Red Sea Sharks: Where and When to See Them Diving

Red Sea sharks are most reliably seen by divers on Egypt's offshore reefs: Elphinstone near Marsa Alam, the Brothers and Daedalus. Oceanic whitetips peak around October and November, and scalloped hammerheads are linked to late spring and summer. Grey reef and whitetip reef sharks can turn up year-round on many walls closer to shore, and serious incidents involving divers are rare.

That is the short answer. The longer one depends on which species you want, how much current you are comfortable in and whether you are willing to spend a week on a liveaboard. Below you'll find which sharks live where, a site-by-site table, an honest look at the conflicting season advice, and calm, sourced context on risk.

Which Red Sea sharks divers actually see

Egypt's Red Sea has a handful of shark species that divers meet regularly, and a few that are occasional bonuses.

• Grey reef sharks hold station in the current on exposed walls and plateaus. One Red Sea operator describes them as "a permanent feature" of the offshore islands.
• Whitetip reef sharks are slim, small sharks that often rest on sand or under ledges by day. They are the species you are most likely to meet on an ordinary day-boat dive.
• Oceanic whitetip sharks are curious open-water sharks that patrol near the surface at offshore reefs. The IUCN Red List assesses them as Critically Endangered.
• Scalloped hammerheads school off the plateaus of the offshore reefs and at Jackson Reef in the Straits of Tiran.
• Thresher sharks usually stay deep and are mostly associated with the Brothers and Daedalus.
• Silvertip sharks are listed on Coral Playground's guides to Little Brother and Daedalus.
• Whale sharks are filter feeders that pass through seasonally, more often in the north in spring.

Egypt banned shark fishing across its Red Sea waters in 2005, after a campaign led by HEPCA, the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association. That protection is part of why sharks are still a realistic sight here at all.

Red Sea sharks by site and month

The table below only names species that appear in the written marine-life guide for each site on Coral Playground, and the timing comes from the sources cited in the notes. Treat the months as "better odds", never as a promise. Sharks are wild animals on their own schedule.

A few practical points the table can't show. Elphinstone is a day trip by boat from the Marsa Alam coast, so you can base yourself on land. The Brothers, Daedalus and Habili Ali are reached by liveaboard, and operators typically ask for Advanced Open Water plus 30 to 50 logged dives, so check each trip's requirements on its liveaboard listing. Every site in the table except Jackfish Alley is rated "strong" current in Coral Playground's guides, so drift and negative-entry skills matter as much as depth.

When is oceanic whitetip season? The sources disagree

If you search for oceanic whitetip season in the Red Sea, you'll find two broad camps, and it's worth seeing both rather than trusting whichever page loads first.

• May to November. Liveaboard.com's Red Sea shark guide says divers most commonly encounter oceanic whitetips from May to November.
• Autumn into winter. PADI Travel's Egypt page says December to February gives "the best chance" of spotting one, and Emperor Divers describes them as common "in the colder months, September through to June" at the Brothers, Elphinstone and St Johns.

So who is right? Possibly both, for different sites and different years. The useful part is where the windows overlap: October and November sit inside every version. That overlap also matches the best data available. The IUCN Shark Specialist Group's factsheet for Elphinstone, published in 2023 and based on photo-identification work at the reef from 2004 to 2019, reports that encounter rates peak in October and November and calls Elphinstone home to the largest known aggregations of the species in the Red Sea. Coral Playground's Marsa Alam diving guide gives August to November as the most consistent window at Elphinstone, which includes the same peak.

What this means for planning:

• If you want the best odds, aim for October or November at Elphinstone or on a Brothers and Daedalus route.
• Summer trips can still produce oceanic whitetips, but you are betting on the edge of the season.
• Winter trips may also work, but weather can make offshore crossings harder, so ask your liveaboard how it handles rough-weather days before you book.

Hammerhead timing is less contested but varies by site. Emperor Divers says hammerheads at Daedalus are typically shallow from May to June and move deeper through summer and autumn, and that the summer months are best at Jackson Reef. Liveaboard.com links them to warm water around Sharm El Sheikh from June to November. For a month-by-month view of water temperature and conditions, see the Coral Playground guide to Red Sea diving seasons.

Are Red Sea sharks dangerous to divers?

Incidents are rare, and the recent serious ones did not involve divers on guided reef dives. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office says "shark attacks are rare, but there have been attacks on tourists in the Red Sea region" (FCDO Egypt travel advice, checked 25 October 2026; check the current version before you travel).

The two most recent fatal incidents both happened close to the coast:

• Hurghada, June 2023. A man was killed by a tiger shark in the water near Hurghada, according to Egypt's Environment Ministry as reported by Al Jazeera on 8 June 2023. Authorities closed a 74 km stretch of coastline to swimming and water sports until the following Sunday.
• Marsa Alam, December 2024. On 29 December 2024 two men snorkelling near a resort north of Marsa Alam were attacked; one died and one was injured. The Environment Ministry said they were in deep water outside the designated swimming area, as DIVE Magazine reported.

Divers are not immune. In December 2020 an oceanic whitetip bit a diver's arm at Elphinstone; Divernet reported that she needed stitches and was helped to the boat by her guide. Context matters here too: the same report notes that shark encounters at Elphinstone are routine and almost always pass without problems.

No one can remove the risk from shark diving entirely, and nothing here should be read as a promise. What you can do is dive the way the local conservation bodies recommend. HEPCA's long-standing shark guidance, as reported by Ahram Online, says feeding or baiting sharks is illegal in the Egyptian Red Sea, recommends that groups dive close together with two guides, and advises leaving the water if a shark shows aggressive behaviour. In practice that means:

• Never feed sharks, and never dive with an operator that baits them.
• Don't chase or try to touch a shark. Let it choose how close to come.
• Stay with your group, and follow your guide's briefing on where to hang in the blue and when to ascend.
• Take extra care at the surface and on safety stops, where oceanic whitetips like to investigate.

Do you need Advanced Open Water to see sharks?

For the big pelagic species, usually yes. Every offshore site in the table, plus Elphinstone and Jackson Reef, is listed as Advanced Open Water on its Coral Playground page, and liveaboards running the Brothers and Daedalus add their own logged-dive minimums.

That doesn't leave Open Water divers empty-handed. Coral Playground's guide to Jackfish Alley mentions whitetip reef sharks sleeping on the sand, Gordon Reef in the Straits of Tiran has resident reef sharks, and Fury Shoals in the far south lists whitetip reef sharks too. If an oceanic whitetip or a hammerhead school is on your list, the Advanced course is the logical next step; our Open Water to Advanced guide explains what it involves.

Frequently asked questions

Are there sharks in the Red Sea, and are they dangerous to divers?

Yes. Egypt's Red Sea has grey reef, whitetip reef, oceanic whitetip, scalloped hammerhead, thresher and silvertip sharks, plus seasonal whale sharks. The UK FCDO describes shark attacks as rare. The recent fatal incidents, near Hurghada in June 2023 and Marsa Alam in December 2024, involved people in the water near the coast rather than divers on guided reef dives. No one can promise zero risk, so follow your guide's briefing.

When is oceanic whitetip season at the Brothers and Elphinstone?

Sources disagree. Some dive guides give May to November, while others favour the cooler months from autumn into winter. Both windows include October and November, and an IUCN Shark Specialist Group factsheet reports that encounter rates at Elphinstone peak in exactly those two months. If you can only travel once, October or November is the overlap most sources support.

Where can I see hammerheads in Egypt?

Scalloped hammerheads are linked to the offshore reefs, Daedalus, Big and Little Brother and Elphinstone, and to Jackson Reef in the Straits of Tiran near Sharm El Sheikh, where the summer schools are the main draw. At Daedalus they tend to be shallowest in late spring and early summer. Most hammerhead sites need Advanced Open Water and are dived in strong current, often from a liveaboard.

Can I see sharks in the Red Sea as an Open Water diver?

Yes, though usually smaller reef species. Coral Playground's guides to Jackfish Alley and Gordon Reef near Sharm El Sheikh, both Open Water sites, mention whitetip reef sharks resting on the sand and resident reef sharks. Fury Shoals in the far south also lists whitetip reef sharks. The big pelagic sites mostly ask for Advanced Open Water and, offshore, a set number of logged dives.

If sharks are the reason for your trip, the offshore routes are where to start. You can compare Brothers, Daedalus and Elphinstone itineraries, trip dates and dive requirements on our liveaboard listings, or browse every Red Sea shark species we cover.