Port Ghalib Dive Sites - Marsa Alam, Red Sea and Middle East

Read our review of diving sites accessible from Port Ghalib in the Marsa Alam region of the Red Sea.

The dive sites locally are known for spotting turtles, dugong, dolphins, parrotfish, angelfish, butterflyfish, clownfish, barracuda, tuna, Napoleon wrasse, moray eels, stingrays, reef sharks, guitar rays, seahorses, ghost pipefish, frogfish and occasionally, whale sharks and manta rays.
 

Day Trips 

From Marsa Alam/Port Ghalib

Torfet Ali  Approximately 10 minutes north of Port Ghalib, the 5 sites of Torfet Ali have deep, blue water and sections of steep drop-offs.

Marsa Mubarak  Is the closest and largest bay, offering a large number and types of dive sites, suitable for all levels of divers and snorkellers.

Ras el Torfa  Here you can enjoy good visibility, superb corals with a good chance of spotting turtles, rays and even shark.

Halg Salmaan  With two very different dive sites and types of diving with a  lagoon in between often visited by Spinner dolphin!

Marsa Shouna  Popular for both liveaboards and day boat divers, this is often described by divers as 'magical' with very special encounters.


Dive Sites in Detail

Marsa Mubarak
The nearest and largest bay to Port Ghalib, which provides a large number and type of dive sites suitable for all levels of diver and snorkeller. Individual Sites include:

Panorama A one way dive over deep pinnacles and littered with table corals. Hawksbill turtles and Yellow tail barracuda are regular visitors.

Shaab Abu Ziyad With an extensively lined and mapped cavern system (for the trained only!) and a stunning hard coral garden at the start of the dive, you then continue around large pinnacles and even a gorgeous red anemone before ending your dive on the reef wall.

Madrassah  A favourite for photographers due to the patient fish life, this site, named after the word 'school' due to it's versatility for training course does not immediately 'wow' the diver like some of our others. However dive slowly and you will find stonefish, scorpionfish, pipefish, frogfish and crocodilefish living amongst the nooks and crannies. When you head around the corner, you are confronted with a set of pinnacles swarming with juvenile fish and their ever present predators, and even an anemone city. Quite often, this is the site people ask to dive again!

El Aruk Goa  These inner pinnacles are reached after heading across some seagrass and are still protected by the north reef, so can be dived in all weather conditions. Here large parrotfish can be seen nibbling at the coral while the residents of the seagrass, namely Green sea turtles, come to rest on their favourite coral blocks.

Seagrass  Don't expect a freshly mowed lawn but a dive in the seagrass of Mubarak, while sometimes appearing devoid of life (it isn't!), can bring you face to face with huge Green turtles, Honeycomb and Feathertail rays. Spot a cloud of sand though and you're probably about to bump into Dyson, the resident dugong!

Farsha Sahab  So named because this enormous, immaculate hard coral garden gives you the impression of flying over clouds. The scenery wins the day here, this is about as good as it gets. Coral further than the eye can see, all undamaged, shows you why the southern red sea has such a good reputation.

Habili Gudda  An advanced dive that is only reached by zodiac, these large coral blocks are so detached from the main reef that they are almost considered off-shore. Subjected to current and wave action, expect to find corals and creatures adapted to such surge conditions, and visibility is usually excellent. Fish life is hugely abundant here and it has the potential to throw up some sightings that will be proud entries into your logbook - think dolphins, shark, tuna and eagle rays.

Shaab Abu Mahmoud  When the south winds appear expect to get the opportunity to dive this relatively unexplored site right on the south tip of Marsa Mubarak. Head off to explore the coral beds away from the reef, or stick to the wall to swim along with the huge schools of goatfish and unicornfish. Either could bring you close to the resident White-tip reef shark that calls this site home.

Halg Salmaan

'Salmaan's Throat', a cut in the reef that doesn't reach the shore, is a site that is relatively undived. 2 very different dive sites are available here, between them a lagoon that often welcomes pods of Spinner Dolphins. Sites include:

Maksour  Arabic for 'broken', Maksour's reef wall is littered with overhangs, cracks and swim-throughs. A small but deep canyon and a pinnacle so large you have to chicane around it are highlights but start to explore the shallows and you will find a table coral as big as any you've seen before and fire coral formations that play host to pipefish and cleaner wrasse.

Hadana  Meaning 'nursery' is a dive that has one of those amazing pinnacles that juvenile fish use for shelter and protection. You'll reach it by crossing over a sand patch where you may be lucky enough to see an eagle ray or 2 hunting. The pinnacle itself marks the start of a small lagoon that is home to packs of large Black and Twinspot snappers and a large Napoleon wrasse prowls the entire reef wall.

Marsa Shouna (Shouni Kebir)  A favourite spot of liveaboards and daily boats alike, Shouna is one of those areas where you can have magic encounters. Sites include:

Ras Shouna  The corner and outside north of Shouna is unique for its sprawling sand plateau. Littered in table corals of all shapes and sizes, pick your depth on the gradual slope and see what's hiding beneath each one. Of course blue spot rays are abundant but certain times of year bring in breeding Guitar rays and other surprises.

Aquarium  The name says it all. This is the site to come to for that fish-tank feel. Cleaning stations up and down the reef serve the resident schools of snappers, batfish, goatfish and fusiliers. Crocodilefish, lionfish and scorpionfish lay in wait for the meals to come to them and the keen eye will spot more camouflaged critters on this site than any other. This is a dive you could do again and again.

Shouna Seagrass  The fine sand of Shouna supports a lush seagrass bed that runs down the middle of the bay and around two shallow pinnacles. This is a classic dive where you won't have to go far to see large Whiptail rays and Green turtles. Ghost pipefish, snake eels and shrimpfish are regularly seen but one of the greatest sights is the large school of Golden trevallies that hunt in the seagrass like a pack of dogs. Interested in divers, these large fish come very close but beware the sand trail the leave behind! For the lucky ones also, Dyson our local dugong is spotted here.

Sha’ab Sireer  The 'bed reef' could be named after the lazy speed we find works best to take in the scenery but actually it's so called for the fact that more often than not we encounter sleeping Green turtles at about 20m. Massive male George and cute female Tracy are the most regularly spotted but there are plenty of others that make cameo appearances. Posing for pictures, you'd be forgiven for not noticing the massive schools of snapper and bream cruising amongst the stunning corals above.

Sha’ab Abu Khaled  Named after one of our Captains, this reef is characterised by steep sloping reef tongues extending down from the reef wall, separated by sandy areas. These sandy areas reflect the sun, lighting up the profuse colourful soft corals and giving another opportunity to see big sleeping Green turtles. Large shoals of unicornfish, fuseliers and red snappers congregate next to the reef wall, and you may even be lucky to see something a little bigger out in the blue. The reef tongues are teeming with anthias reminiscent of the more off shore reefs. 

Torombi 
The furthest north site and one for good weather only, Torombi always gives a wilderness feel. Immaculate corals underwater, an undeveloped coastline view and often you'll be the only boat there! Sites include:

Torombi Pinnacles  Usually a school of barracuda meets the divers under the boat in summer months and mesmerise with their movement. Moving around the pinnacles at the deeper part you will spot rays, Scorpionfish and lionfish before ascending to the finger-like walls on the eastern side of the largest pinnacle. Here the colourful hard corals are host to thousands of small reef fish, and perhaps even a Hawksbill turtle.

Marsa Torombi  With deep seagrass in the bay, divers usually stick to the reef walls. The northern side is a good place to see some of the more unusual Red Sea creatures, such as Burrfish but a firm favourite is a shallow drift dive over the south reef. Here large hard corals flank small lagoons and table corals stack up near the reef plate. Turtles are often seen mixing it with the abundant Unicornfish and large Titan triggerfish patrol their territory.

Torombi Garden  A small lagoon just south of the main bay has become a recent favourite with guests.

 Dive site information provided courtesy of Emperor Divers. More >