The Alternatives / Stingray Station - Dive site - Egypt

A guide to scuba diving at The Alternatives / Stingray Station

Dive site: The Alternatives / Stingray Station

Location: Egypt, Sharm El Sheikh to Hurghada

Dive type: Boat dive, reef dive, wall dive

Skill level: Beginner

Visibility: The average visibility at The Alternatives / Stingray Station is 20m / 65ft.

Depth: The average depth is 18 m / 60 ft at The Alternatives / Stingray Station, while the maximum depth exceeds 30 m / 100 ft.

Water temperature: The water temperatures at The Alternatives / Stingray Station is subjected to seasonal variations, and range from 20° C (68°F) in February to 27° C (81° F) in September.

Dive site information: The Alternatives / Stingray Station is found just off western Ras Muhammad, and derives its name ‘The Alternatives’ from its sheltered location. The region is notorious for irregular and unpredictable winds and storms, and The Alternatives has become a safe haven for dive boats when the rest of the region is non-diveable due to bad weather.

The Alternatives consists a chain of shallow patch reefs, stretching east from Shaab Mahmud to the coast of Marine Preservation Ras Muhammad. Stingray Station is just a small part of this chain, situated at the western end of it. The Alternatives is a fringing reef with a big lagoon in the centre of some submerged islands that form a circle. The islands outer walls provide the best diving, since they have walls, large coral heads and a lot of marine life.

The Alternatives / Stingray Station are most conveniently accessed by dive boat. Scuba diving boats will as a rule moor inside the lagoon. The Alternatives / Stingray Station is actually a very popular dive site for night dives, due to the safe mooring in the lagoon.

Marine life: The most divers marine life is found at the islands outer walls. Plenty of coral life is found around the whole The Alternatives / Stingray Station area. The reef’s remote heads is mixed with amphitheatres and sandy wadis. There are also a lot of larger pinnacles. The coral life is diverse, with an especially good variety of hard coral species. Soft corals include large patches of purple and yellow Dendronephthya corals and Xeniids. Fish life is varied and very dense. There are several sand patches filled with blackspotted and bluespotted stingrays, and even some leopard sharks. With a little luck you will also encounter whitetip and gray reef sharks.