Undoubtedly one of the world's best diving areas.  Ras Mohammed was declared a marine reserve in 1983 and became Egypt's first national park in 1989.  Inside the park are some of the world's most spectacular coral reef ecosystems.  The most ancient of these are fossil reefs dating back some 2 million years.

There are 20 dive sites within the park, including Shark Observatory, Stingray Station and Eel Garden.

Also within are a number of wrecks, the Thistlegorm and the Dunraven being probably the most infamous.

Here are a few descriptions of some of the dive sites:-

The Thistlegorm

This is by far the Sinai's most prized wreck.  It was discovered by Jacques Cousteau in the early 1950's.  However, its position was not re-discovered until the early 1990's.  It was a huge British war ship (approx. 415 feet long) carrying a full consignment of war supplies including tanks, jeeps, guns, bikes, trucks, train engines etc.   It was bombed by the Germans in October 1941 causing the ammunition chamber to explode.  The Thistlegorm rapidly sunk taking down 9 of the 49 crew members with her.  It lies at a depth of 17m to 35m.  Although a lot of this wreck has been stripped it is still an amazing dive with guns, bikes, trucks etc. still sitting there like a museum at the bottom of the sea.

This trip is a very early start as it takes approx. 4 hours by boat to get there.

The Dunraven

This was a British vessel carrying a cargo of spices, timber and cotton and went down in 1876 on a voyage from Bombay to Newcastle.  It lies upside down on the sea bed and is broken half way along.  If entered by the stern at approx. 30 m, you can then swim the entire length of the boat inside to the bow, which is on the reef at 18m.  The exit is usually filled with glass fish in their thousands.  This dive can be ended by swimming along the reef where you will see lots of sea life.

The Gardens - Near, Middle and Far

The Far Reef is a colourful reef with a slope to 25m.  At the top of the drop off are a few pinnacles frequently visited by pelagic.  Glass fish caves are in the reef at 12m.  Look out for Napoleons, blue spotted stingrays and the odd grey reef shark.  The Far Reef is the most popular site in the area for spotting Manta Ray.  Middle Reef is an ideal site for having a relaxing cruise over the reef.  Sometimes this site can surprise you with the sighting of turtles, whale sharks or mantas.

Woodhouse Reef

This reef is usually dived as a drift dive from south to north. Jumping in at the southern part of the reef is a wall to about 30m. It is worth looking onto the sand patches below to try and spot sleeping sharks. The coral covers all the way from the surface down the wall which becomes more of a slope as the dive progresses. Half way through the dive there is a canyon going along the reef at about 25m which spreads out into a coral garden with sand alleys. This is usually where the current starts to pick up. If the conditions on the west side of the reef are rough the dive has to be ended at the end of the coral garden, which is usually reached after about 50 minutes. If weather conditions allow it is sometimes possible to continue the dive beyond this point. Where the reef leaves the surface and funnels down towards Jackson reef. This area is referred to as the washing machine due to the VERY strong currents going in all directions.