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Far Garden
Egypt · reef · beginner
5–30 mbeginnerOWboat entry
Far Garden
The far end of the Gardens chain north of Naama Bay: coral towers rising almost to the surface off a narrow plateau, then a wall dived as a drift.
Max depth5–30 m
Required levelbeginner
Entry typeboat
Visibilitynot sourced
The dive
Far Garden is the outermost of the three Gardens, the stretch of fringing reef running north from Naama Bay in Sharm el Sheikh. The three were named simply by how far they are from Naama: Near Garden, Middle Garden and Far Garden, with some operators also listing a Fiddle Garden between the middle and the far end. Far Garden sits at the top of that bay, in front of the Reef Oasis Blue Bay Resort and the Sharm Plaza Hotel, and being the furthest out it is the least walked-on of them.
The dive is usually run as a full drift. You start on a narrow plateau studded with thick, upright coral towers that come up almost to the surface with anthias packed around them, then follow the plateau to where it gives way to a wall. The wall is steep but not vertical, with more pinnacles standing between the reef plate and the drop-off, and it becomes steeper as you work east toward the headland. The dive ends back on a shallow coral garden, where the safety stop is done among fire coral. Sources give the depth range differently, from 0 to 30 m at one Sharm centre to 5 to 45 m at another; the reef flat is around 2 m and the snorkelling drop-off around 10 m.
Along the wall the useful thing to do is look out into the blue rather than at the coral. Eagle rays, batfish, snapper, barracuda and turtles cross the drop-off, and this corner of the bay is the one Sharm operators name for manta rays and whale sharks in the summer months, with the occasional hammerhead. On the reef itself there are gorgonian fans, glassfish, lionfish, napoleon wrasse, octopus, leopard blennies in their holes, porcupinefish and blue-spotted ribbontail rays on the sand, plus upside-down jellyfish lying on the bottom in the shallows.
Most people dive it from a boat out of Naama Bay or Sharm. There is also pontoon access from the shore through the Reef Oasis Blue Bay Resort and the Sharm Plaza Hotel, which is how the snorkelling on this section works; the jetties exist so nobody walks over the reef flat to reach the drop-off.
- Thick upright coral towers off the plateau, rising almost to the surface and covered in anthias
- A steep wall with pinnacles standing between the reef plate and the drop-off
- Eagle rays, batfish, barracuda, snapper and turtles crossing the blue
- The corner of the bay Sharm operators name for summer mantas and whale sharks
- Shallow coral garden for the safety stop
- The furthest and least trafficked of the three Naama Bay Gardens
Please note before you go
- Fire coral in the shallow garden where the safety stop is made
- An eastward current that is stronger at the headland, at the deeper end of the drift
- Busy day-boat water off Naama Bay, so boat traffic overhead matters on the ascent
- The wall drops well past recreational depth; one operator lists the site to 45 m
Access & rules
Mandatory requirementsGetting there
Normally a boat dive, run as a short hop from Naama Bay or the Sharm marina by the town's day boats. Shore access to the same reef exists through the pontoons of the Reef Oasis Blue Bay Resort and the Sharm Plaza Hotel, which front this section of the bay; the jetties are there to keep people off the reef flat. Far Garden is the northernmost of the chain that runs Near Garden, Middle Garden, Fiddle Garden and Far Garden away from Naama Bay.
Operator
Access to the site runs through a local operator.
Restrictions
Shore and snorkel access is through hotel pontoons, so it is tied to being a guest of the Reef Oasis Blue Bay Resort or the Sharm Plaza Hotel or arranging entry with them. Diving is normally by boat through a Sharm dive centre.
Season
The reef dives year round and nothing in the sources suggests a closed season. Summer is what operators single out: the manta rays, whale sharks and occasional hammerhead that make this corner of the bay worth choosing over the other two Gardens are described as summer visitors. Outside those months you are diving it for the coral towers, the wall and the reef fish, which are there all year.
Conditions
Visibilitynot sourced
Currentmoderate
Surgenot sourced
WaterSalt water
Depth range5–30 m
Environmentreef
Coralnot sourced
Crowdsmoderate
A drift along a plateau and wall with an eastward current, stronger toward the headland. The reef flat is shallow at about 2 m and the drop-off begins around 10 m. This is a standard, frequently dived Sharm day-boat site, so expect other boats.
On current: The site is normally planned as a full drift rather than an out-and-back. The current sets eastward and is described as stronger around the headland, which is the deeper, steeper end of the dive. Sources disagree on depth: one Sharm centre publishes 0 to 30 m and rates the site beginner, another publishes 5 to 45 m and calls it suitable for all levels; we carry the shallower band. The snorkelling numbers for the same reef are about 2 m on the flat and 10 m at the foot of the drop-off. No source we read gives a visibility figure for this site, so we do not publish one.
Best months: Jun, Jul, Aug
Questions & answers
Where is Far Garden and how does it relate to Near and Middle Garden?
It is the outermost of the Gardens, the fringing reef running roughly a mile north from Naama Bay in Sharm el Sheikh. The three were named by distance from Naama: Near Garden closest, Middle Garden in the centre of the bay and Far Garden at the top end, with some operators also listing a Fiddle Garden between the middle and the far site. Far Garden fronts the Reef Oasis Blue Bay Resort and the Sharm Plaza Hotel.
How deep is Far Garden?
Sources differ. One Sharm centre publishes the site at 0 to 30 m, another at 5 to 45 m; we carry the shallower band because the recreational dive works within it. On the snorkelling side of the same reef the flat is about 2 m and the drop-off begins around 10 m. The wall keeps going below whatever you plan, so watch your computer at the headland end where the slope steepens.
Is Far Garden a drift dive?
Usually, yes. Operators plan it as a full drift rather than an out-and-back: you start on the plateau among the coral towers and let the current carry you along the wall. The flow sets eastward and is described as stronger around the headland, which is also the deepest, steepest part of the dive. The dive finishes on a shallow coral garden where the safety stop is made.
Is Far Garden good for beginners?
Sharm centres rate it so: one publishes it as a beginner site and another as suitable for all levels. The reasons are the shallow plateau, the coral towers that come almost to the surface and the easy shallow finish. The parts that need attention are that it is run as a drift, that the wall drops past recreational depth, and that there is fire coral in the shallow area where the safety stop happens.
Can you snorkel at Far Garden?
Yes, and it is set up for it. This is section four of Garden Bay, entered from the shore through the pontoons of the Reef Oasis Blue Bay Resort and the Sharm Plaza Hotel; the jetties exist so nobody walks over the reef flat. Expect about 2 m over the flat and around 10 m at the drop-off. The coral towers and the wall are a dive rather than a snorkel.
What will I see at Far Garden?
On the reef: sea goldies swarming the coral towers, sohal and striated surgeonfish, parrotfish, butterflyfish, triggerfish, royal angelfish, giant clams, lionfish, glassfish, octopus, leopard blennies in their holes, porcupinefish and blue-spotted ribbontail rays on the sand. Off the wall: eagle rays, batfish, snapper, barracuda, bluefin trevally, turtles and napoleon wrasse. Upside-down jellyfish lie on the bottom in the shallows.
Can you see manta rays or whale sharks at Far Garden?
This is the Sharm local site operators name for it, but treat it as a chance rather than a plan. Camel Dive Club describes the corner as a channel that mantas and whale sharks use, and Circle Divers puts whale sharks, mantas and the occasional hammerhead here in the summer months. Turtles and eagle rays are the reliable large animals; the rest is why people pick this Garden over the other two in summer.
How do you get to Far Garden?
Most divers go by boat, a short run from Naama Bay or the Sharm marina, and every Sharm day-boat operator sells it. The alternative is from the shore through the two hotels that front this section of the bay, the Reef Oasis Blue Bay Resort and the Sharm Plaza Hotel, using their pontoons. Shore access is therefore tied to being a guest there or arranging it with them.
Life recorded at Far Garden
60 species within 1.5 km · OBISTaeniura lymmaoccasional · 12 recordsGymnothorax javanicusoccasional · 5 recordsCheilinus undulatusoccasional · 5 records
Acanthurus sohaloccasional · 39 records
Thalassoma rueppelliioccasional · 38 records
Abudefduf vaigiensisoccasional · 36 records
All 60 species recorded in this area
| Species | How often | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Acanthurus sohal | occasional | 39 |
| Thalassoma rueppellii | occasional | 38 |
| Abudefduf vaigiensis | occasional | 36 |
| Chlorurus sordidus | occasional | 35 |
| Arothron diadematus | occasional | 30 |
| Scarus ferrugineus | occasional | 26 |
| Chaetodon austriacus | occasional | 25 |
| Scarus niger | occasional | 24 |
| Chaetodon fasciatus | occasional | 23 |
| Pomacentrus sulfureus | occasional | 22 |
| Cephalopholis argus | occasional | 21 |
| Balistapus undulatus | occasional | 21 |
| Chaetodon auriga | occasional | 21 |
| Rhinecanthus assasi | occasional | 21 |
| Ctenochaetus striatus | occasional | 20 |
| Pygoplites diacanthus | occasional | 20 |
| Zebrasoma xanthurum | occasional | 19 |
| Zebrasoma desjardinii | occasional | 19 |
| Paracirrhites forsteri | occasional | 18 |
| Heniochus intermedius | occasional | 17 |
| Epibulus insidiator | occasional | 17 |
| Hipposcarus harid | occasional | 15 |
| Naso elegans | occasional | 14 |
| Tridacna maxima | occasional | 14 |
| Cheilinus lunulatus | occasional | 14 |
| Monotaxis grandoculis | occasional | 13 |
| Taeniura lymma | occasional | 12 |
| Chlorurus gibbus | occasional | 11 |
| Amblyglyphidodon indicus | occasional | 10 |
| Pseudanthias squamipinnis | occasional | 10 |
| Caranx melampygus | occasional | 9 |
| Diodon hystrix | occasional | 9 |
| Chaetodon semilarvatus | occasional | 9 |
| Parupeneus forsskali | occasional | 9 |
| Amphiprion bicinctus | occasional | 8 |
| Pycnochromis dimidiatus | occasional | 8 |
| Parapercis hexophtalma | occasional | 8 |
| Chaetodon paucifasciatus | occasional | 8 |
| Coris aygula | occasional | 7 |
| Coenobita scaevola | occasional | 7 |
| Caesio suevica | occasional | 7 |
| Fistularia commersonii | occasional | 7 |
| Acanthurus nigrofuscus | occasional | 7 |
| Alticus magnusi | occasional | 6 |
| Myripristis murdjan | occasional | 6 |
| Mulloidichthys vanicolensis | occasional | 6 |
| Mulloidichthys flavolineatus | occasional | 6 |
| Scarus frenatus | occasional | 6 |
| Chaetodon melannotus | occasional | 6 |
| Millepora dichotoma | occasional | 6 |
| Ostracion cyanurus | occasional | 6 |
| Oxycheilinus digramma | occasional | 6 |
| Abudefduf sexfasciatus | occasional | 6 |
| Cirrhitus pinnulatus | occasional | 6 |
| Labroides dimidiatus | occasional | 5 |
| Gymnothorax javanicus | occasional | 5 |
| Grapsus tenuicrustatus | occasional | 5 |
| Parupeneus cyclostomus | occasional | 5 |
| Cheilinus undulatus | occasional | 5 |
| Abudefduf sordidus | occasional | 5 |
Nearby sites in Sinai
Explore all sitesMiddle Garden1.0 km
SinaiThe middle of Sharm's three Gardens: a hard-coral wall that flattens at about 10 m onto a 20 m wide sand road running parallel to the shore, with pinnacles either side.
Fiddle Garden1.2 km
SinaiThe Garden some Sharm operators list and others leave out: a sheltered mooring between two coral pinnacles, with broken amphorae at 8 m.
Near Garden1.4 km
SinaiThe first and shallowest of the Gardens north of Naama Bay: a pinnacle-studded wall that rolls into a sand-and-coral slope, usually drifted north.
Naama Bay2.9 km
SinaiThe resort bay itself: a walk-in sand slope, seagrass and coral blocks that Sharm teaches half its divers on.
Naama Bay Jolie Ville3.2 km
SinaiThe hotel house reef in the middle of Naama Bay: where Sharm does its check dives and its courses.
Naama Bay - Kanabesh3.3 km
SinaiOne of the hotel-beach entry points onto the Naama Bay reef, not a separate dive: the same sandy bay, seagrass and pinnacles everyone in Naama walks into.
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