Egypt Itineraries: Multi-Day Yacht Routes Across the Red Sea

El Gouna to Sha’ab El Erg and the Strait of Gubal

Board your yacht at Abu Tig Marina by mid-morning. After a welcome briefing and a champagne toast on the flybridge, cruise east to Sha’ab El Erg (10 nautical miles, 40 minutes) for an early encounter with the resident dolphins. Slip into the warm, crystal-clear water and drift alongside bottlenose dolphins in their morning resting grounds – your crew provides full snorkelling gear and a respectful briefing on dolphin etiquette. After the encounter, your chef lays out a seafood lunch on the aft deck: grilled Red Sea prawns, ful medames, fresh flatbread and chilled local juices. In the afternoon, continue north into the Strait of Gubal to the wreck of the SS Thistlegorm – roughly 35 nautical miles from El Gouna, a two-hour cruise. This legendary British transport ship, sunk by German bombers in 1941 and rediscovered by Cousteau, sits upright in 30 metres of water with her cargo holds still packed with wartime equipment. Certified divers descend to explore the motorcycles, trucks and railway carriages; snorkellers can see the wreck’s superstructure from the surface on calm days. Anchor overnight in the sheltered waters near Sha’ab Ali.

Tiran Island and Ras Mohammed National Park

Depart at first light and cruise north to Tiran Island – roughly 30 nautical miles, under two hours. The four named reefs – Jackson, Woodhouse, Thomas and Gordon – form a corridor of extraordinary biodiversity at the entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba. Drift along the current channels where manta rays, eagle rays and barracuda cruise, and explore the coral walls festooned with gorgonian fans and soft corals in every shade of pink and purple. After a reef-side lunch on the aft deck, cruise south to Ras Mohammed National Park (12 nautical miles from Sharm el-Sheikh). Anchor at the park’s designated mooring and dive or snorkel Shark Reef – a sheer wall dropping from 5 metres to over 800, patrolled by grey reef sharks, giant trevally and enormous Napoleon wrasse. The shallow reef top is a kaleidoscope of hard coral, clownfish and blue-spotted stingrays. Watch the sunset from the aft deck with Ras Mohammed’s desert cliffs glowing amber behind you. Overnight at anchor in the park or in Sharm el-Sheikh’s Naama Bay.

Sharm el-Sheikh and Return

Spend the morning exploring Ras Mohammed’s second headline site: Yolanda Reef, named after the Cypriot freighter that sank here in 1980 – her cargo of bathroom fittings (toilets, bathtubs, sinks) is now scattered across the reef slope in a surreal underwater still life, colonised by coral and patrolled by moray eels. The wall dive here is magnificent: soft coral cascading down a vertical face, with schools of batfish, tuna and the occasional grey reef shark in the blue beyond. After a farewell gourmet lunch on the aft deck, your captain sets course south for the return journey to El Gouna – roughly 48 nautical miles from Sharm, arriving by late afternoon. Alternatively, disembark in Sharm el-Sheikh and fly home from Sharm El Sheikh International Airport.

El Gouna to Giftun Islands

Board at Abu Tig Marina by mid-morning and cruise south-east to Giftun Islands National Park (12 nautical miles, 45 minutes). Anchor off the white-sand beach on the western shore of Giftun El Kebir, where the shallow reef flat is alive with parrotfish, angelfish and the occasional hawksbill turtle. Your crew sets up paddleboards and snorkelling gear while the chef prepares a grilled seafood lunch. In the afternoon, motor around to the island’s southern reef for a deeper snorkel or introductory dive over coral walls that drop from 5 to 20 metres, with lionfish, grouper and blue-spotted stingrays patrolling the ledges. Anchor overnight in the sheltered lee of the island, with the desert mountains of the mainland glowing pink in the fading light and a canopy of stars overhead.

Giftun to Umm Gamar and Safaga

Depart early and cruise south to Umm Gamar reef – ‘The Mother of the Moon’, a crescent-shaped reef roughly 8 nautical miles south-east of Giftun. The outer wall here drops steeply to 40+ metres, with black coral, large gorgonian fans and regular sightings of barracuda, tuna and reef sharks. The inner reef flat is shallow and calm, perfect for snorkelling among hard coral formations and schools of butterflyfish. After lunch on the aft deck, continue south to Safaga – roughly 30 nautical miles from Giftun, a two-hour cruise. Safaga is a quieter, more traditional port town, 60 km south of Hurghada, and the gateway to some of the Red Sea’s finest and least-crowded reefs. Moor overnight at Safaga’s harbour or anchor in the bay, and take the tender ashore for a simple harbourside dinner of freshly grilled fish and Egyptian mezze.

Safaga’s Offshore Reefs – Panorama Reef and Middle Reef

Today belongs to the deep blue. Cruise east from Safaga to Panorama Reef – a spectacular circular reef rising from the depths to within a few metres of the surface, roughly 12 nautical miles offshore. The walls are draped in soft coral in shades of red, orange and yellow, and the current attracts grey reef sharks, hammerhead sharks (seasonal, especially March–May), eagle rays and large schools of jacks. Drift along the wall at 15–25 metres and finish with a safety stop over a plateau of pristine hard coral alive with anthias. After a chef-prepared lunch, reposition to Middle Reef or Salem Express wreck (a ferry sunk in 1991, now a poignant and coral-encrusted dive site for experienced divers). Return to Safaga for an evening meal ashore or a candlelit dinner on the aft deck under the Milky Way.

Sha’ab Sheer and Return to El Gouna

Cruise north from Safaga, stopping at Sha’ab Sheer – a long, narrow reef with a dramatic wall on the eastern side that drops to 40+ metres, with overhangs, swim-throughs and large pelagic visitors. After a morning dive or snorkel, continue north past Hurghada and back to El Gouna (roughly 35 nautical miles from Safaga, a two-hour passage). Your chef prepares a farewell lunch on the aft deck as the familiar skyline of El Gouna’s islands and lagoons comes into view. Arrive at Abu Tig Marina by mid-afternoon with time for a final stroll through El Gouna’s waterfront or a sunset drink at one of the marina’s terrace restaurants.

Guests looking for a longer voyage can combine the 3-day northern route (El Gouna to Sharm el-Sheikh) with the 4-day southern route (El Gouna to Safaga) for a comprehensive 7-day Red Sea charter covering the full breadth of Egypt’s underwater world – from the legendary walls of Ras Mohammed to the remote offshore reefs of Safaga – without repeating a single dive site or anchorage.