Sea Serpent Contessa · Egypt · 8D7N
This liveaboard itinerary targets the legendary offshore marine parks of the southern Egyptian Red Sea: the Brothers Islands, Daedalus Reef, and Elphinstone. Known as the BDE route, this is an adventure for advanced divers seeking thrilling pelagic encounters and world-class wall diving. Expect deep dives, strong currents, and breathtaking coral formations, with a high probability of spotting oceanic whitetip sharks, schools of hammerheads, and elusive thresher sharks. The itinerary requires comfort with deep diving, as many of the key shark sightings occur between 30 and 40 meters, and night dives are prohibited in the marine parks.
Arrive in Hurghada and check in onboard after 5 pm. Enjoy dinner and spend the night onboard in the New Marina Hurghada.
Start the day with two dives in the Hurghada/Safaga area, with a possibility of one night dive. The vessel will then travel to The Brothers overnight. The Hurghada and Safaga areas offer diverse reef systems with both shallow coral gardens and deeper walls. Divers can expect to see a variety of reef fish, moray eels, and possibly turtles among healthy hard and soft coral formations, providing a gentle introduction to Red Sea diving.
Today focuses on diving at The Brothers, a marine park offering breathtaking underwater scenery and wall diving along its perimeter. The walls are covered in soft corals, black corals, and fan corals, creating a vibrant environment. Expect to see big tuna, shoals of jackfish, snappers, hammerheads, grey reef sharks, silver-tip sharks, oceanic white-tip sharks, and mantas. Explore the wrecks of the Aida II, a supply vessel, and the Numidia, a cargo ship, both lying on the walls of Big Brother.
Dive sites: Big Brother, Aida II Wreck, Numidia Wreck
Continue diving at The Brothers, exploring the walls of Little Brother. This area is known for its abundant soft corals and diverse marine life, including thresher sharks, often spotted near the reef. The area offers opportunities to see large moon fish and various pelagics.
Dive sites: Little Brother
Today's dives are at Daedalus Reef, one of the most offshore and stunning dive reefs in the Red Sea. This large, oval reef is marked by a lighthouse and is renowned for its huge, pristine hard coral formations. It's a prime location for spotting schooling hammerheads, thresher sharks, mantas, and whale sharks.
Dive sites: Daedalus Reef
Dive at Elphinstone, a legendary Red Sea reef known for its dramatic walls covered in soft corals and its north and south plateaus. Expect the unexpected, with regular sightings of hammerheads and grey reef sharks. After diving, the boat will sail back towards the coast of Marsa Alam and then to Safaga/Hurghada.
Dive sites: Elphinstone Reef
Enjoy the last two dives of the trip in the Safaga/Hurghada area. Afterward, the boat will return to port, and you will spend the final night onboard in Hurghada. Returning to the Safaga and Hurghada areas for the final dives provides an opportunity to revisit vibrant fringing reefs and pinnacles. These sites are home to abundant macro life, colorful anemones with resident clownfish, and are often frequented by schools of snapper and barracuda.
After breakfast, check out from the liveaboard and transfer to the airport for your onward journey.