When is the best time to dive Marsa Alam & the Brothers?

The best months to dive Marsa Alam & the Brothers are Jun–Oct. Year-round diving; oceanic whitetips and hammerheads at Elphinstone and the Brothers best Jun–Oct.

Is Marsa Alam & the Brothers good for beginner divers?

Yes, partly: 8 of the 13 dive sites we document are suited to Open Water divers, including Hamada Wreck, Marsa Egla and Marsa Nakari. The others need more experience or a higher certification.

What is the water temperature in Marsa Alam & the Brothers?

The water is usually between 23 °C and 30 °C over the year.

What marine life can you see in Marsa Alam & the Brothers?

Divers regularly see hammerhead sharks (Jun–Oct), oceanic whitetip sharks (Oct–Dec), grey reef sharks, silvertip sharks, whitetip reef sharks and dolphins.

How do you dive Marsa Alam & the Brothers?

The nearest airport is RMF. Ways to dive here: dive resorts, day boats and liveaboards.

Marsa Alam & the Brothers

Diving in Egypt

13 documented dive sites, 8 of them for Open Water divers. Known for hammerhead sharks, oceanic whitetip sharks and grey reef sharks.

Best months: Jun–Oct
Water: 23–30 °C
Levels: Open Water, Advanced, Experienced
Diving from: Dive resorts, Day boats, Liveaboards
Nearest airport: RMF

When to go

Pick a month: the diving season, from published sources, and the typical weather.

Pick a month

Best
Good
Possible
Closed
Not documented yet

Marsa Alam & the Brothers in October

Best season

Sea: 27 °C; at the surface
Air: 31 °C; 25 °C at night
Rain: < 10 mm; very little rain all year
Wind: 20 km/h; on average

Typical weather, not a forecast: averages for 2021–2025 (air, rain, wind) and 2023–2025 (sea), data from Open-Meteo (ERA5 / Copernicus, Météo-France). Covers an area of roughly 10 to 25 km around the destination.

Year-round diving; oceanic whitetips and hammerheads at Elphinstone and the Brothers best Jun–Oct.

Source: liveaboard.com

Dive sites in Marsa Alam & the Brothers

From the easiest to the most demanding. Levels with a dashed outline are estimates we are still verifying.

Open Water friendly

usual dive down to 18 m8 sites

Wreck

down to 18 m

Hamada Wreck

A 65 m coaster lying on its starboard side at 15 m, reached from the shore, with an intact propeller and holds to look into.

Open Water

Macro

down to 25 m

Marsa Egla

A seagrass bay where macro hunters look for seahorses and ghost pipefish while turtles, large rays and possibly dugongs pass by.

Open Water
Dugong

Reef

down to 30 m

Marsa Nakari

A sheltered shore-diving bay of seagrass beds and coral patches frequented by turtles and occasionally dugongs.

Open Water
Whitetip reef sharks

Reef

down to 40 m

Marsa Shagra House Reef

A bay with an easy sandy entrance leading to north and south reef dives, where dolphins can turn up on early-morning dives.

Open Water
Dolphins

Wreck

down to 18 m

Sha'ab Marsa Alam

Ten minutes by boat from Marsa Alam marina: a drift around colourful coral with a small old wreck to explore.

Open Water

Green sea turtle in the bay of Abu Dabbab, Marsa Alam

Marsa Abu Dabab

Easy shore dive to 20 m in a bay where you may meet a dugong among many giant green sea turtles.

Open Water
Dugong

down to 25 m

Shaab Samadai (Dolphin House)

Protected horseshoe reef where a pod of spinner dolphins uses the lagoon as a nursery and shelter.

Open Water
Dolphins

down to 40 m

Shaab Sataya (Dolphin Reef)

A 1.5-year HEPCA survey recorded dolphin-group encounters at Satayah 91-100% of the time, with a daily average of 58 dolphins.

Open Water
Dolphins

For Advanced divers

usual dive down to 30 m3 sites

Elphinstone

Open-ocean reef 25 km north of Marsa Alam where oceanic whitetips frequent the southern plateau, best October to December.

Advanced
Drift
Manta rays

Daedalus Reef

Lighthouse reef 80 km off Marsa Alam, only reached by liveaboard, where schooling hammerheads gather, especially in summer.

Advanced
Drift
Manta rays

Reef

down to 60 m

Port Ghalib House Reef (Fishmarket)

A house reef where beginners walk in from a sandy beach to a reef at 5–20 m, while the outer reef drops to far over 60 m.

Advanced

For experienced divers

usual dive down to 40 m2 sites

Big Brother

Sheer coral walls plus two wrecks, the Numidia and Aida, with a chance of thresher sharks on dawn dives in autumn and winter.

Experienced
Wreck
Grey reef sharks

Wall

down to 40 m

Little Brother

Drift past reef so full of shoaling fish you can hardly see the coral, as silvertip and grey reef sharks patrol and hammerheads occasionally visit.

Experienced
Grey reef sharks

Marine life

When the big encounters happen, month by month.

Species	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Hammerhead sharksSource: liveaboard.com
Oceanic whitetip sharksSource: dive-the-world.com
Whale sharksSource: dive-the-world.com
Manta raysSource: dive-the-world.com

Peak season
Seen

Also reported here, season not documented yet:

Grey reef sharks
Silvertip sharks
Whitetip reef sharks
Dolphins
Turtles
Silky sharks
Thresher sharks
Tiger sharks
Dugong

Where is Marsa Alam & the Brothers?

View on OpenStreetMapLocation: Marsa Alam (Wikipedia)Map: Natural Earth

Nearest airport: RMF
How people dive here: Dive resorts, Day boats, Liveaboards

Marsa Alam & the Brothers: frequently asked questions

When is the best time to dive Marsa Alam & the Brothers?: The best months to dive Marsa Alam & the Brothers are Jun–Oct. Year-round diving; oceanic whitetips and hammerheads at Elphinstone and the Brothers best Jun–Oct.
Is Marsa Alam & the Brothers good for beginner divers?: Yes, partly: 8 of the 13 dive sites we document are suited to Open Water divers, including Hamada Wreck, Marsa Egla and Marsa Nakari. The others need more experience or a higher certification.
What is the water temperature in Marsa Alam & the Brothers?: The water is usually between 23 °C and 30 °C over the year.
What marine life can you see in Marsa Alam & the Brothers?: Divers regularly see hammerhead sharks (Jun–Oct), oceanic whitetip sharks (Oct–Dec), grey reef sharks, silvertip sharks, whitetip reef sharks and dolphins.
How do you dive Marsa Alam & the Brothers?: The nearest airport is RMF. Ways to dive here: dive resorts, day boats and liveaboards.

About this page

Seasons and marine life come from the sources below. Site levels and depths marked as estimated come from our original catalogue and are being checked one by one. Conditions change: always confirm with a local dive centre.

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Photo: Sarah Lee on Unsplash

Photo credits

Elphinstone Reef dive site, Marsa Alam, Dereck Keats, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Big Brother Island and its lighthouse, Red Sea, Alexander Vasenin, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Lighthouse on Daedalus Reef, Red Sea, Alexander Vasenin, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Green sea turtle in the bay of Abu Dabbab, Marsa Alam, Jan Beránek, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Sunlight and bubbles in deep blue water, Sarah Lee, Unsplash License, on Unsplash