Elphinstone Reef
Also known as Sha’ab Abu Hamra
The Red Sea’s most famous offshore reef: a narrow wall running north to south off Marsa Alam, known for oceanic whitetips and hammerheads — and for currents that make it an advanced dive.
- Depth
- 10–40m along the walls; the plateaus sit at roughly 20m north and 40m+ south
- Access
- Day boat from Marsa Alam or Port Ghalib, roughly 30–45 minutes offshore, sea state permitting
- Best season
- October to December for oceanic whitetips; the reef dives year-round but winter brings the biggest swell days
- Level
- Advanced
Elphinstone is a single reef, about 300 metres long, rising from deep water well off the Marsa Alam coast. That isolation is the whole point: there is nothing else around it, so pelagic species pass along its walls, and the two plateaus at either end are where divers wait for them.
The practical shape of a day here is two or three dives, planned around the current rather than a route. Most centres brief a drift along one wall to a plateau, then a return in the lee of the reef. Because there is no shore and no shelter, the boat picks you up where you surface — which is why the entry-level requirement is real.
It is worth being honest about the shark question. Sightings are seasonal and never guaranteed, and a week of Elphinstone dives can pass without one. What is guaranteed is a steep, healthy wall in blue water, which is a good dive on its own terms.
Conditions
- Open ocean with no shelter — the dive is called off when the swell is up, and that happens often
- Currents commonly moderate to strong, frequently with down-currents at the corners
- Drift dives from a zodiac or negative entries are the norm, not the exception
- Visibility typically 20–30m
What you are likely to see
- Oceanic whitetip sharks, most reliably in late autumn
- Scalloped hammerheads, usually deeper and early in the day
- Grey reef and silvertip sharks
- Large schooling fish along both plateaus; healthy soft coral on the walls
What to watch out for
- This is not a site to log your first drift dive on. Centres asking for 50+ logged dives and current experience are not gatekeeping, they are reading the site correctly.
- Oceanic whitetips are curious and will approach. Egyptian operators run specific protocols around them; follow the briefing exactly rather than improvising.
- The southern plateau is deep. It is easy to run a decompression obligation you did not plan for.
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.
Dive centres in Marsa Alam
Listed by the desk, in alphabetical order. Nobody pays to be here.
Awlad Baraka
Dive CentreMarsa Alam
Official site ↗On the map
Blue Ocean Dive Center Marsa Alam
Dive CentreMarsa Alam
Colona Dive Center Marsa Alam
Dive CentreMarsa Alam
Official site ↗
Deep South Diving Center
Dive CentreMarsa Alam
Official site ↗On the map
Emperor Divers Marsa Alam
Dive CentreMarsa Alam
Official site ↗
Marsa Shagra - Diving Center
Dive CentreMarsa Alam
On the map
Also in this bay — Marsa Alam
Dive sites
- Abu DabbabBeginner
A shallow seagrass bay north of Marsa Alam, the coast’s most reliable place to see dugongs and green turtles — and one of its easiest shore dives.
- The Brothers IslandsAdvanced
Two isolated islands far offshore in the Marine Park, with sheer walls, two wrecks and the most consistent big-animal diving in Egypt.
- Daedalus ReefAdvanced
An isolated reef in open ocean with a lighthouse on it, sheer walls on every side, and the most reliable hammerhead diving in Egypt.
- St John’s ReefIntermediate
A scattered complex of reefs near Egypt’s southern border — caves, coral gardens and the best-preserved hard coral in the country.
- Rocky Island and ZabargadAdvanced
Two remote islands near the Sudanese border — Zabargad an ancient peridot mine with a wreck, Rocky Island a small, current-swept reef with big animals.
Snorkelling
- Abu Dabbab BayShore entry
Long the most famous place in Egypt to try to snorkel with a dugong — sightings have grown less reliable in recent years — and near-certain green turtles, in a shallow sandy bay you walk into from the beach.
- Marsa MubarakShore or boat
A quieter alternative to Abu Dabbab a little north of Marsa Alam — same seagrass, same turtles, usually far fewer people.
The town guide for Marsa Alam