An independent guide to Ras Banas, edited in Cairo. Not affiliated with any developer, dive operator or government body.
Diving at Ras Banas and the southern Red Sea: Fury Shoals, St John's, Zabargad and Rocky Island
The Ras Banas city does not exist yet. The diving around it is the best in Egypt and has been for decades: the hard-coral gardens of Fury Shoals, the walls and caves of St John’s, and the sharks of Zabargad and Rocky Island in Foul Bay. This page says how you reach each one today, by liveaboard from Port Ghalib or by day boat from Hamata, when to go, what it costs and what to check before you book.
Diving near Ras Banas at a glance
| Details | Status | |
|---|---|---|
| Where | Egypt’s southern Red Sea, from Marsa Alam south to the Sudanese border. The Ras Banas peninsula sits between Hamata and Berenice; the famous offshore reefs lie east and south of it in Foul Bay | Confirmed (Oct 2026) |
| How you dive it | Liveaboard from Port Ghalib (St John’s, Zabargad, Rocky, Fury Shoals) or day boats and RIBs from Hamata and Wadi Lahami (Fury Shoals, Sataya). No dive centre operates on the peninsula itself | Confirmed (Oct 2026) |
| Season | Reefs are diveable all year; the deep-south liveaboard window is roughly April to November, with March to May and September to November favoured for calm seas and sharks | Reported (liveaboard.com, 2026) |
| Water | About 20°C in February to 30°C in August and September; visibility typically 15 to 35 m | Reported (2026) |
| Level | Fury Shoals and Sataya suit any certified diver. St John’s, Zabargad and Rocky Island: Advanced Open Water and current experience; many operators want about 50 logged dives | Reported (2026) |
| Nearest airport | Marsa Alam (RMF), about 1 hour to Port Ghalib and about 3 hours to Hamata. Berenice airport is next to Ras Banas but has no public flights yet | Confirmed (Oct 2026) |
| Park fees | Hamata, Wadi El Gemal and the islands are a national park. A new protectorate fee schedule (USD 5 per foreign visitor per day) was gazetted in April 2025; how it is applied to boats varies | Reported (Apr 2025) |
Ras Banas dive sites: what is where
Divers never say “Ras Banas”. They say Fury Shoals, St John’s, Zabargad or Rocky. All of them are within a day’s sailing of the peninsula, which is why the deep-south liveaboards spend most of the week in these waters. From north to south:
| Site | What it is | How you get there | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elphinstone (off Marsa Alam) | The classic wall, oceanic whitetips in autumn. Not Ras Banas, but the first or last dive of most southern trips | Day boat from Marsa Alam, or liveaboard | Advanced |
| Fury Shoals (off Hamata) | More than 30 sites of hard-coral gardens, canyons and swim-throughs: Sha’ab Claudio’s caves, Sha’ab Maksur’s arch at 38 m, the Tien Hsing tugboat wreck at Abu Galawa Kebir (sank around 1945), the Malahi labyrinth | Day RIB from Wadi Lahami or Hamata, or liveaboard | Any certified diver; Maksur advanced |
| Sataya (Dolphin Reef) | A 10 km horseshoe reef with a resident pod of spinner dolphins; mostly a snorkel stop | 4-hour boat trip from Hamata marina, or liveaboard | Snorkellers and divers |
| St John’s reefs (Foul Bay, south-east of Ras Banas) | A cluster of pinnacles and plateaus: Habili Ali, Habili Gafaar, Gota Kebir, Gota Soghayr, Dangerous Reef, and the cave system at Umm Kharerim. Visibility up to 35 m on a good day | Liveaboard only, 2 to 3 days of a 7-night trip | Advanced, current experience |
| Zabargad Island | A 285 m peridot mountain 50 to 70 km offshore; a lagoon, a small wall to 30 m and the wreck of a Soviet-era survey ship (thought to be the Khanka) at 24 m | Liveaboard only, about a day and a night of sailing from Port Ghalib | Advanced |
| Rocky Island | 5 km south-east of Zabargad. Sheer walls into water over 1,000 m deep: grey reef, silvertip and oceanic whitetip sharks, scalloped hammerheads in the warm months | Liveaboard only, usually combined with Zabargad and St John’s | Advanced, about 50 dives |
Site descriptions from operator pages and dive guides listed under Sources; depths rounded.
Context (Oct 2026) The Ras Banas peninsula itself has been a military area for decades and has no dive centre, no marina for pleasure boats and no public shore diving. Berenice, next door, has a commercial and naval port. If the planned city brings a marina and opens Berenice airport to scheduled flights, the Foul Bay sites would be reachable in hours instead of a day’s sailing. Nothing of that exists yet; see what the master plan might include.
Southern Red Sea liveaboard: the deep-south itinerary from Port Ghalib
Almost every trip to St John’s, Zabargad and Rocky Island leaves from Port Ghalib, about an hour from Marsa Alam airport. Boats sail south overnight, spend the middle of the week in Foul Bay and come back along Fury Shoals and Elphinstone. Operators sell it under names like “Deep South”, “St John’s”, “Rocky, Zabargad and St John’s” or “South and St John’s”; the week looks roughly like this:
| Day | Where | Typical dives |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Board at Port Ghalib, check dive at Abu Dabab or Marsa Shouna, sail south | 1 |
| 2 | Fury Shoals: Sha’ab Claudio, Abu Galawa, Malahi | 3 to 4 |
| 3 to 5 | St John’s: Habili Ali, Habili Gafaar, Gota Kebir, the caves. Rocky and Zabargad when the itinerary and the sea allow | 3 to 4 a day, often one night dive |
| 6 | Back north: Sataya, Sha’ab Sharm, Elphinstone if conditions permit | 2 to 3 |
| 7 | Return to Port Ghalib, disembark | 0 to 1 |
Example only; each boat publishes its own route and changes it with the weather. Typical total: 17 to 20 dives in a week.
What a week costs
Reported (liveaboard.com, Oct 2026) Boats visiting St John’s are listed at about USD 105 to 182 per night, roughly USD 880 to 4,950 per trip depending on the boat and cabin. A UK agent lists “South and St John’s” from GBP 650 excluding flights. Marine park fees, nitrox, equipment rental and tips are usually extra; budget another USD 150 to 300 for those.
Who can dive it
Reported (2026) Operators disagree, so ask yours. One large booking platform calls Advanced Open Water with current experience and about 50 logged dives “the practical minimum” for St John’s and Rocky; a UK agent says there is no minimum number of dives but recommends advanced experience because many dives go below 18 m. Our reading: Fury Shoals weeks suit newer divers, the Foul Bay sites do not.
Safety: what changed after 2024
Confirmed (Nov 2024) On 24 November 2024 the liveaboard Sea Story sank about 85 km off Marsa Alam with 46 people aboard; 18 died or were declared dead. Egyptian authorities then required two licensed captains and two licensed mechanics on every vessel and formal registration of all crew. Confirmed (Dec 2024) The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch wrote to Egyptian maritime authorities and issued a safety bulletin for divers, noting it was the third major Red Sea dive-boat accident involving UK citizens in 20 months. Reported (2025) Through 2025, port authorities repeatedly closed sailings for weather, sometimes for days.
Before you pay: ask the boat for its current inspection certificate, look for a 2025 or 2026 review that mentions the safety briefing and the life rafts, and prefer operators who will cancel for weather rather than argue with it.
Diving from Hamata and Wadi Lahami by day boat
If you do not want a week at sea, the Fury Shoals are the only world-class southern sites you can dive from a bed on land. The dive villages and resorts around Hamata and Wadi Lahami, 40 to 50 km north of Ras Banas, run RIBs and day boats out to the reefs every morning.
Where to stay: our guide to Ras Banas hotels compares the resorts at Hamata and Lahami Bay. For days out of the water, see things to do in Ras Banas.
- Wadi Lahami (Red Sea Diving Safari): RIB-only operation, up to four dives a day, two guided morning dives on Fury Shoals and two unguided afternoon dives on the nearer zone. Sha’ab Maksur, Sataya, Abu Galawa and Sha’ab Claudio are all on the list. Reported (operator site, 2026)
- Lahami Bay (Extra Divers) and Shams Alam: resort dive centres with day boats to the same reefs and house reefs for easy afternoon dives.
- Hamata marina: day trips to Sataya for snorkelling with the dolphins; a typical listed trip is about 4 hours with two stops, lunch included, around USD 70 per adult. Reported (Expedia listing, Oct 2026)
- Kitesurfing shares the same lagoons at Wadi Lahami and Hamata, best from October to June.
We name operators so you can search for them. We have no agreement with any of them and have not dived with all of them.
Best time to dive the southern Red Sea
| Months | Sea and weather | What you see | Our verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| December to February | Coolest water, about 20 to 22°C; strong north winds; the deep south often closed to sailing | Reef life as usual; few sharks | Fury Shoals and Elphinstone by day boat; skip the Foul Bay trips |
| March to May | Warming to 24 to 26°C, calmer seas | Hammerheads begin at Rocky and Zabargad; May to June is the sweet spot for hammerheads and oceanic whitetips | Best balance of comfort and big animals |
| June to August | 28 to 30°C water, 35 to 40°C air | Sharks still present; thermoclines deep | Fine if you like heat; cheaper cabins |
| September to November | Warm water, winds easing, visibility at its best | Oceanic whitetips at Elphinstone, hammerheads early in the season | The other peak; book early |
Temperatures: liveaboard.com gives about 22 to 30°C across the year, a UK agent gives 19 to 28°C; we show the overlap. Our verdict column is opinion.
Real photographs from Elphinstone Reef, the nearest southern site with free-licence pictures; we will replace them with Fury Shoals and St John’s photographs as we get them. All Wikimedia Commons: Alexander Vasenin (CC BY-SA 4.0), Johnmartindavies (CC BY-SA 3.0), Derek Keats (CC BY 2.0).
How to get to the southern Red Sea dive sites
Fly to Marsa Alam (RMF). In the winter season there are direct and charter flights from several European cities; the rest of the year most people connect through Cairo on EgyptAir. From the airport it is about 1 hour by road to Port Ghalib for liveaboards, about 2 hours to Marsa Alam town resorts, and about 3 hours (roughly 165 km) south to Hamata and Wadi Lahami. Resorts and boats arrange transfers.
Confirmed (Oct 2026) Berenice airport, right next to Ras Banas, has no scheduled public flights. An official said in late 2025 that opening it to civilian traffic was a priority for the project. When that happens, Hamata becomes a 45-minute drive from an airport instead of three hours. We will update this line the day it does. More on the airport in the home page FAQ.
What the Ras Banas project could change for divers
Our estimate (Oct 2026) Nothing is built, so this is reasoning, not news. Of the eight coastal mega projects we compared on the home page, all eight built a marina and five built diving and water-sports programmes. If Ras Banas follows them, the realistic changes for divers are: a marina in Foul Bay that puts Zabargad, Rocky and St John’s within a long day trip rather than an overnight sail; scheduled flights into Berenice; and more day-boat pressure on reefs that today see a handful of liveaboards a week. The last point is why the national park rules matter, and why we will report on them.
If you are thinking about property because of the diving, the price estimate and the register form on the home page are the honest starting points. Nothing is for sale yet.
Southern Red Sea diving FAQ
Can you dive at Ras Banas itself?
Not today. The peninsula is a military area with no dive centre, marina or public shore access. The diving people mean by “Ras Banas” is the offshore reefs around it: Fury Shoals to the north-west, and St John’s, Zabargad and Rocky Island in Foul Bay to the south-east, reached by liveaboard from Port Ghalib or, for Fury Shoals, by day boat from Hamata.
Where do southern Red Sea liveaboards leave from?
Almost all from Port Ghalib, about an hour north of Marsa Alam airport. A few itineraries start in Hamata, which saves most of a night’s sailing to St John’s.
How many dives do I need for St John's, Zabargad and Rocky Island?
It depends on the operator. A large booking platform calls Advanced Open Water with current experience and about 50 logged dives the practical minimum; a UK agent sets no minimum but recommends advanced experience. Fury Shoals is fine for newer divers.
When is the best time to dive the deep south?
The deep-south window is roughly April to November. March to May and September to November are favoured for calm seas and sharks; May and June are the sweet spot for hammerheads. In winter the south is often closed to sailing because of wind.
How much does a southern Red Sea liveaboard cost?
Boats visiting St John’s are listed at about USD 105 to 182 per night, roughly USD 880 to 4,950 per 7-night trip, excluding flights. One UK agent lists the week from GBP 650 plus flights. Park fees, nitrox, rental and tips are extra.
Is liveaboard diving in Egypt safe after the Sea Story sinking?
The sinking of the Sea Story on 24 November 2024 led Egypt to require two licensed captains and two licensed mechanics per boat and to register all crew; the UK MAIB issued a safety bulletin for divers. Many boats are well run, some are not. Ask for the current inspection certificate and recent reviews that mention the safety briefing and life rafts, and accept weather cancellations.
Can I see the dolphins at Sataya without diving?
Yes. Sataya is mainly a snorkel site. Day trips leave from Hamata marina; a typical listed trip is about 4 hours with two stops and lunch for around USD 70 per adult. Stay with the guide and do not chase or touch the animals; the pod is resident and the reef is inside the national park.
What is the water temperature in the southern Red Sea?
About 20 to 22°C in February rising to 29 to 30°C in August and September. A 5 mm suit covers winter and spring; many divers use a 3 mm or shorty in late summer.
Which airport do I use for diving near Ras Banas?
Marsa Alam (RMF). It is about 1 hour to Port Ghalib and about 3 hours to Hamata. Berenice airport next to Ras Banas has no scheduled public flights as of October 2026.
Sources and how this page is checked
Every figure above is marked confirmed, reported or our estimate, with a date, the same way as the Ras Banas home page. Reported figures come from these pages, read on 2 October 2026: liveaboard.com, St John’s; liveaboard.com, Rocky Island; liveaboard.com, Zabargad; Scuba Travel, South and St John’s; Sea Serpent Fleet, Fury Shoals; Red Sea Diving Safari, Wadi Lahami; Wikipedia, 2024 Red Sea tourist boat disaster; CairoScene, protectorate fee system, April 2025; an Expedia listing for the Sataya day trip. We name operators so you can check them; we have no booking agreement with any of them today. If that changes, it will be disclosed here first.
Plan the trip, or just ask
Tell us your dates, your certification and roughly how many dives you have, and whether you want a week at sea or a bed on land. We answer on WhatsApp within a working day with two or three options that fit, no sales pitch. If you also want to hear when Ras Banas itself becomes real, say so and we add you to the alerts list.
Ras Banas City is an independent website. We do not sell trips or property. Figures marked “reported” come from the operator and booking pages listed above and change with the season. Privacy policy and disclaimer.