Diving from Soma Bay and Safaga: the reefs south of Hurghada

Safaga is 53 km south of Hurghada, and Soma Bay lies between the two, on a small peninsula about 45 km south of Hurghada airport. Both face their own group of reefs, so the dive sites there are different from the ones you see on a Hurghada day boat.

• Safaga is a port town with a small tourism industry that specialises in scuba diving, says Wikipedia. Its offshore reefs (Panorama, Abu Kafan, Middle Reef, Shaab Sheer and the Hyndman reefs with the Salem Express) lie well out to sea.
• Soma Bay sits on a peninsula about 5 km long and 2 km wide, reached by a 7 km private road with one controlled gate. Wikipedia puts Safaga port about 28 km further south; one UK dive guide gives 15 km. The difference depends on where you measure from.
• Close to Soma Bay are the Tobia reefs, the Gamul reefs and the Ras Abu Soma headland. One dive guide puts Ras Abu Soma 10 minutes by boat from the Soma Bay jetty, and Tobia Soraya about 10 minutes away.

Most visitors fly into Hurghada for both areas. See every site on the map in our dive-site directory.

The best-known sites are Panorama Reef, Abu Kafan, Middle Reef and the Salem Express offshore from Safaga, and the shallower Tobia reefs and Ras Abu Soma near Soma Bay. The table uses the depths and levels on our own dive-site pages, which compare several published guides. Where guides disagree on depth, the range is shown.

Nearby you'll also find Tobia Soraya, Tobia Hamra, Gamul Kebir, Gamul Soraya and the deep pinnacle Um Hal Hal. Marine life is what divers regularly report, never a promise. PADI trains Advanced Open Water divers to 30 m and Deep Divers to 40 m, so the deepest numbers here are where the reef goes, not where the dive goes. For the reefs around Hurghada itself, see the dive sites around Hurghada.

Yes, but it is a grave, so you dive the outside only, quietly, and touch nothing. The passenger ferry was on her way from Jeddah when she hit a reef in the Hyndman group off Safaga late on 14 December 1991. She sank within about 20 minutes. The official death toll is 470; Wikipedia says the true number may have been much higher.

• No entry. Egypt's Chamber of Diving and Water Sports (CDWS) does not allow divers inside the ship at all.
• Take nothing. Lifeboats and personal belongings still lie on the seabed. Leave them where they are.
• The dive. She lies on her starboard side. CDWS gives 10–30 m and says she came to rest in 32 m; other guides give up to 35 m. Sources give her length as about 100 m or 115 m.
• One hazard. CDWS warns that the visor over the bow still moves open and closed, so keep clear of it.

We suggest Advanced Open Water for this wreck. To compare it with the other wrecks you can reach, read wreck diving from Hurghada, and why we never go inside without training in wreck diving safety.

The water is warm all year, but wind decides which reefs you can dive. The offshore Safaga reefs need calmer days. The Tobia reefs close to Soma Bay are the usual choice when it blows.

• Wind: Safaga is known for windsurfing; it hosted the 1993 Red Sea World Windsurfing Championships. A windsurfing guide describes a thermal wind from the north or north-west, often Force 4 to 7, lighter in the morning and strongest in the late afternoon. Most regular from March to the end of November, it says. Soma Bay is also known for its prevailing winds.
• Exposure: Panorama Reef, Abu Kafan and Middle Reef lie far out, with a long boat ride (more than 30 minutes; about an hour from Soma Bay to Panorama, says one guide). Tobia Kebir is listed as a bad-weather option, and Tobia Arbaa is under 10 minutes by boat.
• Current: mostly mild to moderate. At Panorama it often runs from the north, so it is dived as a drift. Middle Reef is a one-way drift.
• Water temperature: about 22 °C in winter and early spring, up to about 29 °C in August (Wikipedia). One dive guide gives 21–29 °C and suggests at least 5 mm plus a hood from January to April. See which wetsuit you need, month by month.
• Visibility: our site pages list 10–30 m for these reefs.

Because the wind changes the plan, the final choice of sites is made on the day.

There are two ways. You can do a day trip by road to dive the Safaga and Soma Bay reefs. Or you can join our Hurghada day boat, with pickup from your hotel in Soma Bay or Safaga included.

Both are paid in cash on the day, with nothing in advance, and cancellation is free up to 24 hours before. There are at most 4 divers per guide. To ask for a Safaga or Soma Bay day, open any site page above, such as Panorama Reef, and send the booking form with your date, level and hotel. On the Hurghada day boat, multi-day packages take up to 10% off; see the price list.

Choose the road day trip if a particular site is the point, and the Hurghada day boat if you want a fixed price, a mixed group or several days in a row.

• The road day trip suits certified divers who want the Salem Express, Abu Kafan or Panorama Reef, and Advanced Open Water divers for the wall and the wreck. It also suits anyone staying in Soma Bay or Safaga who wants to dive the reefs in front of them.
• The Hurghada day boat suits divers who want to book a set price today, couples or families with a snorkeler on board, and anyone diving several days. It is also the usual boat for new divers.
• Never dived? A try dive is €45, one-to-one with an instructor. The Open Water course is from €365 (SSI/SDI) or €395 (PADI), with gear, materials, certification and hotel pickup included. See all courses.

For a wider view of where to stay and how many days to plan, read planning a diving holiday in Hurghada.

Yes. You can snorkel the house reefs at Soma Bay from jetties built out over the reef, and boats visit the shallow Tobia reefs nearby. Calm days work best.

• From the shore: jetties at Soma Bay run out to the reef edge. One dive guide warns that the exit needs calm weather, because waves make it tricky. For how house reefs work, read snorkeling from the beach around Hurghada.
• By boat: Tobia Kebir is rated suitable for all levels including snorkelers, at about 12 m. Our Tobia Arbaa page notes that snorkel boats arrive there later in the day.
• With us: our snorkeling trip (€35) and Orange Bay trip (€40, entrance fee included) sail from Hurghada, with hotel pickup from Soma Bay and Safaga included, plus lunch, mask and fins. See all boat trips.