DEPARTING FROM Marsa Alam or HurghaDA - (16 DIVES MINIMUM)

Experience Level: Aquarius requires that you are a PADI Advanced, or equivalent, for this itinerary, with 50 logged dives. If you are not qualified to this level, you will be guided for 2 dives per day and a local cost will be paid of €6 per dive. The PADI Advanced course can be completed whilst on-board, so be sure to pre-book.

This itinerary offers the very best in the Red Sea. These three dive sites are quite distant from one another, but the aim is to give you a taste of the very best that the Red Sea has to offer. The Brothers Islands are only accessible by liveaboard, and lie at the most eastern part of the Egyptian territory in the Red Sea.

The Brothers (Al Ikhwan and El Akhawein) lie in the middle of the Red Sea, 36 nautical miles (70 km) east of El Quseir. It is made up of two islands that emerge from a depth of more than 500 metres. Their location is exposed to the current and a common meeting point for pelagics, making this reef one of the top 10 dive sites in Egypt and the Red Sea.

The Brothers are now a national park that requires a permit from the Coast Guard. The two islands are situated less than 1 km from each other. The largest in the north is called Big Brother and the smaller one in the south is Little Brother.

Big Brother

The largest of the two brothers islands is only 300 metres long and is known for its 100 metre high stone lighthouse built by the English in 1880. Big Brother is inhabited by the Egyptian military who maintain the lighthouse and protect the surroundings.

Big Brother has Two Wrecks:

• The Numidia is a British freighter carrying railway equipment that sank in 1901.  It lies on its starboard between 15 and 80 metres. 
• The Aida, on the northwest, is an Egyptian troop transport vessel that sank in 1947, due to bad weather. The wreck is lying in an upright position with the back resting at 60 metre and the shallower bow at 25 metres, which allows easy access to the cargo holds. 

Daedalus

Daedalus is situated 100 miles south of the Brothers - it is a huge circular reef with a manned lighthouse in its centre. A service track from the outer part of the reef to the lighthouse allows boats to moor and visit the lighthouse to experience the spectacular panoramic views.

The possibilities to dive are numerous because of the size of the reef. The northern part is often chosen, when the weather conditions allow it, for the first dive at dawn and is an ideal area for large gatherings. You may encounter grey sharks and white tip reef sharks, schools of hammerheads, big trevally and barracuda. Manta rays and eagle rays are also visitors to this area. The peculiarities of the drop off on the west, besides the beautiful soft and black corals, are a huge colony of sea anemones with their clownfish in the more shallow area of the drop off. The wall on the east side, consisting of hard coral formations, is also a place rich in marine life.   

Elphinstone

Elphinstone North is a plateau that descends to 25 metres and that reaches the second plateau on 45 metres depth with a nearly constant current. Pelagic fish and schools of hammerheads are often passing here. The east and west walls are covered with multitudes of coral which supports a rich variety of marine life. Elphinstone South is unique below a depth of 25 metres, where the wall with a background of blue forms a huge natural arch that opens up at 55 metres depth and offers a very impressive sight. Sharks, tuna and schools of jacks are often present.

Please note: You are expected to be able to complete each dive with your buddy or following the guide. The guides may not enter the water and may remain onboard as surface support for some dives. As with all diving activities, the dive guide has the final decision regarding any diver’s competency to complete any particular dive. This is a sample itinerary and is subject to change without notice. The itinerary will depend on several factors including, but not limited to, weather, diving ability of guests & the number of other boats already present at the various dive sites.