Deep south
Also sold as St John’s, Fury Shoals, Rocky and Zabargad
The far south towards the Sudanese border — the healthiest hard coral in Egypt, caves and swim-throughs, and almost nobody else in the water.
What it asks of you
Intermediate to advanced depending on the route. Gentler than BDE, but the remoteness raises the stakes: you are further from a recompression chamber than anywhere else in Egypt.
- Season
- Roughly March to November; the south stays warm and divable late into the year.
- Length
- Usually 7 nights, sometimes 10 on the routes that reach Rocky and Zabargad.
- Departs
- Marsa Alam or Hamata
The deep south is the part of Egypt’s Red Sea that tourism reached last, and its hard coral is in a condition that makes divers who know the north go quiet. St John’s and Fury Shoals are networks of reefs rather than single sites, with caves, swim-throughs and shallow gardens.
It is gentler diving than BDE and, for a lot of people, better diving. The animals are there — reef sharks, dolphins, the occasional oceanic whitetip — but nobody comes back from the deep south talking mainly about animals.
The longer itineraries push on to Rocky Island and Zabargad near the Sudanese border, which is where the trip becomes genuinely remote and genuinely weather-dependent.
What you dive
- St John’s caves and cathedral swim-throughs
- Hard coral in a condition that no longer exists further north
- Dolphins at Satayah
- Rocky Island and Zabargad on the longer itineraries
Site guides
Suits
- Divers who care more about reef than about sharks
- Photographers — the coral and the light here are the draw
- Repeat visitors who have done the north and want somewhere different
The catch
It is a long way from everything, including help. Sites get swapped for weather more than the brochure suggests, the transfer from Marsa Alam airport to the southern ports is itself substantial, and if you have come specifically for Rocky Island there is a real chance you will not reach it.