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Certification required
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Eel Garden
Egypt · reef · intermediate
12–30 mintermediateOWboat entry
Eel Garden
A sand slope on the Ras Mohammed side of the peninsula, dived for its colony of Red Sea garden eels rather than for the wall.
Max depth12–30 m
Required levelintermediate
Entry typeboat
Visibilitynot sourced
The dive
Eel Garden sits on the eastern flank of the Ras Mohammed peninsula, in front of a small beach between Jackfish Alley to the north and Shark Observatory to the south. The fringing reef gives way at about 12 m to a broad triangular sand plateau that tilts away to a drop-off; Diversion Dive Travel puts that drop-off at 35 m, Camel Dive Club describes the plateau running on to 50 m, and Circle Divers publishes the site as a 0 to 30 m dive. Day boats run it as a drift with the reef wall on the right shoulder, and the working part of the dive is the shallow half of that range.
The middle of the sand flat is the reason to come. A colony of Red Sea garden eels stands two thirds out of the sand, angled into the current picking plankton, and drops back into the burrows in a wave in front of anyone who swims straight at it. The eels never leave their individual burrows, so the site is reliable, but seeing them properly means stopping short, staying low and letting the colony come back up. The sand also holds sand divers and juvenile razor blennies, and the reef side of the dive carries hard coral and black coral trees.
Off the drop-off there are schools of trevally and fusiliers, and eagle rays are reported passing in the blue. In practice this is a second or third stop on a Ras Mohammed day boat rather than a dive people book for itself, and it is often paired with Shark Observatory a few hundred metres to the south. Everything here is inside Ras Mohammed National Park, and the park entrance fee is collected per trip by the dive centre.
- Colony of Red Sea garden eels on the mid-plateau sand
- Drift along the fringing reef with the wall on the right shoulder
- Black coral trees and hard coral on the reef side
- Trevally, fusiliers and eagle rays off the drop-off
- Usually paired with Shark Observatory on a Ras Mohammed day boat
Please note before you go
- The sand keeps falling away past recreational limits with no visual reference, so it is easy to over-descend
- Run as a drift with a live boat pick-up
- Open to the prevailing north wind; surface chop is the usual reason the site is cancelled
- Heavy day-boat traffic on a standard Ras Mohammed itinerary
Access & rules
Mandatory requirementsGetting there
Day boat from the Sharm el Sheikh marinas. A Ras Mohammed day trip runs roughly 08:00 to 15:30 or 17:00 with two guided dives, tanks and weights included and a third dive available on the boat. Eel Garden is a drop-off in front of a small beach between Jackfish Alley and Shark Observatory, not a moored site you swim from.
Operator
Access to the site runs through a local operator.
Restrictions
The site is inside Ras Mohammed National Park, so it is only dived from a licensed operator's boat and the trip is weather dependent.
Rules and permits
Ras Mohammed National Park charges a per-trip entrance fee on top of the dive price, collected at the dive centre. Emperor Divers quotes EUR 5 per person paid locally; Reef Oasis Dive Club posted EUR 7 per person per diving trip when the fee was raised on 27 November 2019, so budget for the higher figure.
Season
Diveable year round. Spring, from March to May, brings the clearest water, with Emperor Divers reporting visibility often over 30 m; autumn, September to November, holds the summer water temperature with more comfortable air temperatures and fewer boats. Winter water drops to around 22 C and the north wind is more likely to close an exposed site like this one.
Conditions
Visibilitynot sourced
Currentmoderate
Surgenot sourced
WaterSalt water
Depth range12–30 m
Environmentreef
Coralrecovering
Crowdsmoderate
Across the Ras Mohammed headland visibility runs 10 to 40 m and water temperature 20 to 28 C over the year. On a normal day at Eel Garden the boat drops you on the fringing reef, you follow the sand southeast with the wall on your right and finish shallow. Current is usually light enough to swim against but present enough to hold the eels feeding.
On current: Camel Dive Club describes the site as sheltered from the currents that run on the Ras Mohammed corners, while Dive The World gives the Ras Mohammed area as a whole as moderate to strong; the eels themselves feed into a current, and the dive is run as a drift. We have taken the conservative reading and set the site as moderate. The sources also disagree on depth and grade: Emperor Divers calls the dive extremely easy, Diversion Dive Travel calls it beginner friendly, Circle Divers rates it intermediate, and the published depth runs from 0 to 30 m through a 35 m drop-off to a plateau reaching 50 m. We have used the conservative figures: intermediate, worked between 12 and 30 m. The variable to watch is the surface, not the water column: the site is open to the prevailing north wind and boats will move off it when the sea is up.
Best months: Mar, Apr, May, Sep, Oct, Nov
Questions & answers
How deep is Eel Garden at Ras Mohammed?
The sand starts at the foot of the fringing reef at about 12 m and slopes away to a drop-off that Diversion Dive Travel puts at 35 m. Circle Divers publishes the site as a 0 to 30 m dive and Camel Dive Club says the plateau runs on to 50 m. The garden eels and the coral are in the shallow half, so most guides work it between 12 and 25 m and there is no reason to go deep.
Is Eel Garden good for beginners?
Operators disagree: Emperor Divers calls it extremely easy and Diversion Dive Travel describes a gentle slope suitable for new divers, while Circle Divers grades it intermediate. It is run as a drift with a live boat pick-up over sand that keeps descending, which is what pushes the honest grade up. A recently certified Open Water diver can do it with a guide who keeps the group shallow.
Can you snorkel Eel Garden?
No. The eel colony sits on sand from roughly 12 m down and cannot be seen from the surface, and the site is a drop-off from a moving day boat rather than a moored or shore-accessible spot. Snorkellers on a Ras Mohammed trip are better served at the shallow reef tops the boats use for the surface interval.
Will I actually see the garden eels?
The colony is resident and the individual eels never abandon their burrows, so they are there on every dive. They stand about two thirds out of the sand facing into the current to feed on plankton, and they are timid: swim straight at them and the whole colony goes down in a wave ahead of you. Stop short, stay low off the sand and wait a minute for them to come back up.
How do you get to Eel Garden, and is there a park fee?
It is a boat dive from the Sharm el Sheikh marinas on a standard Ras Mohammed day trip, typically 08:00 to around 15:30 or 17:00 with two guided dives included. Ras Mohammed is a national park, so a per-trip entrance fee is charged on top: Emperor Divers quotes EUR 5 paid locally and Reef Oasis Dive Club posted EUR 7 per person per diving trip from November 2019, collected at the dive centre.
Is there current at Eel Garden?
Camel Dive Club describes the site as well sheltered from the strong currents that run on the Ras Mohammed corners, although Dive The World rates the headland as a whole moderate to strong. There is normally enough water movement to hold the eels feeding and to run the dive as a drift. The bigger variable is the surface: the site faces the prevailing north wind and boats will drop it when the sea is up.
What will I see at Eel Garden besides the eels?
The sand holds sand divers and juvenile razor blennies, and the reef side of the dive carries hard coral and black coral trees. Schools of trevally and fusiliers work the drop-off and eagle rays are reported passing in the blue. Records from the surrounding Ras Mohammed reefs also include blue-spotted ribbontail ray, giant moray, humphead wrasse and coral hind.
When is the best time of year to dive Eel Garden?
It is diveable all year, but March to May and September to November are the reliable windows. Spring gives the clearest water, with visibility often over 30 m, and autumn holds warm water with easier air temperatures and fewer boats. Winter water drops to around 22 C and the north wind is more likely to close an exposed site like this one.
Life recorded at Eel Garden
60 species within 1.5 km · OBISTaeniura lymmaoccasional · 39 recordsGymnothorax javanicusoccasional · 28 recordsCheilinus undulatusoccasional · 17 recordsBalistoides viridescensoccasional · 6 records
Pseudanthias squamipinnisoccasional · 26 records
Amphiprion bicinctusoccasional · 22 records
All 60 species recorded in this area
| Species | How often | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Taeniura lymma | occasional | 39 |
| Gymnothorax javanicus | occasional | 28 |
| Pseudanthias squamipinnis | occasional | 26 |
| Amphiprion bicinctus | occasional | 22 |
| Naso unicornis | occasional | 20 |
| Paracirrhites forsteri | occasional | 18 |
| Cheilinus undulatus | occasional | 17 |
| Pseudobalistes fuscus | occasional | 16 |
| Scarus ferrugineus | occasional | 16 |
| Chlorurus gibbus | occasional | 15 |
| Papilloculiceps longiceps | occasional | 15 |
| Cephalopholis miniata | occasional | 15 |
| Pomacanthus maculosus | occasional | 15 |
| Chaetodon melannotus | occasional | 14 |
| Arothron diadematus | occasional | 14 |
| Zebrasoma desjardinii | occasional | 11 |
| Coris aygula | occasional | 11 |
| Platax orbicularis | occasional | 11 |
| Fistularia commersonii | occasional | 10 |
| Cephalopholis argus | occasional | 10 |
| Chaetodon semilarvatus | occasional | 9 |
| Heniochus intermedius | occasional | 9 |
| Pygoplites diacanthus | occasional | 9 |
| Ostracion cubicum | occasional | 9 |
| Dascyllus trimaculatus | occasional | 8 |
| Chaetodon fasciatus | occasional | 8 |
| Ctenochaetus striatus | occasional | 8 |
| Caranx melampygus | occasional | 8 |
| Epibulus insidiator | occasional | 8 |
| Lutjanus bohar | occasional | 8 |
| Oxycheilinus digramma | occasional | 7 |
| Lutjanus monostigma | occasional | 7 |
| Pycnochromis dimidiatus | occasional | 6 |
| Arothron hispidus | occasional | 6 |
| Bodianus anthioides | occasional | 6 |
| Chaetodon auriga | occasional | 6 |
| Hipposcarus harid | occasional | 6 |
| Plectropomus marisrubri | occasional | 6 |
| Balistoides viridescens | occasional | 6 |
| Acanthurus sohal | occasional | 5 |
| Pomacanthus imperator | occasional | 5 |
| Thalassoma rueppellii | occasional | 5 |
| Parapercis hexophtalma | occasional | 5 |
| Pterois miles | occasional | 5 |
| Millepora dichotoma | occasional | 5 |
| Parupeneus cyclostomus | occasional | 5 |
| Epinephelus fasciatus | occasional | 5 |
| Chlorurus sordidus | occasional | 5 |
| Stenella attenuata | occasional | 5 |
| Balistapus undulatus | occasional | 5 |
| Caesio suevica | rare | 4 |
| Chaetodon austriacus | rare | 4 |
| Halichoeres hortulanus | rare | 4 |
| Plectorhinchus gaterinus | rare | 4 |
| Terapon jarbua | rare | 4 |
| Torpedo panthera | rare | 4 |
| Variola louti | rare | 4 |
| Arothron stellatus | rare | 4 |
| Cheilinus lunulatus | rare | 4 |
| Parupeneus forsskali | rare | 4 |
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Ras Muhammed National park0.7 km
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SinaiBeen here? Log it.
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