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Shaab Iris
Egypt · reef · beginner
9–16 mbeginnerOWboat entry
MEDIA5 items
Shaab Iris
A shallow sand plateau studded with coral ergs in the Abu Nugar complex, swum slowly between 9 and 16 m.
Max depth9–16 m
Required levelbeginner
Entry typeboat
Visibilitynot sourced
The dive
Shaab Iris is one of the reefs of the Abu Nugar complex, the northernmost of the Hurghada reefs, close enough to El Gouna that both towns' day boats run it. The dive is a sandy plateau surrounded by coral formations that fall away into deeper water, with a scatter of separate coral blocks, or ergs, standing on the sand. Sadko Safari Fleet gives the working range as 9 to 16 m; the El Gouna operator Orca Dive Clubs puts the Iris blocks at about 14 m. It is a shallow, unhurried dive rather than a wall or a drift.
What you do here is work from block to block. The ergs carry soft coral and hold the resident life: anthias and glassfish over the tops, moray eels and shrimps in the crevices, cuttlefish and octopus on the sand between them. Sadko also lists angelfish, trumpetfish and puffers on the coral, with barracuda, eagle rays and larger groupers along the deeper edge where the plateau drops. Orca notes eagle rays and turtles as occasional at the Iris blocks and flags navigation as a skill you need here, because one erg on open sand looks much like the next.
The surrounding Abu Nugar reef is known for hard coral, table corals, and the pools in the main reef that give the area its name. Bottlenose dolphins are recorded on the reefs around this pin and operators report resident dolphins in the Abu Nugar area, so an encounter is possible but not the reason to book the dive. Our catalogue also carries Gota Iris as a separate pin 170 m away; sources describe it as the last large block of this same reef, and Orca sells Erg Iris and Gota Iris as their own named 14 m dives on the same system.
- Coral ergs standing on a sand plateau, each one dived in turn
- Anthias and glassfish over the block tops, morays and shrimps in the crevices
- Octopus and cuttlefish on the sand between the blocks
- Eagle rays, barracuda and larger groupers along the deeper edge
- Shallow enough that the dive is limited by air, not by depth
Please note before you go
- Many near-identical coral blocks on open sand; Orca Dive Clubs specifically calls navigation a requirement here
- 60 to 90 minutes out by boat, so a rough day is a long ride and the trip is weather dependent
Access & rules
Mandatory requirementsGetting there
Day boat only. Shaab Abu Nugar is among the most northern of the Hurghada dive sites, close to the El Gouna area, and is quoted at about 60 to 90 minutes' sailing; El Gouna centres such as Orca Dive Clubs and Scuba World Divers run the Iris blocks on their standard day trips.
Operator
Access to the site runs through a local operator.
Season
Diveable year round. March to May and September to November are the more reliable windows across the Egyptian Red Sea, with spring visibility often over 30 m and autumn holding summer water temperatures with easier air temperatures; winter water falls to around 22 C. On a site this far out from shore, the deciding factor is wind rather than season.
Conditions
Visibilitynot sourced
Currentnot sourced
Surgenot sourced
WaterSalt water
Depth range9–16 m
Environmentreef
Coralrecovering
Crowdsmoderate
A shallow, open, sunlit reef: coral blocks on light sand at 9 to 16 m with the plateau falling away at the edge. Operators describe the Abu Nugar reefs as clear and easy, and dives here as relaxed rather than technical. We have no measured visibility or temperature figure for this specific site.
On current: None of the operator pages we could read give a current figure for Shaab Iris specifically. It is an inshore complex of coral blocks on a sand plateau rather than an exposed offshore corner, and it is normally swum from block to block rather than drifted, which is why Orca Dive Clubs flags navigation rather than current as the skill needed. Treat current as unknown and ask at the briefing. Sources also differ slightly on depth: 9 to 16 m from Sadko Safari Fleet, about 14 m from Orca for the Iris blocks, up to 18 m for the wider Abu Nugar reef.
Best months: Mar, Apr, May, Sep, Oct, Nov
Dives & underwater footage
Questions & answers
How deep is Shaab Iris?
Sadko Safari Fleet gives the site as a 9 to 16 m dive, and the El Gouna operator Orca Dive Clubs puts the Iris blocks at about 14 m. The plateau does fall away into deeper water at its edge, where the larger fish pass, but the dive itself is shallow and normally limited by air rather than by depth or no-decompression time.
Is Shaab Iris good for beginners?
Yes. It is a shallow reef of coral blocks on sand, dived by swimming from block to block rather than as a wall or a drift, and the Abu Nugar reefs generally are used for Open Water training. The one thing to be aware of is navigation: Orca Dive Clubs specifically flags it for the Iris blocks, because one erg on open sand looks much like the next.
How do you get to Shaab Iris?
By day boat only. Shaab Abu Nugar, the reef complex Shaab Iris belongs to, is among the northernmost of the Hurghada sites and sits close to El Gouna, quoted at roughly 60 to 90 minutes' sailing. El Gouna dive centres including Orca Dive Clubs run the Iris blocks on their normal day trips, so it is booked as part of a two-dive day rather than reached independently.
What will I see at Shaab Iris?
The coral blocks hold anthias and glassfish over the tops, moray eels and shrimps in the crevices, and octopus and cuttlefish on the sand between them. Angelfish, trumpetfish and puffers work the coral, and barracuda, eagle rays and larger groupers appear along the deeper edge of the plateau. Blue-spotted ribbontail rays and crocodile fish are recorded on these reefs, and bottlenose dolphins are logged in the surrounding water.
Is Shaab Iris the same site as Gota Iris?
They are two parts of the same reef. Gota Iris is described as the last large block of Shaab Iris and sits about 170 m from this pin, and El Gouna operators also sell a third block, Erg Iris, as its own dive at around 14 m. In practice which name your boat uses depends on which block the guide drops you at, and the diving is the same in character.
Is there current at Shaab Iris, and can you snorkel it?
No operator page we could read gives a current figure for this site; it is an inshore complex of blocks on sand rather than an exposed corner, and it is swum rather than drifted, so ask at the briefing rather than assume. Snorkelling is possible over the shallower coral in the area, but the blocks themselves sit at 9 to 16 m and the site is an hour or more out by boat.
Life recorded at Shaab Iris
64 species within 1.5 km · OBISTaeniura lymmaoccasional · 8 recordsGymnothorax javanicusoccasional · 6 records
Abudefduf sexfasciatusoccasional · 7 records
Tursiops aduncusoccasional · 7 records
Amphiprion bicinctusoccasional · 6 records
Heniochus intermediusoccasional · 5 records
All 64 species recorded in this area
| Species | How often | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Taeniura lymma | occasional | 8 |
| Abudefduf sexfasciatus | occasional | 7 |
| Tursiops aduncus | occasional | 7 |
| Gymnothorax javanicus | occasional | 6 |
| Amphiprion bicinctus | occasional | 6 |
| Heniochus intermedius | occasional | 5 |
| Chaetodon semilarvatus | occasional | 5 |
| Pomacanthus maculosus | occasional | 5 |
| Parapercis hexophtalma | rare | 4 |
| Coris aygula | rare | 4 |
| Chromodoris quadricolor | rare | 4 |
| Inimicus filamentosus | rare | 4 |
| Cheilodipterus quinquelineatus | rare | 4 |
| Chaetodon larvatus | rare | 4 |
| Scarus niger | rare | 4 |
| Parupeneus cyclostomus | rare | 3 |
| Arothron diadematus | rare | 3 |
| Pomacentrus sulfureus | rare | 3 |
| Scarus ferrugineus | rare | 3 |
| Chaetodon austriacus | rare | 3 |
| Cheilinus lunulatus | rare | 3 |
| Chlorurus sordidus | rare | 3 |
| Chromis flavaxilla | rare | 3 |
| Chromis viridis | rare | 3 |
| Hipposcarus harid | rare | 3 |
| Hologymnosus annulatus | rare | 3 |
| Parapriacanthus guentheri | rare | 3 |
| Amblyglyphidodon indicus | rare | 3 |
| Cephalopholis argus | rare | 2 |
| Chaetodon auriga | rare | 2 |
| Cheilodipterus macrodon | rare | 2 |
| Dardanus lagopodes | rare | 2 |
| Mulloidichthys flavolineatus | rare | 2 |
| Mulloidichthys vanicolensis | rare | 2 |
| Myripristis murdjan | rare | 2 |
| Pygoplites diacanthus | rare | 2 |
| Sargocentron spiniferum | rare | 2 |
| Tridacna maxima | rare | 2 |
| Ancylomenes longicarpus | rare | 2 |
| Chaetodon melannotus | rare | 2 |
| Epibulus insidiator | rare | 2 |
| Flavocaranx bajad | rare | 2 |
| Halichoeres hortulanus | rare | 2 |
| Stethojulis albovittata | rare | 2 |
| Taeniamia fucata | rare | 2 |
| Thalassoma rueppellii | rare | 2 |
| Amblyglyphidodon flavilatus | rare | 2 |
| Scolopsis ghanam | rare | 2 |
| Pterois miles | rare | 1 |
| Pteria aegyptiaca | rare | 1 |
| Neoniphon sammara | rare | 1 |
| Millepora dichotoma | rare | 1 |
| Gomophia egyptiaca | rare | 1 |
| Echinometra mathaei | rare | 1 |
| Pseudanthias squamipinnis | rare | 1 |
| Dascyllus marginatus | rare | 1 |
| Fromia ghardaqana | rare | 1 |
| Crella (Grayella) cyathophora | rare | 1 |
| Pinctada margaritifera | rare | 1 |
| Variola louti | rare | 1 |
| Macolor niger | rare | 1 |
| Parupeneus forsskali | rare | 1 |
| Siganus luridus | rare | 1 |
| Sargocentron diadema | rare | 1 |
Nearby sites in El Gouna
Explore all sitesGotha Abu Galawa4.6 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 Sakhwa4.8 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.
Marsa Abu Galawa5.8 km
El GounaThe bay dive on the Abu Galawa reef: a seagrass lagoon at 5 m behind a coral drop-off, worked slowly for small camouflaged things.
El Fanadir, North5.8 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.
Poseidon Reef5.9 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.
El Fanadir, South7.0 km
HurghadaThe southern end of the long El Fanadir reef, where the sandy plateau widens out before the second wall drops away.
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