| Dive area / region : Safaga - See the map |
 
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| Best diving season : July • August | |||||||||||||||||||
| Recommended number of days to stay : 5 to 7 days | |||||||||||||||||||
| Number of dive sites : More than 20 Dive Sites | |||||||||||||||||||
| Water temperature and wetsuit advice : 21-25C : Thin Wetsuit | |||||||||||||||||||
| Average visibility : 26 - 30 meters | |||||||||||||||||||
| Average dives depth : 25 Meters | |||||||||||||||||||
| Type of currents : Medium level currents | |||||||||||||||||||
| Months when these currents are present : N/A | |||||||||||||||||||
| General surface conditions : Medium conditions | |||||||||||||||||||
| Wreck types : Old wooden ship • Recent world ships • Artificial wrecks |
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| Type of marine life : Jacks • Moray Eels • Shark - Leopard shark • Shark - Reef shark • Softcoral | |||||||||||||||||||
| Presence of caves / caverns : No | |||||||||||||||||||
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Scuba Diving in Safaga
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Description
Suit: 3mm or 5mm wetsuit (November - April), shortie for rest of the year
Type of diving: Reefs, walls, caves, wrecks
Safaga is a sizeable Egyptian town that has built up around its port. The port is there because of Safaga's proximity to the ancient gateway through the Red Sea Hills to the Nile, used as far back as during the Roman Empire. An indication of the Roman roots in the area lies not far from Safaga at the old Roman city of Myos Hormos, just eight kilometres north of Quseir. Here there are archaeological excavations by the roadside which have exposed a large amount of pottery, as well as the remains of buildings. The Red Sea Hills make a stunning backdrop to Safaga, looming out of the Eastern Desert and cut by wadis that are filled with sand dunes and oases. Up into the hills there are abandoned phosphate and granite mines that used to be quarried in order to trade along the coast with India.
Type of diving: Reefs, walls, caves, wrecks
Safaga is a sizeable Egyptian town that has built up around its port. The port is there because of Safaga's proximity to the ancient gateway through the Red Sea Hills to the Nile, used as far back as during the Roman Empire. An indication of the Roman roots in the area lies not far from Safaga at the old Roman city of Myos Hormos, just eight kilometres north of Quseir. Here there are archaeological excavations by the roadside which have exposed a large amount of pottery, as well as the remains of buildings. The Red Sea Hills make a stunning backdrop to Safaga, looming out of the Eastern Desert and cut by wadis that are filled with sand dunes and oases. Up into the hills there are abandoned phosphate and granite mines that used to be quarried in order to trade along the coast with India.
Safaga, originally a major commercial harbour in the Red Sea Riviera, has become over the years a divers’ favourite. Some even claim Safaga's offshore reefs offer better diving than Sharm el Sheikh or Hurghada. It offers shallow easy dive sites for beginners, and impressive sheer walls for the more experienced, such as fabled Abu Qifan, with the complete range of colours and marine life perfect for a diving holiday. Safaga is located in a wide large bay, adorned with a long sandy beach where resorts cater mainly to divers, windsurfers and families with kids. In the middle of the bay, a number of coral “ergs” create a beautiful coral garden ideal for the beginners. Off shore open ocean dive sites still amaze even the most experienced diver. Many live-aboard safaris from Hurghada include Safaga's best dive sites in their itineraries.
There is something in Safaga for everybody: manta rays at Sha'ab Saiman, the eel garden at Gamul Kabira, blue spotted stingrays at Tobia, sharp drop-offs at Abu Qifan, the anemone city at Panorama Reef. There is nothing like a night dive at Sha'ab Sheer. In Safaga there are several reliable and professional diving centres, with services ranging from scuba diving beginner certification courses to professional courses and technical diving, and providing guided dives to the area's outstanding reefs, introductory dives and diving packages, with one, two or more dives per day, for those who are certified.
For the non-licensed diving enthusiasts, the centres offer free of charge pool intro’s, where visitors can experience the thrill of scuba diving on a one-to-one basis with a diving instructor in the hotel’s swimming pool. The Safaga marine area is protected, as many other areas in Egypt, and diving centres here operate under environment-friendly procedures.
Starting from year 1995, local authorities, NGO’s and international bodies such as USAID have co-operated in the conservation of the underwater life of the region. Nowadays, regular checks and upgrades ensure the presence of mooring buoys in all dive sites. The Safaga diving centres also offer experience programmes, where the visitor can try actual dives in the sea straight away, under the strict supervision of a diving professional. Safaga, with its wealth of shallow coral gardens, is an ideal location of the Red Sea Riviera in Egypt to learn to dive, and most diving centres offer the full range of beginners’ courses. Even kids from 8 years on can enroll in children-dedicated scuba diving activities, such as the popular bubble-maker course, where kids learn to be familiar with water and scuba diving and have fun swimming around in a confined water area. Scuba diving in Safaga is performed with comfortable diving boats doing daily or half-day trips.
The bay of Safaga has an outstanding selection of lovely dive sites for beginners and easy-going divers. The large bay and Safaga Island create an environment generally protected from strong currents and wind, which makes the sites ideal also for non-diving companions willing to spend a day on a boat, swimming and snorkelling in top Red Sea waters. Off shore, we find the more challenging sites, with a wealth of pelagic species.
Here are only some of the most famous dive sites in Safaga:
*Abu Qifan: legendary for hammerhead sightings in late spring and manta rays in wintertime. This 300-meter long and narrow reef offers a plateau in both north and south tips.
*Panorama Reef: one of the largest reefs in Safaga, featuring numerous grottos and overhangs, where gorgonians and soft corals thrive with the frequent nurturing currents. Due to the size of the barrier, there are at least three different dives to be done here: the south plateau and the east and the west drop offs.
*Tobia Arbaa: Named the "seven pillars" after the small pinnacles rising from a sandy bottom. One of the best dives in Safaga, despite the shallow bottom, sometimes cause of not perfect visibility. Soft corals cover all the seven ergs, glassfish, gorgonians, giant puffer fish, octopus, blue spotted rays, morays, lionfish, sergeant majors, nudibranches, etc. Easy dive and great for snorkellers.
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