Safaga and Tobia island
The coast’s original wind destination — flat water in the lee of a long headland and Tobia island, at prices from a different decade.
- Season
- Strong and reliable roughly April to September; the classic windsurfing season.
- Wind
- North, funnelled and accelerated along the bay.
- Launch
- Several centres on Abu Soma bay a few kilometres north of town, clustered around the Shams hotels. Tobia island itself is reached by boat and offers flat water on the sheltered side.
Safaga was a windsurfing destination before kitesurfing existed, and the geography that made it one has not changed: a headland and an island shelter a long bay, producing flat water under strong, funnelled northerly wind.
It remains among the best value on the coast for wind sports, and the least developed. Riders who come here tend to come back and tend not to advertise it.
Suits
- Windsurfers, who have known about this bay for thirty years
- Riders who want strong reliable wind without paying El Gouna prices
- Flat-water sailing in the lee, chop and swell outside it
Hazards
- It is a working commercial port. Shipping movements are real and the exclusion areas exist for a reason.
- The wind here accelerates. A day that is manageable at El Gouna can be overpowered at Safaga on the same forecast — size down.
- The established centres run rescue boats — several make rescue cover a compulsory paid extra — but the cover is tied to the centre you ride with. Launch independently and nobody is coming for you.
Also in this bay — Safaga
Dive sites
- Panorama ReefIntermediate
A large reef off Safaga with sheer walls on three sides and some of the healthiest soft coral in the northern Red Sea. The best day-boat dive on this stretch of coast.
- Salem ExpressIntermediate
A ferry that sank near Safaga in December 1991 with the loss of several hundred lives. It is divable, it is a grave, and whether to dive it at all is a question worth answering before you book.
Wrecks
- Salem ExpressIntermediate
A ferry carrying pilgrims home from Mecca that sank in minutes a few kilometres from her home port. She is the coast’s largest grave, and whether she should be dived at all is a question worth answering before you book.
The town guide for Safaga