Reef3.0(0)

El Fanadir South

Hurghada, Red Sea, Egypt

Snorkeller-friendly reef top
Suitable for beginners
Best for advanced divers

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Type

Reef

Max depth

25 m

Level

Advanced

Depth0-12m main reef leading to a sheer drop-off at 20-25m

LocationAround 60 minutes from central Hurghada.

ConditionsCurrent sets from the north and is usually mild. The south end and the east side are sheltered from northerly and northwesterly winds most of the time.

Overview

El Fanadir South is the southern end of a long, narrow reef running north of Hurghada, and what sets it apart is a food chain built on pipefish. They are abundant here to an unusual degree, and the ambush predators that eat them are abundant to match: if there is one site in the area to go looking for a stonefish, this is it. A hard coral wall slopes at around 60 degrees to a sandy ledge at 12 m, some 50 m wide and narrowing as it runs north before dropping away at 20 to 25 m. Four low rocky islets mark the east side.

Dive plan

The drop-off is bare sand with no coral on it and repays nothing. The dive belongs in the shallows: out at 12 to 15 m and back at 3 to 4 m, and shallower is better. A small coral block at 14 m just north of the islets holds glassfish, cardinalfish, soft corals and a resident stonefish, and it is the most photographed thing on the site. Another 100 m north stands a set of large gorgonians.

What to see

Pipefish are everywhere, and stonefish, scorpionfish and humpback scorpionfish sit waiting for them. Silversides mass near the surface with small packs of tuna and jacks coming through to hunt them. Snowflake, yellowmouth and yellow-edged morays, octopus and lionfish are all resident. Frogfish, whitespotted guitarfish, mantas and a single hammerhead have all been reported here.