El Gouna - Diving Holiday Destination

El Gouna (Egypt)

Egypt's Red Sea is a Mecca for sunworshipping tourists with year round sun. Diving is big business here with varied resorts accommodating for all tastes, including shore based, day boat and liveaboard diving. Highlights include: July:Barracuda shoaling, Turtles mating; Aug/Sept: Manta & Whale sharks; Sep/Oct: Oceanic White tip sharks; Nove/Dec: Grey reef sharks mating in Ras Mohammed Marine Park.

El Gouna is a self contained purpose built resort with modern and luxurious amenities. It is situated 13 miles north of Hurghada. El Gouna’s many diving centers and easy access to the finest reefs and wrecks in the Red Sea make it a diver’s paradise. Its protected waters also give divers unparalleled opportunity to observe and interact with undersea life, particularly dolphins.

Climate

The country experiences a desert climate, which is hot and dry most of the year, especially in the summer months with highs of 35 degrees Celsius (June to August). Winter is from December to February with average temperatures of 20°C to 26°C.

Dive Facts

Water Temperature: 19-27 degrees Celsius. In summer: 3mm wetsuit. In winter: 7mm semi dry.

Dive Attractions

For new divers, the heated pools and calm local reefs provide an excellent environment to start your diving experience. For more experienced divers there is a range of walls, reefs but the main attraction are the huge amount of wrecks otherwise only accessible by liveaboards. El Gouna is conveniently located for you to visit the world famous ship graveyard of Abu Nuhas, which includes wrecks such as the Carnatic sunk in 1869. Abu Nugar is a large barrier reef which boasts frequent sightings of bottlenose dolphins.

Other

Language: arabic, with most major foreign languages spoken (English, German, Russian).
Currency: Egyptian pound, Euro widely accepted in hotels, restaurants. Cash machines plentiful in major resorts. Haggling expected on most purchases, with baksheesh (tipping) expected for all services.

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