About this spot
Elphinstone Reef sits roughly 9 km offshore in the Egyptian Red Sea, an isolated plateau that drops sharply into open water on all sides — the geometry that draws pelagics in close. Strong currents run along the walls year-round, and dives here are planned around them rather than against them; drift conditions are the norm, not the exception. Visibility holds around 30 metres, so when sharks appear they materialise from distance with little warning. The southern plateau, between 25 and 40 metres, is where scalloped hammerheads concentrate, particularly from March through to late autumn. Blacktip reef sharks work the shallower sections of the wall, and large great barracuda hang mid-water in loose aggregations. Water temperature ranges from 22°C in cooler months to 28°C in summer, so a 3mm wetsuit covers most of the season. This is an advanced site — strong unpredictable currents, significant depth, and blue-water exposure demand solid buoyancy control and experience reading surge before descending.
📖 Guía: Buceo en Egipto: 258 Sitios desde Pecios hasta Tiburones Martillo
Mejores meses
Vida marina
Tipos de buceo
Esenciales del viaje
Todo lo que necesitas antes de hacer la maleta — checklist, sol, logística.
Trip checklist
- 🛂 Visa-free or visa-on-arrival
- 🤿 Pack: 3/2 mm shorty
- 📜 C-card + dive insurance (DAN)
- 📔 Dive logbook
- 🧴 Reef-safe sunscreen SPF 50+
- 🔌 Plug type C/F · 220V adapter
- 💊 Seasickness meds + ear drops
- 📱 Offline maps + emergency contact
Quick facts
- 🌘 Moon Waning crescent · 38%
- 🤿 Wetsuit 3/2 mm shorty
- GPS
› Información de sostenibilidad
Desde tu país de salida
- Visado: Visado a la llegada · 30 días máx.
- Vuelo: 8h · directo
- Jet-lag: 7h este · 5 días de recuperación
Preguntas frecuentes
›Oceanic whitetip season?
Late October through December peak. Sometimes earlier or later.
›Tec dive plateau?
Yes — the deep-south plateau at 40m+ requires technical certification.
