The Egyptian Red Sea offers a truly unforgettable experience both above and below water. Enjoy the area’s unique combination of spectacular marine life, world-class diving, pleasant climate and stunning scenery. Head to the world-famous dive sites of Sharm El Sheikh, jump on one of our brilliant liveaboards or take a look at our excellent selection of resorts.

Example of savings

• Dive Ras Mohammed National Park, reefs & wrecks from £779pp
• Dive South & St Johns from £1,011pp
• Dive Sharm el Sheikh from £1,165pp
• Dive El Gouna from £1,295pp
• Dive Marsa Alam from £1,295pp
• Dive Soma Bay from £1,345pp

Terms & Conditions

• Please quote RSFEB25 at the time of your enquiry.
• Spend £750 or above and save £75, and when spending over £1,200 you can save £100!
• Valid for new bookings only.
• Not combinable with BSAC or loyalty discounts.
• Book before 24 Feb 2025

View all our Red Sea resort holidays or our liveaboard holidays. To find out more, contact our expert Dive team.

The journey to Marsa Alam

I flew to Marsa Alam on a direct flight from London Gatwick - the first available since the pandemic! After just five hours, I landed at the airport and was quickly picked up by an Emperor Divers representative and driven to my hotel. Everything was smooth as silk.

The reinstatement of direct flights to this region between November and April really helps to make this wonderful area accessible once again.

First impressions

I had a friendly welcome from the staff on my arrival at Wadi Sabarah Lodge. It is a beautiful resort, with rooms constructed on different levels along a slope which descends to the beach. The resort aims to accommodate guests aged 12 and older, so the pool area is a relaxing place to unwind. Overall, the atmosphere is so calm and chilled, you can forget the hubbub of the outside world entirely. 

Wadi Sabarah’s architecture is simple but well-designed, with the resort calling on time-honoured Bedouin techniques to ensure a naturally cool and pleasant environment. I felt as though I was walking into a Luxor temple. The interior design, pottery, art and Egyptian artefacts evoke a sense of the exotic, setting this resort apart; particularly in the library and lobby.

My room was located on the beach level and had a private terrace. Despite being a standard room, it was very spacious and conveniently located. The interior had wooden furniture in a natural style, and I was provided with a refillable glass bottle. 

A Unique Offering 

Wadi Sabarah is designed to be in harmony with nature and is built by local masons from repurposed fossilised coral limestone. A solar grid powers the lodge, and they use reverse osmosis, and filter water from desalinated seawater.

The coffee was the best I have ever tried at a resort and the local cuisine was delicious. 

There’s plenty to do beyond diving, such as day trips to Luxor and sunset jeep safaris (which I loved!) I especially enjoyed being out in nature as the sun set and the colour of the rock changed before my eyes. 

I also explored the botanical garden at the heart of the resort - it is like a green oasis in the desert. The gardens house over 2000 plants, including over 40 local species, and guests can take a free tour with Dr Irina Springuel. Irina shared a wealth of knowledge about desert plants and traditional medicine. Guests can even scan QR codes to learn more about the plants during a self-guided walk. 

But of course, I was there for the diving, which brings me to the incredible brand-new onsite dive centre, run by Emperor Divers.

Emperor Divers were so fun and professional 

During my stay at Wadi Sabarah, I enjoyed many dives with the PADI 5-star dive centre. The highly professional team has extensive local diving experience and guided all the dives very well. They were well-organised, delivered good briefings and were very committed to diver safety.

However, what really impressed me was the programme of marine talks. At 6.30pm every evening, the Emperor Divers team hosts a 30-minute educational presentation at Wadi Sabarah. The talks were informative and fun, giving an insight into the marine life you are likely to encounter when diving in the Red Sea, such as oceanic whitetip sharks, dugongs, and moray eels. You won’t want to miss them!

My most memorable dives in Marsa Alam

One of my highlights was definitely enjoying my first-ever dugong encounter at Marsa Mubarak! Emperor operates daily boat tours to this shallow dive site. I followed my dive master as we searched for dugong in the seagrass meadows. We were very lucky and quickly caught sight of one chowing down on some seagrass. We also had spectacular turtle sightings while we were diving there.

Another highlight came after taking a 20-minute speedboat ride out to the famed Elphinstone Reef. Elphinstone is a 375-metre-long reef with sheer drop-offs and steep walls. That morning there was a gentle current so I enjoyed a relaxing dive. Although we didn’t see any of the famous oceanic whitetip or scalloped hammerhead sharks on this occasion, we had some amazing sightings - huge schools of barracudas, travellies and tuna, along with Napoleon fish and lionfish. The visibility was so good I could have been diving in the Maldives!  

So, is Marsa Alam suitable for divers of all levels?

I’d say anyone can dive here. There is a beautiful shallow reef at Abu Dabbab beach for children and beginners. Wadi Sabarah’s coastline has a pristine fringe reef, so you can have a fantastic experience without even leaving the resort.

Experienced divers can head over to Oasis Dive Resort and explore the waters there with or without a guide. I also highly recommend the wreck dives and a drift dive at Elphinstone for seasoned divers.

Why stay in Marsa Alam?

Marsa Alam is less touristy than Hurghada. With lovely resorts away from the crowds, you can enjoy the sun and sea by yourself. 

Between November and April, you can take a direct flight from the UK to Marsa Alam. Staying in Marsa Alam you spend less time travelling to and from your resort, which means more time underwater. I enjoyed daily boat trips to a wide range of beautiful dive sites.

For me, the best parts of my trip were the incredible dugong encounter and my fabulous stay at Wadi Sabarah. 

Please get in touch to find out more about staying at Wadi Sabarah Lodge or booking any of our Red Sea diving holidays.

We are receiving regular feedback from excited guests on Red Sea liveaboards and day-boats that shark sightings are on the increase. There have even been some very special visitors to a house reef in Safaga!

Shark season in the Red Sea traditionally runs from May to October, and during this time liveaboard operators focus on itineraries specifically created for divers looking to maximise their chances of diving with sharks. Favoured sites include The Brothers, Daedalus, Elphinstone, Fury Shoal and St. John’s Reef.

Hammerheads, silvertips, silkies, oceanic white tips and threshers are often spotted at The Brothers, and sightings of grey reef sharks are common on the North and South Plateaux of Small Brother. Elphinstone offers regular encounters with oceanic white tips, while Daedalus is famous for its schools of hammerheads. The more southerly sites of Fury Shoal and St. John’s Reef are famous for hammerheads, grey sharks, silvertips and white tip reef sharks.

We offer a number of trips that visit these legendary sites, flights are available from a number of UK airports.

Guests returning from many Red Sea resorts are also reporting an increase in shark sightings on their day-boat trips. Divers looking for a land-based holiday with the chance of getting up close and personal with sharks should head to El Quseir, Marsa Alam, Shams Alam or Hamata.

Finally, how about diving over a house reef and bumping into a whaleshark? This is exactly what could happen to you when diving on Coral Garden’s magnificent house reef in Safaga. Several whaleshark encounters have been reported by excited divers, with video footage eagerly being shared on social media.

For the best chance of diving with sharks in the Red Sea call us today to discuss your options. Whether you are looking for a liveaboard, day-boat or house reef, we can place you right in the middle of some sensational shark action!

Despite us divers believing we are an adventurous bunch we still tend to fall back on tried and tested resorts. So the next time you plan to go away, why not consider a new twist on an old friend? Here are just a few suggestions:

Red Sea: Hamata

The small town of Hamata lends its name to the region opposite the Fury Shoal reef system. This is the most southerly diving resort in the Egyptian Red Sea. The remoteness of this area - situated 180km South of Marsa Alam - makes it the ultimate in ‘get away from it all’ diving.

The legendary Fury Shoal is right on Hamata's doorstep, offering over 35 memorable dive sites. There are over 80 types of coral to discover in this region, all in excellent condition and inhabited by a rich variety of marine species.

There are very few resorts this far south, but Regaldive offer two excellent options: Wadi Lahami Azur Resort and Lahami Bay, and with direct flights to Marsa Alam from several UK airports travel to this region has never been easier.

Caribbean: Grenada

Grenada offers divers an exceptional variety of dives. There are over 30 sites concentrated around the South West tip of the island, ranging from beautiful coral gardens to adrenaline charged drift dives where encounters with a variety of rays and sharks are commonplace.

In addition to their fine reefs, Grenada is renowned for its wrecks, especially The Bianca C: a 200m luxury liner that sank in 1961. She supports a large amount of marine life and has numerous points of interest, including the swimming pool and the bridge. 

For divers seeking something truly different there is Moliniere reef which has been brought alive and transformed by the work of artist Jason de Caires Taylor. His human form sculptures present fantastic photographic opportunities whilst forming a new home for marine life and give an entirely new perspective to the diver.

Indonesia: The Derawan Islands, East Kalimantan

Kalimantan is the Indonesian part of Borneo. The Derawan Islands are famous for outstanding diving; providing an amazing range of large fish species as well as plenty to please the macro enthusiasts. 

Located in a biodiversity hotspot, the Derawan Islands feature 872 species of reef fishes, 507 species of coral, and invertebrates including protected species such as giant clam, two different sea turtles and the coconut crab. Some of the islands harbour the largest green turtle nesting sites in Indonesia.  Furthermore, at Kakaban island you can visit one of only two non-stinging jelly fish lakes in the world.

East Kalimantan offers that rare combination of big and small marine life: the Islands’ remote location mean that dive sites are rarely crowded, marine life is abundant, and there is the chance of seeing something new each day. 

Thailand: Liveaboards

The Similan Islands are located 100km Northwest of Phuket and are best dived by joining a liveaboard out of Phuket. The Islands lay claim to some of the finest dive sites in Thailand. Thriving reefs with abundant hard and soft corals highlight the dramatic terrain. 

North of the Similan Islands the dive sites of Ko Bon, Ko Tachai and Richelieu Rock enjoy a deserved reputation for their big pelagic sightings. Richelieu Rock in particular attracts both whalesharks and manta rays in good numbers over the diving season.

With snow-white beaches set against picturesque granite outcrops above the water and spectacular dive sites in often crystal clear water below, it is not surprising that the Similan Islands are ranked as one of the finest dive destinations in the world. 

A number of different itineraries provide divers with the choice of trip durations, from 2 nights to 10 nights, and can be combined with a land-based stay on Phuket.

We hope our small choice of alternative resorts has inspired you to look again at your tried and tested destinations. So when you are planning your next trip, instead of calling up an old friend, give serious consideration to a new relationship!

On my recent trip to Marsa Alam I also spent a very nice day with the team at Oasis Dive Resort. A location that's all about making the most of the great diving in the area, plus comfortable accommodation and good food. A tour of the rooms showed them all to be spacious and all with nice views over the sea. 

The diving options include their lovely house reef, or trips by road to dive sites to the north and south. The minibus pulls up to a beach with all your dive kit already laid out on a big rug to keep the sand away. This type of diving is perfect for those that don't  want to be out on a boat all  day, or on and off a RIB. A leisurely kit up and you can walk straight into the water. 

So, the first dive of the day was a very special one for me, my 500th dive. I learnt to dive in May 2002 and was immediately hooked. To say my life started to revolve around diving is an understatement, then even more so when I joined Regaldive in 2012. Certainly learning to dive was one of the best decisions I ever made.

The dive at Oasis was in a bay with reef either side and sea grass in the middle. They do have a resident Dugong there and I was hoping he would show up to help me celebrate my special dive, but I think the party invitation must have got lost in the post. I was lucky enough to see the one that lives up near Port Ghalib on dive 499 though, so close enough for my first Dugong. There was a very big Green Turtle munching away on the sea grass though and he posed nicely for some pictures and video. 

Then we finished with a pleasant meander around the pretty reefs nearby to check out all of the usual Red Sea life. Those pesky Pipefish never stay still long enough for you to get a decent picture, I often wonder how some people get those close up pictures that you see. 

So, it was an enjoyable end to a great week in the Red Sea and here's looking forward to the next 500 dives!

The Oasis Dive Resort is an intimate, appealing hotel with a rustic and friendly feel. Ideally suited for divers and for those seeking tranquillity, it has a rural location on a long beach just north of Marsa Alam. The hotel has 49 chalets arranged around the main building in the form of a pretty Bedouin village with small alleyways and winding steps of fossilized coral stone. The resort stands out with its unique architecture and intimate ambience. The views from the terraces are fantastic.

 We offer a range of Red Sea Liveaboards, with itineraries giving you a wide variety of diving options, depending on your area of interest and your level of experience. If you are travelling as a large group, you can even decide your ideal itinerary and pre-book a week of wrecks, or favourite reef dives, according to your group preferences.

It seems that our Red Sea liveaboards are more popular than ever this year. Many of our Red Sea liveaboard trips are already full for numerious dates this summer. The autumn season is also filling up very quickly. 

Regaldive offer a choice of northern and southern Red Sea itineraries. Northern trips include the reef at Abu Nuhas with several wrecks resting at its base. You can also visit the Straits of Gubal and the famous Thistlegorm World War II wreck. There are many world class dive sites in the southern Red Sea, including Fury Shoal, the Brothers and Elphinstone and Regaldive offer several itineraries. 

So, if a Red Sea liveaboard trip is on the horizon for you this summer or autumn, it's the ideal time to book your place, as boat places are filling very fast. 

Call us now on 01353 659999 or request a quote so that you don't miss out on your opportunity to dive this summer and autumn.

Dive into our Red Sea Liveaboard trips here

MASSIVE LIVEABOARD SAVINGS WITH EMPEROR DIVERS
- UP TO 30% OFF & FREE NITROX

SAVE UP TO £885 ON MALDIVES LIVEABOARDS - BOOK BY 18 APRIL 2017

• Emperor Leo from £862 boat only
• Emperor Serenity from £1,124 boat only
• Virgo from £973 boat only
• Emperor Voyager from £836 boat only

SAVE ON RED SEA LIVEABOARDS - BOOK by 18 april 2017

• Emperor Asmaa from £902 including flights
• Emperor Elite from £1,043 including flights
• Emperor Superior from £989 including flights

Call the Regaldive team on 01353 659999 to book your next diving adventure.

Book by 18 April 2017 to benefit from these great savings. 

However, one only need consider the relative remoteness of the southern resorts of El Quseir, Shams Alam and Hamata with their unspoiled reefs, to make a direct comparison with the way the northern Red Sea resorts were decades ago, when the divers started to arrive. 

The spectacular coastline to the south of Hurghada has opened up to reveal pristine diving, and direct flights into Marsa Alam throughout the year mean that it’s now even easier to access these impressive reef systems.

El Quseir was once one of Egypt’s most important trading hubs, but today it is a tranquil destination. The coral gardens, caves and reefs boast abundant marine life, and the advantage of less crowded sites means that the resort is perfect for those learning to dive, as well as keen underwater photographers who can take their time to find the perfect subject.

Shams Alam has access to more than thirty dive sites, as well as an excellent house reef. Sha’ab Sharm is a large reef lying atop a vast undersea mountain thought to be an ancient volcano. This site is famous for its dramatic, sheer walls swept by strong currents where you will often be accompanied by large schools of jacks and barracuda, as well as grey reef sharks, hammerheads and tuna.

Dolphin House is one of the most popular areas in the southern Red Sea. The three main dive sites offer a cave system and caverns, an eel garden, a little seagrass bed and the biodiversity of the pinnacles. The regular sightings of barracuda, mantas, sharks and dolphins, plus soft and hard coral, make this one of the most interesting and ecologically diverse sites in the Red Sea.

The small town of Hamata lends its name to the region opposite the Fury Shoal Reef system. This is the most southerly resort in the Egyptian Red Sea. The remoteness of this area – 110 miles south of Marsa Alam - makes it the ultimate in ‘get away from it all’ diving.

The house reefs in Hamata give divers the flexibility to dive to their own schedule and maximise their time in the water. There is an amazing array of hard and soft corals to be appreciated, all within a short walk of your hotel room. Night dives are also available and provide an exciting opportunity to watch Spanish dancers, lionfish and lobster.

The legendary Fury Shoal offers over 35 memorable dive sites. One of the sites - Gota Soraya - is rated as one of the best wall dives in the Red Sea, with large caves full of glass fish, sweepers and an abundance of corals. There is a good chance of enjoying encounters with dolphins and a variety of shark species, along with large shoals of mackerel in season. Turtles hatch along this coastline and sightings are common.

Ultimately, whichever Southern Red Sea resort you choose, you will leave remembering immaculate, uncrowded reefs supporting an abundance of marine life, including many species rarely found elsewhere. This far south the winter water temperature is significantly higher than that of the northern Red Sea, creating a relaxed dive environment that can be enjoyed all year round.

Divers, it’s time to turn back the clock and enjoy Red Sea diving as it used to be: visit the beautiful south.

Regaldive offer land-based trips and liveaboards in both the Southern and Northern Red Sea. Resorts include El Quseir, Shams Alam, Hamata and Marsa Alam in the south and Hurghada and El Gouna in the north.

To find out more, call our friendly team on 01353 659999 or visit: Diving in the Red Sea

John told us:

It was certainly great to be back in Egypt after a break of a couple of years and back in Marsa Alam for the first time since 2009. Bookings for Egypt are picking up again and it was nice to see the flight to Marsa was just about full. A friendly face was waiting in the arrivals hall, Regaldive's Rep, Ramadan. He's there to help all Regal's guests with the visa process and show you to your transportation. 

It's only 10 minutes from the Airport to the Marina Lodge, our location for the week. The resort is on the quieter side of Port Ghalib, overlooking the marina and with the Emperor dive centre on site, it's perfect. Marina Lodge is small and friendly, so it's ideal for divers.

I'd met some of the staff from Emperor on my last visit, but there were many new faces too. A very friendly team there, so it soon felt that I had known them all for ages. 

Diving with Emperor is mainly day boat diving, similar to how you may have dived from Sharm and Hurghada, so it's very relaxed, with a comfortable and hopefully calm transit to all of the dive sites. After the usual boat and dive briefings, we started with a nice easy dive, after a quick weight check.  It didn’t take long to get re-acquainted with the lovely reefs in the area, but the highlight of the first day was diving with a Dugong, the first time for me. It’s taken a while, but I’m glad to finally tick it off the list.

The second day involved a special trip, to the iconic Elphinstone Reef. An early start is required, as it’s 6 miles offshore, but we were served a tasty and filling breakfast on the boat. Conditions on the surface were a bit more challenging than the local sites, but once in the water things calmed down to a gentle drift. Big stuff turning up is a bit less likely at this time of year, but there’s plenty of reef fish and beautiful soft corals to help make it worth the trip.

The next day's diving was also a supplementary trip, South to Samadai, otherwise known as Dolphin House. This is the home to a pod of Spinner Dolphins that sleep and rest there during the day. It’s not possible to dive with them and the snorkelling is carefully controlled to avoid disturbance. The dives are conducted on the sloping reefs and pinnacles on the outside of the horseshoe shaped reef.  Only a quick glimpse of the Dolphins took place on this occasion, but that is nature, I’ve been lucky enough to have some close encounters on my previous two visits. But, as compensation, we did have a pod of Bottlenose Dolphins riding the bow wave of the boat on the way home.

My last days diving with Emperor was in a calm bay called Shoni Kober, just south of Port Ghalib. lovely reefs with the usual suspects in profusion. The highlight of the day was the second dive which brought us five huge Green Turtles, some swimming towards the Sea Grass for a snack, others just resting and sleeping. They seem oblivious to divers and you can get nice and close. One even almost bumped into my buddy who only turned to see him at the last moment and had a shock to see a huge Turtle just two feet away! 

It was so nice to get back to diving in Egypt and I’d like to thank Emperor Divers, particularly Tracy, for their great service and some lovely diving.  

If you have the chance to visit Marsa Alam, I'm sure that you'll enjoy some great diving!

Marsa Alam is the gateway to the exciting Southern Red Sea and its myriad pristine reefs. Once the sole preserve of liveaboard boats, this area is now accessible directly from the shore. This is virgin diving away from the crowds at its very best.

Regaldive offer various accommodation options in Marsa Alam to suit a wide range of budgets. For more information, please visit our Marsa Alam accommodation details.

To find out more about diving in Marsa Alam, please call the Regaldive team on 01353 659999.

RED SEA – DIVE PACK SAVINGS with emperor divers

5 DAY DIVE PACK OFFER:

• Marsa Alam Buy 5 days’ boat diving (10 dives) for just £164 
• El Gouna Buy 5 days’ boat diving (10 dives) for just £164

Boat diving includes 2 dives per day with guide, tanks, weights, weight belt, transfers to/from your hotel, all port fees and surcharges. 

Valid for diving taken from:

• 1 March 2017 to 31 August 2017 and 
• 1 November 2017 to 31 December 2017

These offers are only available for new bookings made from 1-24 February 2017.

BOOK TODAY to benefit from these great savings. 

Call the Regaldive team on 01353 659999 to book your next diving adventure.