Middle Garden

The dive

Middle Garden is the second of the three Gardens on the Sharm el Sheikh coast, northeast of Naama Bay. All three are named for how far they sit from Naama: Near Garden closest, then Middle, then Far. They share a coastline and a reef system but not a dive. Red Sea Diving College describes the pinnacle ridge that defines Near Garden flattening out as you swim north, and that flattening is where Middle Garden begins.

What you get here is a shallow hard-coral wall that plateaus at around 10 m, and below it a sand corridor roughly 20 m wide running parallel to the coastline, edged with larger boulder corals. Circle Divers describe the same feature as a valley between two ridges of hard coral, and it is the spine of the dive: you work the sand and its edges rather than following a drop-off. Beyond the boulder corals the ground falls away to about 70 m, so the guide sets the profile, not the topography. Camel Dive Club run it as a fixed mooring dive; Circle Divers give 0 to 30 m and rate it beginner.

On the sand: stingrays, goatfish, big-eye bream and, in the shallows, schools of milkfish. Along the coral wall, bannerfish, butterflyfish, angelfish, parrotfish and surgeonfish, with triggerfish nesting and moray in the holes. Towards the northeast the dive reaches a glassfish pinnacle where Circle Divers report ornate ghostpipefish occasionally, and they also flag the blue-spotted shield slug on the sand. Spotted eagle ray and humphead wrasse are both among the animals regularly recorded here. Camel Dive Club describe the site as a channel for manta rays and whale sharks; treat that as the rare event it is rather than a reason to book.

One thing that separates Middle Garden from its two neighbours is the shape of the shallows. Where Near and Far Garden present a fairly linear drop-off, Snorkeling Report describes Middle Garden's reef flat as stepping seaward, leaving pools in the flat and several patch reefs. That also makes it the most visited of the three from shore, through hotel pontoons, and the same source reports that the crowded central stretch of flat is noticeably damaged while the reef from Middle towards Far Garden is in better shape.

• The 20 m wide sand road running parallel to the coast between two ridges of hard coral
• The glassfish pinnacle to the northeast, where ornate ghostpipefish are occasionally found
• Blue-spotted stingrays and big-eye bream on the sand, milkfish schools in the shallows
• Reef flat stepping seaward into pools and patch reefs, which is what makes this Garden different from the other two
• Spotted eagle ray and humphead wrasse are both regularly recorded here

Conditions

A sheltered, shallow, busy coastal reef. SCUBA Travel puts Sharm sea temperature between about 22 C in March and 27 C in September, with a 5 mm suit usual in winter and 3 mm in summer, and notes you can dive Sharm all year. Visibility is normally good but Snorkeling Report carries a report of it dropping to about 5 m when water trapped in the reef flat stirs up sand, so it is not guaranteed.

On current: Nothing published describes Middle Garden as a current site. Red Sea Diving College says strong current is rarely encountered next door at Near Garden and runs that as a mooring or semi-drift dive, and Circle Divers list Middle Garden as a drift with shallow-reef character, which points to something gentle that carries you along the sand road rather than anything you have to fight. No operator publishes a figure.

Best months: Sep, Oct, Nov