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Marsa Abu Galawa
Egypt · reef · beginner
3–20 mbeginnerOWboat entry
Marsa Abu Galawa
The bay dive on the Abu Galawa reef: a seagrass lagoon at 5 m behind a coral drop-off, worked slowly for small camouflaged things.
Max depth3–20 m
Required levelbeginner
Entry typeboat
Visibility15 m
The dive
Marsa Abu Galawa is the marsa - the sheltered bay - on the Abu Galawa reef, which lies between El Gouna and Hurghada and carries several named dives. Operators count the reef as four sites or as six; the others include Gota Abu Galawa, the circular gota 1.2 km northeast of this pin, Sakhwa Abu Galawa at the north end and Erg Abu Galawa outside. This one is the bay, and it is dived for what lives in the shallows rather than for reef scenery. It has nothing to do with Abu Galawa Soraya and Abu Galawa Kebir in Fury Shoals, roughly 350 km to the south, which are different reefs and do carry wrecks.
The boat moors at the entrance of the lagoon. Red Sea Creatures describes the lagoon itself as about 5 m deep over a seagrass bed holding a few seahorses, with little on the open sand, and the dive proper starting on a coral block that usually holds stonefish. Table corals lead out toward the drop-off, whose edge sits at 16 m with small hard-coral pinnacles running down the slope, and an eel garden lies a little further north at around 14 m. The way back follows the reef wall at about 9 m, past small caves of glassfish. Two routes are used: one heads south along a smaller reef, past an old lobster cage, across the plateau and back to the boat over the ridge; the other goes straight out to the ridge and returns over the plateau and its eel garden.
One claim needs flagging. The Scuba World Divers El Gouna page for this site calls it the gateway to the Kimon M wreck. Kimon M lies on the Abu Nuhas reef roughly 30 km north and has no connection to this bay, and every other source we read describes reef, sand and seagrass only. Treat the wreck line as an error and do not book this dive expecting one.
What you actually look for here is small. Scuba World Divers lists seahorses, ghost pipefish, blue-spotted rays, crocodilefish and nudibranchs; Red Sea Creatures adds turtles, moray eels, groupers, bass and scorpionfish; Dive Trek and Ilios Dive Club, which publish the same short entry, reduce the whole site to a good chance of a seahorse in the seagrass. Divers Guide's logged sightings for the wider Abu Galawa reef add spotted garden eels, rays, turtles and dolphins. One logged dive made at this bay in November 2023 recorded a devil scorpionfish, 15 m of visibility and a lot of dead coral, which is worth knowing before you come for the corals rather than the critters.
- Seagrass lagoon at about 5 m, dived for seahorses and ghost pipefish
- Eel garden at around 14 m north of the drop-off
- Drop-off edge at 16 m with small hard-coral pinnacles down the slope
- Small caves of glassfish along the 9 m reef wall on the way back
- An old lobster cage on the southern route
Please note before you go
- Stonefish and scorpionfish on the coral blocks and in the sand; a devil scorpionfish was logged at this bay in November 2023
- The seagrass lagoon is shallow and silts easily, and the operator that dives it asks for good buoyancy over the grass
Access & rules
Mandatory requirementsGetting there
Boat only. Divers Guide puts the Abu Galawa reef about 60 minutes by boat from Hurghada and lists access from either Hurghada or El Gouna; Red Sea Creatures also describes it as roughly an hour's sail from Hurghada. Scuba World Divers runs it from its El Gouna base. The boat picks up a mooring at the entrance of the lagoon and the dive starts from there.
Operator
Access to the site runs through a local operator.
Season
No source names a season for this specific bay, so we have left the months empty. What the sources do say is more useful: the Abu Galawa reef sits where it can still be dived when wind has closed the exposed sites, so on this reef the wind forecast matters more than the calendar. Water runs 22 to 29 C, so the coldest months mean a thicker suit rather than a lost dive.
Conditions
Visibility15 m
Currentlight
Surgenot sourced
WaterSalt water
Depth range3–20 m
Environmentreef
Coralnot sourced
Crowdsnot sourced
Flat, sheltered water in a bay, mild current, and a lot of light on shallow sand and seagrass. Divers Guide records water on this reef between 22 and 29 C across the year. Visibility is the weak point rather than the sea state: 15 m is the figure from the one log made at this bay, against a 20 m average for the reef overall.
On current: This is a sheltered bay on a reef that Divers Guide records as a limited-current site and rates as divable when weather has closed the exposed reefs, so flow is rarely the problem here. Depth is where the sources disagree. Dive Trek and Ilios Dive Club, which publish an identical entry, cap the site at 4 to 12 m; Scuba World Divers publishes 3 to 20+ m; Red Sea Creatures puts the drop-off edge at 16 m, the eel garden at 14 m and the return leg at 9 m; and a logged dive in November 2023 reached 20 m. We have recorded the widest span, 3 to 20 m, but a normal guided dive here stays inside 16 m. Visibility is the same story: Divers Guide gives 15 to 30 m averaging 20 m for the Abu Galawa reef as a whole and notes the south end is the poorer half, while the only log we found made at this bay reports 15 m, which is the conservative figure we have recorded.
Questions & answers
How deep is Marsa Abu Galawa?
The lagoon inside the bay is about 5 m over seagrass, and the edge of the drop-off outside it sits at 16 m. Operators publish different limits: Dive Trek and Ilios Dive Club cap the site at 12 m, Scuba World Divers advertises 3 to 20+ m, and one logged dive here reached 20 m. Plan for a shallow dive inside 16 m unless your guide says otherwise.
Is there a shipwreck at Marsa Abu Galawa?
No. One El Gouna operator page calls this site the gateway to the Kimon M wreck, but Kimon M lies on the Abu Nuhas reef roughly 30 km north and has nothing to do with this bay. Every other source describes reef, sand and seagrass only. The similarly named Abu Galawa Soraya and Abu Galawa Kebir in Fury Shoals, about 350 km south, do have wrecks, and that is probably where the confusion comes from.
Can you see seahorses at Marsa Abu Galawa?
That is the main reason operators run it. Dive Trek and Ilios Dive Club both reduce the site to a good chance of a seahorse in the seagrass, and Red Sea Creatures confirms the lagoon holds a few. Scuba World Divers adds ghost pipefish and nudibranchs to the same shallow area. They are small and camouflaged, so it is a guided find rather than something you swim onto.
How do you get to Marsa Abu Galawa?
By day boat. Divers Guide puts the Abu Galawa reef about an hour from Hurghada and lists access from either Hurghada or El Gouna, and Red Sea Creatures gives roughly the same sail time. The boat takes a mooring at the entrance of the lagoon, so there is no long surface swim and no drift pick-up to arrange.
Is Marsa Abu Galawa suitable for beginners?
Yes. Both Dive Trek and Scuba World Divers rate it beginner, Red Sea Creatures rates the site all levels, and the whole Abu Galawa reef is listed by Divers Guide as a limited-current, all-levels area. Shallow, sheltered water and a moored boat make it a standard choice for a check dive, a first dive of a trip or a buoyancy course.
Can you snorkel at Marsa Abu Galawa?
It is snorkellable if your boat allows it. The lagoon runs about 5 m over seagrass and the reef wall tops out around 9 m, so a snorkeller gets the shallow coral, the seagrass bed and the reef fish. The seahorses and pipefish that make the dive worthwhile are found at close range by a guide, so they are unlikely from the surface.
Is there current at Marsa Abu Galawa?
Rarely much. Divers Guide records the Abu Galawa reef as a limited-current site and notes that its position lets boats dive it when wind has closed the exposed reefs. This pin is the sheltered bay on that reef, which is the calmest part of it. Erg Abu Galawa, a separate dive on the same reef, is the one that carries stronger flow.
What is the visibility like at Marsa Abu Galawa?
Moderate rather than good. Divers Guide gives 15 to 30 m for the Abu Galawa reef, averaging 20 m, and says the north of the reef is clearer than the south. The only log we found made at this bay reports 15 m, and shallow sand and seagrass silt easily, so we have recorded the lower figure.
Life recorded at Marsa Abu Galawa
60 species within 1.5 km · OBISTaeniura lymmarare · 4 recordsGymnothorax javanicusrare · 2 records
Amphiprion bicinctusoccasional · 9 records
Pseudanthias squamipinnisoccasional · 5 records
Pterois milesoccasional · 5 records
Arothron hispidusrare · 3 records
All 60 species recorded in this area
| Species | How often | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Amphiprion bicinctus | occasional | 9 |
| Pseudanthias squamipinnis | occasional | 5 |
| Pterois miles | occasional | 5 |
| Taeniura lymma | rare | 4 |
| Arothron hispidus | rare | 3 |
| Ostorhinchus cyanosoma | rare | 3 |
| Dascyllus abudafur | rare | 3 |
| Cheilodipterus quinquelineatus | rare | 3 |
| Naso unicornis | rare | 3 |
| Synodus dermatogenys | rare | 2 |
| Tridacna maxima | rare | 2 |
| Gymnothorax javanicus | rare | 2 |
| Stylissa carteri | rare | 2 |
| Amblyeleotris steinitzi | rare | 2 |
| Anyperodon leucogrammicus | rare | 2 |
| Mulloidichthys flavolineatus | rare | 2 |
| Plesiops nigricans | rare | 2 |
| Pomacentrus sulfureus | rare | 2 |
| Pomacentrus trilineatus | rare | 2 |
| Scorpaenopsis diabolus | rare | 2 |
| Amblygobius albimaculatus | rare | 2 |
| Arothron diadematus | rare | 2 |
| Chaetodon larvatus | rare | 2 |
| Chaetodon paucifasciatus | rare | 2 |
| Cheilinus abudjubbe | rare | 2 |
| Gobiodon citrinus | rare | 2 |
| Hipposcarus harid | rare | 2 |
| Oxycheilinus digramma | rare | 2 |
| Parapercis hexophtalma | rare | 2 |
| Taeniamia fucata | rare | 2 |
| Tursiops aduncus | rare | 2 |
| Coris aygula | rare | 2 |
| Halichoeres hortulanus | rare | 2 |
| Parupeneus cyclostomus | rare | 2 |
| Siganus luridus | rare | 1 |
| Cheilodipterus novemstriatus | rare | 1 |
| Corythoichthys flavofasciatus | rare | 1 |
| Dascyllus aruanus | rare | 1 |
| Stenopus hispidus | rare | 1 |
| Gymnothorax flavimarginatus | rare | 1 |
| Hemimycale arabica | rare | 1 |
| Cephalopholis oligosticta | rare | 1 |
| Lethrinus mahsena | rare | 1 |
| Neoniphon sammara | rare | 1 |
| Synodus variegatus | rare | 1 |
| Abudefduf vaigiensis | rare | 1 |
| Ircinia echinata | rare | 1 |
| Fromia ghardaqana | rare | 1 |
| Alpheus djeddensis | rare | 1 |
| Amanses scopas | rare | 1 |
| Pseudocheilinus hexataenia | rare | 1 |
| Apogonichthyoides taeniatus | rare | 1 |
| Pygoplites diacanthus | rare | 1 |
| Calcinus rosaceus | rare | 1 |
| Callyspongia (Callyspongia) siphonella | rare | 1 |
| Callyspongia crassa | rare | 1 |
| Centropyge multispinis | rare | 1 |
| Cephalopholis sexmaculata | rare | 1 |
| Rhinoclavis aspera | rare | 1 |
| Sargocentron caudimaculatum | rare | 1 |
Nearby sites in El Gouna
Explore all sitesGotha Abu Galawa1.2 km
El GounaA small round gota on the Abu Galawa reef south of El Gouna: shallow coral banks in the northeast, stony-coral canyons through the middle, and free-standing ergs on sand to the southwest.
El Sakhwa1.6 km
El GounaThe northernmost of the named dives on the Abu Galawa reef: a drift along the wall onto a small plateau, with glassfish and anthias packed onto the coral towers.
El Fanadir, North5.2 km
HurghadaThe exposed northern end of Fanadir's long offshore reef: a coral wall to a sand shelf at 12 m, then a slope that runs parallel to it from 18 m past 30 m.
Shaab Iris5.8 km
El GounaA shallow sand plateau studded with coral ergs in the Abu Nugar complex, swum slowly between 9 and 16 m.
El Fanadir, South5.8 km
HurghadaThe southern end of the long El Fanadir reef, where the sandy plateau widens out before the second wall drops away.
Poseidon Reef11.4 km
HurghadaThe coral garden on the southern side of Sha'ab El Erg: two ergs, brain-coral fields and a sand bottom at about 11 m, moored inside the horseshoe.
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