If you are seeking an exceptional diving experience in an absolutely stunning location, then consider making the trek to the desert village of Nuweiba, which is located well off the beaten path, about a two hour drive across fairly rugged terrain from Sharm el-Sheikh. In Arabic,” Nuweiba” means “Bubbling Springs”. Once a remote outpost, this community is growing well and is home to some fine resorts and luxurious Bedouin facilities.
Diving conditions are exceptionally ambient, with Red Sea temperatures ranging from twenty to twenty-five degrees Celsius, and visibility sometimes exceeding fifty meters, depending on wave activity and depth. All the following dives are undertaken from shore, making for a different kind of dive vacation than you may be used to!
Abou Lou Lou House Reef
The Abou Lou Lou House Reef, which is sometimes called Hilton House Reef, is ideal for divers of every level, thanks to its calm water which is between five and twenty meters deep, and which is so clear that it’s almost as though you’re floating through a sky filled with marine life.
This reef is bursting with lion fish, puffer fish, and angelfish, and is home to reclusive moray eels in abundance. As it is a house reef with excellent conditions, there is a growing interest in snorkeling so areas closer to shore can feel a bit crowded at times.
Outside Hilton
Outside Hilton is Abou Lou Lou’s “sister” reef, which is just forty meters off the beach. It slopes from four to twenty-eight meters and is home to larger jacks and big eyes, as well as some rare frogfish. You’ll see incredible, unspoiled coral at both of these sites.
Ras El Shetan (Devil’s Head)
This heavenly dive site is home to an incredible spectrum of anemone and anemonefish, as well as a fantastically healthy coral garden and an adjacent garden brimming with sea grass and macro life.
Ras El Shetan is accessed by a thirty minute drive to the north of Nuweiba to a Bedouin camp. Here, you can experience two dives separated by a surface interval: North and South. The north side of the reef features a coral garden with enormous block and table coral, some as large as three meters across. Lemon Gobies and Blue Green Pullers, as well as angelfish make their homes here. The south side dive begins by a descent to twelve meters, where you’ll see the top of the reef plateau, where hard coral structures thrive. The plateau drops into a canyon forty meters deep, where you’ll meet friendly-looking puffer fish, and a variety of pelagics.
Sinkers
At Sinkers, you can admire what almost looks like an underwater hot air balloon that is teeming with life. What is it, and how did it come to be here? This incredible structure was supposed to be a mooring buoy, but the chain was too short! Now, the buoy and its mooring chains are completely covered in soft coral, and are accessible at ten meters below the water’s surface. You’ll see a multitude of fish here, including schooling glassfish and damsels, as well as big jacks hoping to catch a meal on the go.
Rock Sea
Rock Sea is home to schools of basslets, angelfish, and other colorful reef fish, and offers some truly spectacular underwater scenery. Everywhere you look, you’ll see soft and hard coral in abundance. Here, you can enjoy a scenic coral garden situated near a sandy slope at six to seven meters, then continue out to twenty meters, where you will feel as though you’re hovering over the edge of paradise. Here, a drop off allows you to descend to thirty meters, where you will meet large groupers as well as smaller creatures that live in the reef’s fissures and shallow caverns.
El Magna
El Magna boasts two beautiful dive sites along massive coral tables and walls. Like Ras El Shetan, these two dives can be enjoyed one after another, with a surface interval separating them. To the right, along the top of the coral reef plate, is an area that attracts larger fish, like barracuda and napoleons. To the left, you’ll find a wall and a beautiful drop all the way to thirty-five meters. Beyond the wall, further up the reef, is a second feature – a massive canyon that descends to about twenty-five meters, and then leads back to the coral garden, where you can exit. These dives both take a circular route, so you can choose which to do first. Watch for seahorses in the fan coral here!
El Mazeriq
To the south of Nuweiba, by about seven kilometers, is the area known as El Mazeriq or Myserique. Shore entry is simple, and a break in the reef allows you to look out over a vista of underwater valleys and hills. The valleys, with their sandy bottoms, and the hills, of healthy coral, are teeming with fish and invertebrates of every kind and color. Some of these look almost like craters – the coral has grown up in a circular pattern, and the bowls beneath the rims are filled with sand and sea grass! At the end of the dive site, you’ll be treated to an incredible, five to seven meter high brain coral which attracts even more fish! Called Brian’s Brain, this amazing structure is a must see. These massive brain corals often collapse beneath their own weight, however, Brian’s Brain has held up so far! Watch for ghost pipefish and blue spotted rays as you enjoy this spectacular site.
Nuweiba is quickly becoming a more popular dive destination, and it is predicted to continue to grow even more during the next decade. It is easy to find rentals and more underwater tours are being offered all the time. Besides the beautiful scenery that waits below the surface, there’s plenty to enjoy during your time above water. You can take a trek into the desert by jeep or camel, or you can hop onto a boat for a day trip or liveaboard to some of Egypt’s other famous dive sites.