Offshore reefIntermediateHurghada

Careless Reef

Two pinnacles north-east of Giftun with a dramatic drop-off, long known for moray eels and for currents that decide the dive plan.

Depth: 5–30m over two pinnacles and the connecting saddle
Access: Day boat from Hurghada, roughly an hour out past Giftun
Best season: April to October, when the northerly wind is least likely to cancel the trip
Level: Intermediate

Careless Reef sits north-east of Giftun Island and consists of two coral pinnacles joined by a saddle, with a wall dropping away on the outer side. It is the classic full-day boat dive out of Hurghada.

The dive is usually planned around the outer wall, with time at the pinnacles on the way back. What makes it intermediate rather than beginner is not depth — it is that the current dictates the plan and can change between dives.

Its reputation rests on the moray eels, which are unusually large and unusually numerous. They are wild animals living on a reef, not an attraction, and the site is better for the fact that hand-feeding them has fallen out of practice.

Conditions

Exposed offshore site; frequently cancelled in strong northerly wind
Current from mild to strong, often changing across the saddle between the pinnacles
Excellent visibility on a calm day

What you are likely to see

Giant moray eels, the site’s signature
Napoleon wrasse, occasionally very large
Schooling barracuda and jacks over the drop-off
Reef sharks along the deeper edges

What to watch out for

The current across the saddle can be much stronger than at the pinnacles. Ask specifically how the group will handle the crossing.
Feeding morays was once common here and is now rightly discouraged. A centre that still does it is telling you something about its standards.

This is planning information, not a dive briefing or a substitute for one. Conditions change; your guide on the day is the authority. Diving emergency numbers and the coast’s recompression chambers are on our emergency contacts page.