Reef · Drift

Hamda

Hurghada, Red Sea, Egypt

Suitable for beginners
Best for advanced divers
Expert-level dive
Wall / drop-off
Drift dive
Great for macro photography
Pinnacles

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Type

Reef · Drift

Max depth

50 m

Level

Expert

Depth0-15m at the main reef, sloping to around 50m+

LocationAbout 70 minutes from central Hurghada.

ConditionsA bend in Big Giftun Island gives partial shelter from the wind, and the stepped profile suits any level of diver.

Overview

Hamda, also called Stone Beach or Lion's Head, is built in steps. A short wall runs from the reef top down to 12 to 15 m, a gentle slope takes over from there, and below that the bottom drops away in stages past 35 to 50 m. North and south the slope ends instead in vertical walls.

Dive plan

The common choice is a drift from the north. The wall improves as it runs, broken by coral formations and by towers standing out from it, covered in soft coral and cut with caverns and swim-throughs. The dive finishes shallow in the sloping coral garden. Starting from the mooring instead makes the coral garden the whole dive, deeper sections included.

What to see

Snappers, surgeonfish and goatfish school in the shallows, while napoleon wrasse, groupers and morays hold the deeper ground. Turtles and sharks are regular. Whale sharks and mantas have both been recorded here, which for a site 8 km off Hurghada is unusual enough to justify watching the blue.