Elphinstone Reef - Dive site - Egypt

A guide to scuba diving at Elphinstone Reef

Dive site: Elphinstone Reef

Location: Egypt, Offshore and Deep South

Dive type: Reef dive, boat dive, wall dive, naturist dive

Skill level: Beginner

Visibility: Elphinstone Reef has an average under water visibility of 20 m / 65 ft.

Depth: The maximum depth at Elphinstone Reef surpass 70 m / 230 ft , while the average depth for the Elphinstone Reef is 20 m / 65 ft.

Water temperature: The water temperatures at the Elphinstone Reef will vary depending on which time of the year you choose to go scuba diving here. The coldest of the winder months is February, with temperatures generally staying down around 20° C / 68° F. In September, the hot Egyptian summer will have managed to heat the waters around the Elphinstone Reef to around 27° C / 81° F.

Dive site information: Many scuba divers return to Elphinstone Reef more than once since there is a lot to see here. The Elphinstone Reef is a long reef that stretches from north to south in the open waters of the Red Sea. It offers wall diving along steep walls that reaches down to 70 m / 230 ft at the east and west side of the reef. The southern and northern ends of the reef have submerged plateaus, and especially the northern plateau is very shallow and popular among snorklers. The southern plateu has a drop-off at 30 m / 100 ft and a big underwater arch located between 50 and 70 m / 164 and 230 ft. According to popular folk lore, the cave arch holds the sarcophagus of an unknown pharaoh. Since the arch is located to deep for most scuba divers, it is still unexplored.

Marine life: Elphinstone Reef has dense coral coverage with hard and soft corals on all sides. If you like soft corals, you shouldn’t miss the east side of the Elphinstone Reef where they are particularly beautiful. There is an abundance of fish species, pelagics as well as reef fish and a large hammerhead shark is seen here very often. To conclude, the Elphinstone Reef is a very nice naturist dive.