A favorite of European divers,
the Red Sea is considered one of the best scuba destinations in the world. Thousands of kilometres of coastline are blessed with extensive reef formations and islands. The underwater scenery is rich with coral-covered walls and beautiful gardens. Over 400 varieties of coral and 1500 species of fish, turtles, and sharks inhabit the Red Sea.
This unique itinerary is an opportunity to dive spectacular offshore Red Sea marine parks, including less-visited locations. Plus, Royal Evolution liveaboard is built for safety, constructed to international, not local, standards.
Jacques Cousteau once said "The Red Sea is a corridor of marvels. The happiest hours of my diving experience have been spent there". That statement is as true today as it was when Calypso explored. Surrounded by desert, there is no runoff to cloud the crystal-clear waters as you gaze at the healthy and colorful coral.
Join us to travel by liveaboard and dive an exciting Red Sea itinerary at a great value!
Red Sea Grand Tour Itinerary:
Brothers, Daedalus, Rocky & Zabargad, and St. Johns
Note: Minimum 50 logged dives required
Attention: This is an intermediate to advanced itinerary. We'll mostly dive from a live skiff, requiring a backward roll to enter the water, sometimes with a negative entry. Royal Evolution skiffs are equipped with a ladder for ease of re-entry. You should have Advanced Open Water training and be comfortable with buddy diving, currents, descent and ascent without a visual reference, deploying an SMB from your safety stop, and hopefully large sharks!
Dive the top Egyptian Marine Parks: Big & Little Brothers, Daedalus Reef, Rocky and Zabargad
The Brothers Islands are the pinnacles of two undersea mountains rising from the depths of the abyss and are located about 60 miles offshore. Part of the Marine Park Islands National Park, these islands offer stunning wall diving, with the walls being covered in soft corals and forests of gorgonians, creating a kaleidoscope of ever-changing colours. They attract a diverse array of marine species and large pelagics. Large tuna, jacks and snappers cruise in the blue, accompanied by occasional hammerheads, silvertips, silky and oceanic white tip sharks and mantas. Even the rare thresher shark can be found here. Sightings of the grey reef shark are almost guaranteed on the North and South Plateau of Small Brother.The wrecks of the Aida II, an Egyptian supply vessel, and the Numidia, a cargo ship, lie on the walls of the Big Brother. Both are covered in a rich growth of soft and hard corals, making them interesting even for non-wreck divers. Marine life includes a family of Napoleon wrasses and grey reef sharks.
Daedalus Reef, also part of the Marine Park, is a large, oval reef with a lighthouse and is the furthest offshore reef in the Egyptian Red Sea. Its deep walls and drop-offs offer some of the most spectacular diving to be found. Daedalus boasts mountainous, pristine, hard coral formations like you've never seen, as well as Anemone City!
Rocky, a tiny islet with a big drop-off! Beautiful hard and soft corals cover the craggy wall as colorful anthias swarm.
Zabargad: Don't be surprised to see the crew snapping selfies with this massive, seldom visited desert mountain emerging from the sea. Its size offers shelter for some easy, colorful dives with lots of fish.
St. John's Reefs: Directly south of the Peninsula of Ras Banas, St. John’s reefs offer a great diversity of diving environments. One of the big advantages of diving the St.John area is the few liveaboards visiting this area.
With warm, crystal clear waters and amazing sights including caves, coral reefs and beautiful tropical fish, there is a whole underwater world just waiting to be explored in the St. John area.
The highlights of diving the Red Sea include terrific coral walls and gardens, a mix of both soft and hard coral formations, plenty of tunnels and caves, and great visibility, probably the best in the Red Sea.
Reef & fish life is still untouched and the deep walls and currents at some of the dive sites attract grey reef, hammerhead, oceanic whitetip & sometimes thresher sharks, as well as other predators such as barracuda and jacks.
Please note the itinerary is an example of the planned route, and the order and dive sites are not guaranteed.
All dives sites are subject to weather conditions and the final route is at the absolute discretion of the captain and dive guides.
Package includes:
Not included: airfare to Marsa Alam (see air info below), any extra nights hotel, visa on arrival (currently US$25), training or equipment rental if needed, park and port fees in cash (currently 130 Euros), crew gratuity in cash, and travel insurance (required for this expedition).
Air Connections:
European divers have air connections directly to Marsa Alam (RMF) and Hurghada (HRG) from multiple gateways. Please arrive on the morning of June 19, or a day early. Once the ship departs port, no delayed passengers or luggage can be brought on board.
North American divers can fly to Marsa Alam (RMF) via connections in Europe or Cairo (CAI), including non-stop from JFK or Washington DC to Cairo on EgyptAir and connecting. Please plan to arrive in Cairo at least one day early. You can relax overnight from travel at the Le Meridien Cairo Airport before boarding EgyptAir flight MS 184 to Marsa Alam (RMF) on the morning of June 19.
You can depart from Marsa Alam airport or Hurghada around noon on June 26, which is 24 hours after our last scheduled dive. If you join our Nile Cruise and Land Tour, we'll fly to Cairo from Marsa Alam on MS 185.
If you choose to arrive or depart from Hurghada, please be aware that the three hour transfer to Port Ghalib by road incurs an additional cost of about $100 each way.
Due to Port Authority regulations, late arrivals cannot be boarded after our scheduled 6 am departure from Port Ghalib on Friday. Please purchase travel insurance to cover you in case of delay or cancellation.
REQUIRED MEDICAL DIVING FORM: The Government of Egypt requires that all dive operations obtain a Diving Medical History form before allowing anybody to participate in recreational diving activities (certified and non-certified). The universal RSTC Medical History Questionnaire is acceptable. If you answer YES to any of the questions, you will need to visit with your local medical professional for an examination and obtain their approval (via their signature) before participating in recreational diving. A positive response simply means that there is a pre-existing condition that may affect your safety while diving and you must seek the advice and approval of a medical professional before engaging in diving activities.
Deposit: $700; second deposit of $500 due at 180 days; final payment due 120 days prior to departure.
How to reserve your space:
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We'll place a space on courtesy hold for you and send you a confirmation e-mail.
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Complete and return the trip application and waiver from the letter with your deposit by check or credit card.
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After your space is confirmed with application and deposit, make your airline reservations. We're happy to help you find the best flights.
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