Ras Shetan – Devils Head
After a 30 minutes drive, heading north from Nuweiba, you’ll reach the Bedouin camp from where you can easily access the Devil’s Head diving site: a couple of palm strokes away from the shore, you’ll discover a maze of underwater mountains, canyons, caves and plateaus, but also an incredibly rich ecosystem of hard corals, octopus, puffer fish, moon groupers, and most of all, anemones of all colours, including red, green and purple. You’ll be blown away by the scenic and – more importantly – greatly preserved landscape.
Due to the technical skills needed to dive the site, the Devil’s Head is only advised for experienced divers.
Depth: 12-40m
Abu Lou Lou or Hilton House Reef
Straight off the beach at the Hilton Hotel in Nuweiba, you’ll find the famous Abu Lou Lou reef, also referred to as the Hilton House Reef. It is known for the incredible richness of marine life, including stonefish, turtles, and lionfish, a fact that led some divers to nickname it the “lionfish city.” The amazement you’ll experience at Abu Lou Lou is indescribable, since the amount of underwater species you’ll spot down there exceeds by far what you might have already seen while diving in more popular Red Sea reefs, which tend to be a lot busier. Some divers had had the chance to encounter a friendly dolphin who pays a visit from time to time. Abu Lou Lou is also a great night dive, and a particularly enjoyable snorkelling location.
You don’t have to be a Hilton guest to be able to dive this reef, contact your hotel’s dive operator or any Nuweiba operator to organize a dive at Abu Lou Lou.
Depth: 2-20 m
Visibility: 15-25 m
Dive the T-Reef
The T-Reef acts as an exception in Nuweiba’s list of best diving sites since it’s not a shore dive. Located 500 metres from the beach, it can be easily accessed by boat. The reef is in fact a sandy plateau covered with small pinnacles where black and blue-spotted stingrays are frequent visitors.
The T-Reef is a challenging deep dive for experienced divers only.
Depth: 5-40m
Bawaki Diving Site
A couple of palm strokes away from the beach at the Bawiki camp, experience a beautiful dive among amazing corals and colourful reef fish species. The Bawiki dive site is also the wreckage site of an old fishing boat. Sadly, the boat’s parts have been taken away by the water currents, but you can still see the remaining boat engine. The Bawiki dive is a deep one that has to be well prepared. It is thus only advised for experienced divers.
Depth: 5-40m
Brothers Islands
Little Brother and Big Brother
Located at 67 km offshore from El-Quseir, the Brothers Islands can only be reached by live-aboard dive boats departing from Hurghada or Safaga. The islands – Little Brother and Big Brother – are an all-time favourite destination among experienced divers: the two islands offer no less than 12 distinct diving sites while covering not more than 0.1 and 0.3 sq. m. The islands feature spectacular wall dives, strong currents, two ship wrecks, coral reefs and amazing underwater species such as hammerhead sharks.
Al Kahfain
Built in 1966 as a Roll On/Roll Off PAX-ferry named the Ulster Queen, this ship could carry 1,008 passengers and 140 automobiles. She served as a P & O Ferry and then was sold and renamed 3 times before she was dubbed the Poseidonia. She traveled the Northern Mediterranean until 2005, when she was transferred to the Red Sea and renamed for the last time. The newly dubbed Al Kahfain took her last voyage in November of the same year.
On her way from Hurghada, an explosion took place in the engine room leading to a fast spreading fire. The crew (there were no passengers on board) abandoned ship and was rescued; sadly, one life was lost. While Al Kahfain was being towed back to port she capsized and drifted into a reef, sinking at around 25 metres and resting almost upside down on her starboard side. The hull has split and the wreck is still slowly collapsing, sometimes making audible creaking and grinding sounds. Since it is a quite new wreck, corals didn’t have time to colonize it yet but due to the same reason, divers can still spot the boat’s name, have a close look at the propellers and explore the wreck’s interior. Caution should be exercised and it is preferable to visit this site in good weather, to make the most out of this interesting exploration dive.
Depth: 6-23 meters
Visibility: 20 meters
Rock Sea Diving Site
The beautiful Rock Sea dive site in Nuweiba has an easy access from shore. After snorkelling over the reef table, you’ll gradually descend to depths of 7, then 20 then 30 metres, following sandy slopes and amazing coral gardens. As you descend, you’ll discover spectacular caverns and fissures in the soft and hard coral wall. The site is also incredibly rich with varied and colourful fish species, such as basslets, angelfish, and groupers. The Rock Sea is a deep dive; you’ll thus need to be experienced to be allowed to dive this site.
Depth: 5-40m
Um Um Raicher
Located at only 5 km to the north of Nuweiba, the Um Um Raicher reef is a blessing for diving beginners. The shallow reef is easy to access from shore, and easy to dive. It is incredibly rich with marine life. Before reaching the reef you’ll swim over an area of sea grass and pinnacles, only to find yourself facing a reef at the end of the road. The two reef walls are punctuated by crevices and chimneys where you’re most likely to find interesting inhabitants, such as octopus, cuttlefish and other reef fish species. Pelagic fish, such as barracudas, can also be spotted around the walls, where they come to feed on smaller species.