The Best Night Diving in the Red Sea
Wayne MacwilliamsNight diving is illegal in the Red Sea, but diving at dusk offers thrills.
Red Sea
Night diving in Egypt’s offshore marine parks is illegal thanks to the remote locations and ripping currents, which could escalate an accident. But worry not. A few local operators, including Red Sea Aggressor, bypass the restriction by minutes.
“We dive at dusk — the dive isn’t in complete darkness, but almost,” says Tom Gebhardt, captain and manager for the Aggressor fleet. The liveaboard’s northern route visits the Brothers, a pair of rocks 60 miles offshore, seeming to rise from the middle of the Red Sea.
“The coolest thing is that feeling when light disappears and everything gets murky. It could get spooky for a newer diver.”
Especially considering what you’re swimming with.
Come dusk at Brothers, green morays, up to six at a time, stuff themselves into a shared crack in the rock.
As divers count three minutes of deco, they will be watched. Oceanic whitetips regularly circle sea visitors, approaching within 5 feet.
“Yeah, your heart races a little faster, and you keep an eye on them,” says Gebhardt.
If You Dive in the Daytime
Descend at daybreak at the same site — a hot drop thanks to currents — and at 70 feet, a ledge doubles as box seats for the parade of hammerheads undulating past June through October. If not hammers, it’s thresher sharks and oceanic mantas that cover the same route.
After about seven minutes, let the currents work their magic and sweep you to nearly the end of the island, atop millions of anthias and the coral reefs they nest in.
DIVE CONDITIONS: Water temperatures are chilliest November to April, dipping to roughly 66 degrees F. Summer highs climb to 81 degrees F. As for visibility, epic is the standard. “Visibility is the same year-round,” says Gebhardt. “The minimum is 100 feet, up to 200 on a stellar day.”
INSIDER TIP: “This experience is definitely not for somebody who just got certified,” says Gebhardt. “It’s not strenuous to dive with the flow, but it’s tricky getting in and out of Zodiacs. I recommend you have at least 70 dives in open ocean somewhere — not a lake.”
FOR MORE INFO: aggressor.com
