---
title: Fanous East
type: Reef dive site
location: Hurghada, Red Sea, Egypt
coordinates: 27.267900466918945, 33.88759994506836
max_depth_m: 27
published: 2023-11-25T21:59:56.557Z
updated: 2026-09-06T15:02:19.459Z
tags: Fanous East, Reef, Red Sea, Dive site, Diving
url: https://redseacreatures.com/diving/dive-sites/fanous-east
---

# Fanous East

## Quick facts

- **Type:** Reef
- **Location:** Hurghada, Red Sea, Egypt
- **Coordinates:** 27.267900466918945, 33.88759994506836
- **Max depth:** 27 m
- **Depth notes:** 8-12m close to the reef, drop-off 19-27m
- **Level:** Expert

## Good to know

- Snorkeller-friendly reef top
- Suitable for beginners
- Best for advanced divers
- Expert-level dive

## Overview

Fanous East takes its name from the fanous, the beacon standing on the crest of the main reef. Below it a shallow vertical face drops onto gently sloping sand scattered with coral formations and a pair of substantial pinnacles. East and West are dived from the same mooring: the boat does not move between the two, and the names describe which way the group turns off the line.

## Location

About half an hour from central Hurghada.

## Conditions

Protected moorings make it divable in any weather, and it works for every level of diver and for training.

## Dive plan

The east wall of the main reef is best in its shallow zone, where schooling fish hold position against the surge. Table corals and small blocks sit on the flat sand running out from the wall and give the bottom dwellers their cover.

About 20 m off the northwest corner two pinnacles rise from the sand, covered in soft coral and split by cracks and cavities. A sloping drop-off runs east from there, but the pinnacles and the wall are the better use of the time.

## What to see

Glassfish and silversides come under constant attack beside the rock formations, jacks charging them from open water and lionfish working them from inside the coral. Crocodilefish and bluespotted rays lie in the sand. Dolphin pods pass through often. The safety stop is spent among surgeonfish, sailfin tangs and unicornfish.

## Species recorded here (8)

- Common Bottlenose Dolphin (*Tursiops truncatus*)
- Common Lionfish (*Pterois miles*)
- Crocodilefish (*Papilloculiceps longiceps*)
- Desjardin's Sailfin Tang (*Zebrasoma desjardinii*)
- Giant Trevally (*Caranx ignobilis*)
- Hemprich's Tree Coral (*Dendronephthya hemprichi*)
- Sohal Surgeonfish (*Acanthurus sohal*)
- Whitemargin Unicornfish (*Naso annulatus*)

---

*Source: [Red Sea Creatures](https://redseacreatures.com/diving/dive-sites/fanous-east)*
*Updated: September 6, 2026*