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Darrell Seale · Scuba Diving / Dive trips / Red Sea

Diving the Red Sea

Offshore reefs, lighthouses in the middle of the sea, and sharks in the blue. Red Sea Aggressor, September 2017.

  • 2–9 Sep 2017when
  • Brothersand Daedalus
  • Iron Diverevery dive done
Lighthouse on Big Brother island in the Red Sea, September 2017

Egypt’s offshore marine parks are some of the best shark diving in the Red Sea. The Brothers and Daedalus Reef sit far out in open water, away from the day boats, so they are dived from liveaboards, and the currents that sweep past them bring in big animals from the deep.

From 2 to 9 September 2017 I was on the Red Sea Aggressor out of Port Ghalib, near Marsa Alam. We sailed out to the Brothers and Daedalus, and I came home with the boat’s Iron Diver award for completing every available dive of the trip.

The Brothers are two small islands, Big Brother and Little Brother, each just a strip of rock and coral with walls that drop straight into the blue. Big Brother has the lighthouse and two well-known wrecks on its reef, the Numidia and the Aida. Daedalus is a single reef even farther offshore, marked by its own lighthouse and jetty, and it is famous for hammerheads.

This is open-ocean diving. Most dives start with a ride in the boat’s inflatable to the up-current end of the reef, a negative entry, and a drift along the wall while you watch the blue for sharks. Everyone carries a surface marker buoy, and the crew keeps a close eye on the current. It suits divers with some experience in current; boats on this route usually ask for Advanced Open Water and a minimum number of logged dives.

Sharks in the blue

The reason people make the long crossing. Oceanic whitetips cruise near the surface, often right under the boat, with pilot fish riding along in front of them. Scalloped hammerheads hang deeper off the reef points, especially early in the morning.

Oceanic whitetip shark with pilot fish in the Red Sea
Oceanic whitetip. With its pilot fish.
Scalloped hammerhead shark in deep blue water, Red Sea
Hammerhead. Out in the blue.
Lighthouse and jetty at Daedalus Reef under a dramatic sky
Daedalus Reef. A lighthouse in the middle of the sea.

Life on the boat

A Red Sea liveaboard week settles into a routine: dive, eat, rest on the sun deck, dive again. The long crossings happen at night or between dives, and every day ended with a sunset from the deck.

Red Sea Aggressor liveaboard dive boat moored in turquoise water
Red Sea Aggressor. Home for the week.
Sunset over the Red Sea seen from the bow of a liveaboard
From the bow. Sunset from the deck.
Another dive boat silhouetted against a Red Sea sunset
Company. Another boat at the same reef.
Sun setting over calm Red Sea water
Calm evening. Flat water at sunset.
Sunset over the Red Sea from a liveaboard
Last light. The end of another dive day.
Red Sea Aggressor Iron Diver certificate awarded to Darrell Seale, 2–9 September 2017
Iron Diver. Every available dive, 2–9 September 2017.

Before or after the boat

The Red Sea is an easy add-on to Egypt’s history. After the boat in 2017 I went straight to Luxor, and in 2024 I went back for Cairo, Giza and Saqqara. Two or three days is enough for the highlights.

Darrell Seale at the Step Pyramid of Djoser, Saqqara, Egypt
Saqqara. The Step Pyramid, 2024.
A pyramid at Giza lit up at night
Giza. The pyramids after dark.
The Great Sphinx of Giza lit blue at night
The Sphinx. Lit blue in the evening.
Terraced Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut below the cliffs of Deir el-Bahari, Luxor
Luxor. The Temple of Hatshepsut.
Massive carved columns of the hypostyle hall at Karnak, Luxor
Karnak. The hypostyle hall, 2017.
The Colossi of Memnon on the West Bank of Luxor
Colossi of Memnon. On the West Bank.

Egypt on land: Cairo, Luxor and the pyramids →

Good to know

  • SitesBrothers Islands, Daedalus Reef
  • AccessLiveaboard only; strong currents, for experienced divers
  • PortsHurghada, Safaga, Port Ghalib
  • BringSurface marker buoy; good buoyancy and some current experience
  • My tripRed Sea Aggressor, 2–9 September 2017

Want to dive the Red Sea with a group? Dive Outdoors in Redding, California runs a liveaboard trip from Hurghada to the Brothers, Daedalus and Elphinstone, 1–8 May 2027.

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