
Visibility runs 20-30 metres through most of the year and can reach 40 in winter, which makes winter the clearest time for the wall; summer adds the largest tuna on the west wall. Strong north winds can stop boats from reaching the Straits of Tiran in any month.
What makes this dive site stand out.
With no mooring points the dive is a drift along the reef
Gorgonians, whip corals and black corals cover the south-east wall
Opens at 35m and runs 80m beside the reef; for technical divers
Whitetip reef sharks and leopard sharks are often found on the 25m ledge
27.9906°N, 34.4603°E
Circle Divers asks for 20 logged dives and Advanced Open Water for its Tiran dives, and dive guides grade the site Advanced; the strong current and the no-mooring drift are the reasons. The canyon below 35m is for technical divers.
Summary
Strong current and a drift with no moorings make the wall dive Advanced. The canyon is technical-only.
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.
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.
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.
48.5m new-build luxury liveaboard for up to 28 guests, launched 2023, running All Star's Northern and Southern Red Sea routes from Hurghada, with Thistlegorm and Ras Mohammed wrecks in the north and the Brothers, Daedalus, Elphinstone, Rocky Island and St John's offshore.
44m, 28-guest wooden liveaboard and the Sea Serpent Fleet's technical flagship, running the fleet's shared Egyptian Red Sea route pool: offshore Brothers-Daedalus-Elphinstone, northern wrecks and the Strait of Tiran, and southern St John's and Fury Shoals.
Teak-finished 42m, 24-guest liveaboard running Seawolf's full Egypt catalog from Hurghada and Port Ghalib, from northern wrecks and the Strait of Tiran to the Brothers, Daedalus, Elphinstone and the Deep South.
The Advanced dive is the wall above the canyon. The canyon opens at 35 metres on the inner side of the reef, its floor is put at about 90 metres, and one dive guide calls it strictly for technical divers. A 2005 account says operators let in only divers cleared to go deeper than 40 metres, so expect an operator to ask for technical-level training before it takes you in. The arches and cave-like sections are overhead, and divers have got stuck there.
It can, but it does not always. The reef is small enough to circle in a single dive, unless a counter-current meets you at the northern part. The west wall, with its overhangs, caves and barracuda school, is the side where sea conditions often make it impossible to pick divers up, so boats frequently skip it. Treat the west wall as a possibility on any given day.
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