Sha'ab Sharm

Overview

Sha'ab Sharm is one of the standout offshore reefs of the Marsa Alam coast — a large, exposed reef sitting 12km out to sea, walled on every side and washed by current that pulls in big fish. Its eastern plateau is a classic Red Sea drift, a coral-carpeted shelf where grey reef sharks and schooling pelagics cruise the edge of the drop-off, and it is a regular highlight of southern day-boat and liveaboard diving.

The Dive

The reef runs around 700m at its longest, with steep walls stepping down to over 200m and free-flowing current keeping the coral lush. The signature dive is the eastern tip, where the wall is broken by a plateau that begins around 17m and slopes back to about 35m before the drop-off — this is where the sharks and big schools gather, and the dive is run as a drift along the plateau's outer edge. A second plateau at the western tip starts deeper, around 25m, and sits in noticeably gentler current. The north and south walls are sheer, densely overgrown and patrolled by snapper and jack shoals, dived as wall drifts when conditions allow.

The current on the eastern plateau can be very strong, and the cardinal rule is to stay tight to the reef — drift off the end of the plateau and you are into open sea. That exposure makes Sha'ab Sharm an advanced site unsuitable for beginners; night dives are not possible. Negative entries and DSMB drift ascents are standard.

Marine Life

Sha'ab Sharm is a big-fish reef. Grey reef sharks are the headline on the eastern plateau, with hammerheads in the blue during summer and the chance of other pelagics on the exposed walls. Dense shoals of snapper, fusilier, jack and barracuda hang along the drop-offs, and the well-flushed walls grow thick soft coral, gorgonians and clouds of anthias. Turtles, napoleon wrasse and tuna are regular supporting cast.

Good to Know

Sha'ab Sharm is reached by day boat from the southern Marsa Alam resorts and ports (often a longer run than the inshore reefs) and features on most southern Red Sea liveaboard itineraries. Diveable much of the year with best conditions roughly March to November; visibility is usually 20–30m. The draw is the eastern plateau in current — get the timing and the drift right and it is one of the most reliable shark dives on the Marsa Alam coast, but it demands genuine comfort with strong current.