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Shoab sharm
Egypt · reef · advanced
5–35 madvancedAOWliveaboard entry
Shoab sharm
An exposed offshore reef with a plateau at each end, walls that step away past 200 m, and current that decides how the dive goes.
Max depth5–35 m
Required leveladvanced
Entry typeliveaboard
Visibilitynot sourced
The dive
Shoab sharm is the PADI spelling of Shaab Sharm, also written Sha'ab Sharm and often given as Shaab Sharm Wadi Gimal after the stretch of coast it sits off. Our pin matches the PADI record exactly, so there is no ambiguity about which reef this is. It is an exposed offshore reef roughly 12 km out from the Egyptian coast, north of Wadi Gimal, with steep walls that step down past 200 m on all sides. Because nothing shelters it, the current runs freely around it, and that is what both the coral cover and the fish are there for. The dive is nearly always reached by liveaboard on a southern itinerary.
The reef has a plateau at each end and the dive you get depends on which one the guide picks. The eastern plateau is the one most groups dive. Omneia gives it as 20 m down to 32 m; the Seawolf fleet describes the plateaus running from 20 m near the main reef to 35 m at the outer edge. Its landmark is a group of three large gorgonian fans at the northern end near the drop off edge, with longnose hawkfish living in them, and there are cleaning stations working on the plateau. A stonefish is described on the reef wall at around 23 m and a small anemone at about the same depth with clownfish and their partner shrimp. Below the gorgonians the wall opens into a cave, and every source that mentions it says the same thing: it sits at 45 to 50 m and is a technical dive, not a detour.
The western plateau is the narrower one, given as 18 to 25 m, and it is the side that faces into the flow. That is where the big fish show up when the current and the schooling fish line up in the blue: reef sharks, mackerel, tuna and barracuda are the likely list, hammerheads and mantas the occasional one, and whale sharks are reported here and appear in the records for this pin. Whitetip reef sharks are described sheltering under the table corals. Omneia rates the western side as the better afternoon dive because of the light. Boats normally moor at the western end.
One thing to hold loosely. Sources use Shaab Sharm and Gota Sharm for what appears to be the same formation but give it different dimensions: 700 m at its longest in one description, 250 m by 100 m in a wedge running west to east in another. The plateau depths and the current behaviour are consistent across sources; the size figures are not, so do not plan navigation on them.
- Two plateaus, eastern and western, each dived as a separate dive
- Three large gorgonian fans at the northern edge of the eastern plateau, with longnose hawkfish in them
- Cleaning stations working on the eastern plateau
- The western plateau facing into the current, where reef sharks, tuna, mackerel and barracuda gather
- Walls stepping down past 200 m on all sides of the reef
Please note before you go
- Strong and shifting current on a reef with nothing upstream of it; the direction changes between morning and midday
- Plateau edges at 32 to 35 m with a wall that steps away past 200 m below them, so depth creep has no natural stop
- The cave under the eastern plateau lies at 45 to 50 m and is a technical dive requiring the right gas, not an extension of the plateau dive
- A stonefish is described on the reef wall at about 23 m
- Open water 12 km offshore with no shore and no shelter; everything depends on the boat, and the site is weather dependent
Access & rules
Mandatory requirementsGetting there
By boat only, and in practice by liveaboard. German operators describe the reef as one that can normally only be reached on a dive safari, and it appears on southern and Deep South itineraries alongside Elphinstone, Shaab Marsa Alam and Sataya. Boats moor at the western end of the reef. Nothing we read describes a routine day boat service to it, so treat a day trip as something to confirm with a local centre rather than assume.
Operator
Access to the site runs through a local operator.
Restrictions
Weather dependent. Sources agree the reef is exposed on all sides and that trips to it are called off in unsuitable conditions. Night dives are described as not possible here.
Rules and permits
Sources attach the name Wadi Gimal to this reef and place it north of that stretch of coast. Wadi El Gemal National Park was declared in 2003 and covers about 2,100 km2 of sea alongside 4,770 km2 of land, including five islands, but no source we read states whether this reef falls inside the park boundary, and none names a fee or permit for it. Do not assume either way; ask the boat.
Season
No source gives a season specific to this reef. The months recorded are the general Egyptian Red Sea window from Emperor Divers' seasonal guide: visibility often over 30 m in spring, and autumn described as the best combination of air and water temperature. Because the reef is exposed and 12 km offshore, the practical constraint is wind rather than temperature, and every operator we read notes that reaching it is weather dependent.
Conditions
Visibilitynot sourced
Currentstrong
Surgenot sourced
WaterSalt water
Depth range5–35 m
Environmentreef
Coralnot sourced
Crowdsnot sourced
A mooring at the western end of the reef, a briefing that depends on what the current is doing that hour, and a drift along a plateau with a wall falling away beside it. Flow from the northwest in the morning and from the north around midday is the pattern operators describe, and it can be very strong.
On current: The current is the defining condition and the sources agree on it. Seawolf describes it usually coming from the northwest in the morning and from the north around midday, says it can get very strong, and warns that turbulence on the eastern plateau can make the dive hard work. Tauchmagazin says dives here are often run as relaxed drifts precisely because of the prevailing flow, and puts the action on the north side of the western plateau where the current meets the reef. Plateau depths differ between sources: Omneia gives the eastern plateau as 20 to 32 m and the western as 18 to 25 m; Seawolf gives 20 m near the main reef to 35 m at the outer edge; a widely repeated description gives 17 to 35 m. We record the widest band so nobody plans shallow and finds themselves deeper. No source we read publishes a visibility figure for this reef, so none is recorded.
Best months: Mar, Apr, May, Sep, Oct, Nov
Questions & answers
How deep is Shaab Sharm?
The dive happens on two plateaus. Omneia gives the eastern one as 20 to 32 m and the western as 18 to 25 m; the Seawolf fleet gives 20 m near the main reef down to 35 m at the outer edge. We record 35 m as the maximum so nobody plans shallow and finds themselves deeper. Below the plateaus the walls step down past 200 m, and the cave under the eastern plateau sits at 45 to 50 m and is a technical dive.
How do you get to Shaab Sharm?
By boat, and in practice by liveaboard. Two German operators describe it as a reef that can normally only be reached on a dive safari, and it appears on southern and Deep South itineraries with Elphinstone, Shaab Marsa Alam and Sataya. It lies about 12 km off the coast north of Wadi Gimal, boats moor at the western end, and every source notes the trip is weather dependent.
Is Shaab Sharm suitable for beginners?
No. The dive sits between 18 and 35 m on plateaus that end in walls dropping past 200 m, and the current can run very strong and changes direction between morning and midday. Sources rate it intermediate to advanced and state plainly that it is unsuitable for beginners and that some diving experience is required. It is a site for divers comfortable being moved around at depth on an unsheltered reef.
What sharks and big fish are seen at Shaab Sharm?
Grey and whitetip reef sharks are the regulars, with whitetips described sheltering under the table corals and barracuda schooling on the eastern plateau. Hammerheads are the occasional prize on the western plateau, which faces into the current, and mantas have been documented there. Tuna and mackerel are common, and whale sharks are reported here and also appear in the species records for this pin.
How strong is the current at Shaab Sharm?
Strong enough to plan the dive around. Operators describe it coming from the northwest in the morning and from the north around midday, and warn it can get very strong, with turbulence on the eastern plateau making the dive hard work on a bad hour. Most groups therefore run it as a drift. The north side of the western plateau is where the current hits the reef and where the big fish gather.
Can you snorkel or night dive at Shaab Sharm?
Neither. Night dives are described as not possible here because of the exposure and the current. Snorkelling makes no sense either: the reef is 12 km offshore, the plateaus that make the dive start at 18 to 20 m, and there is nothing at the surface to justify getting in on a reef where the walls fall past 200 m.
What is the difference between the eastern and western plateaus?
The eastern plateau is the one most groups dive: wider, 20 to 32 or 35 m, with three large gorgonian fans at its northern edge holding longnose hawkfish, cleaning stations, a stonefish on the wall at about 23 m and an anemone with clownfish nearby. The western plateau is narrower, 18 to 25 m, faces into the current and is where the pelagics show up. Omneia rates the western side as the better afternoon dive for the light.
Is Shaab Sharm the same reef as Gota Sharm?
Sources treat the names as interchangeable but do not agree on the reef's size: one description gives 700 m at its longest, another gives 250 m by 100 m in a wedge running west to east. The plateau depths and the current pattern are consistent across sources, so those are safe to plan on; the dimensions are not. If a briefing uses one name and your reading used the other, they are almost certainly the same place.
Life recorded at Shoab sharm
43 species within 6.01 km · OBISGymnothorax javanicusrare · 2 recordsBalistoides viridescensrare · 1 recordsDugong dugonrare · 1 recordsTursiops truncatusrare · 1 recordsRhincodon typusrare · 1 records
Ctenochaetus striatusrare · 2 records
All 43 species recorded in this area
| Species | How often | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Gymnothorax javanicus | rare | 2 |
| Ctenochaetus striatus | rare | 2 |
| Parupeneus cyclostomus | rare | 2 |
| Acanthurus sohal | rare | 2 |
| Chaetodon semilarvatus | rare | 2 |
| Tellinella crucigera | rare | 1 |
| Acanthurus gahhm | rare | 1 |
| Aluterus scriptus | rare | 1 |
| Arothron hispidus | rare | 1 |
| Balistoides viridescens | rare | 1 |
| Bryaninops yongei | rare | 1 |
| Caranx melampygus | rare | 1 |
| Cassiopea andromeda | rare | 1 |
| Cephalopholis hemistiktos | rare | 1 |
| Cephalopholis miniata | rare | 1 |
| Cyclichthys spilostylus | rare | 1 |
| Dascyllus abudafur | rare | 1 |
| Dugong dugon | rare | 1 |
| Epinephelus fasciatus | rare | 1 |
| Glossodoris hikuerensis | rare | 1 |
| Gymnosarda unicolor | rare | 1 |
| Lamarcka ventricosa | rare | 1 |
| Lima paucicostata | rare | 1 |
| Naso elegans | rare | 1 |
| Ostracion cubicum | rare | 1 |
| Papilloculiceps longiceps | rare | 1 |
| Paracirrhites forsteri | rare | 1 |
| Plectorhinchus gaterinus | rare | 1 |
| Pomacanthus imperator | rare | 1 |
| Pomacentrus sulfureus | rare | 1 |
| Pseudobalistes fuscus | rare | 1 |
| Pseudochromis fridmani | rare | 1 |
| Pterois miles | rare | 1 |
| Pygoplites diacanthus | rare | 1 |
| Stenella longirostris | rare | 1 |
| Theonella swinhoei | rare | 1 |
| Tursiops truncatus | rare | 1 |
| Zebrasoma desjardinii | rare | 1 |
| Macropharyngodon marisrubri | rare | 1 |
| Himantura uarnak | rare | 1 |
| Rhincodon typus | rare | 1 |
| Spondylus candidus | rare | 1 |
| Iacra kallima | rare | 1 |
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