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Siyoul Lagoon
Egypt · reef · intermediate
10–22 mintermediateOWboat entry
Siyoul Lagoon
The sheltered north end of the Small Siyul reef in the Gubal Strait, where the boat moors behind the reef and the dive runs over sand and coral blocks.
Max depth10–22 m
Required levelintermediate
Entry typeboat
Visibilitynot sourced
The dive
This pin sits in the Gubal Strait on the reef immediately north of the Small Siyul islets, the group also written Siyul Saghira, Siyul Al Saghir or Siyoul Soraya. OpenStreetMap maps the Siyul islets at roughly 27.552 N 33.855 E and a reef running north of them through this position, with Big Siyul about 2.5 km to the east. That geography is the most solid thing we can tell you about the site, because the name Siyoul Lagoon appears only in the dive-site catalogue this entry was imported from. The operators who actually dive this patch of water name their sites Siyul Kebir, Siyul Saghira and El Gilwa, and the ORCA Dive Club in El Gouna, which lists 26 sites in the area, has no Siyoul Lagoon among them. Read this page as the north end of the Small Siyul reef, not as a site with its own literature.
What is documented for that reef is consistent. The 4EverSea dive centre puts Siyul Al Saghir 110 minutes cruising from El Gouna, halfway between Gubal island and Shadwan, reached by boat or Zodiac, with the southern section at 10 to 12 m and the northern part running 15 to 22 m over sandy bottoms and coral meadows broken by a lot of large coral blocks. It calls it a typical drift dive with unpredictable currents that need constant attention, and warns that the crossing is choppy open sea. The Swiss Wellness Dive Club gives the reef a maximum of 22 m at beginner level, notes protected moorings behind the reef, and says currents can be strong on the north side, which is the side this pin is on.
One thing to be clear about: there is no wreck here. The catalogue files this pin under Abu Nuhas, but Shaab Abu Nuhas with the Giannis D, Carnatic, Chrisoula K and Kimon M is a separate reef roughly 6.5 km to the east, and nothing in any source puts wreckage at the Siyul reefs. Operators sell Abu Nuhas and Siyul as different stops on different days.
OBIS records within 1.5 km of this pin are few but distinctly reef-and-sand: blackspotted rubberlip, hooded, blacktail and crown butterflyfish, striated and Suez fusiliers, rusty parrotfish, twinspot snapper, emperor and Red Sea angelfish, giant moray, comet, a variable wart slug and a two-stick stingfish sitting on the sand.
- Sheltered moorings behind the reef with sand, coral meadows and large coral blocks to work between
- The shallow north end of the Small Siyul reef, 15 to 22 m, with the southern part shallower again at 10 to 12 m
- A Gubal Strait stop reached on the long northern day trips out of El Gouna, away from the Abu Nuhas wreck crowd
Please note before you go
- The north side of the Siyul reefs is the exposed side and currents there are reported as strong and unpredictable
- The crossing from El Gouna is roughly two hours over open sea and described as choppy
- OBIS records a two-stick stingfish at this pin, a venomous ambush fish that sits camouflaged on sand
Access & rules
Mandatory requirementsGetting there
Boat or Zodiac only. 4EverSea puts the site 110 minutes cruising from El Gouna, halfway between Gubal island and Shadwan, and runs it with a minimum of 12 divers holding Open Water certification. The Swiss Wellness Dive Club places the Siyul moorings at roughly 27 degrees 32 to 33 minutes north and 33 degrees 51 to 52 minutes east, behind the reef. Liveaboards on northern routes pass this area on the way to and from Abu Nuhas and Shadwan.
Operator
Access to the site runs through a local operator.
Season
No source gives a season for the Siyul reefs. What is documented is that reaching them is a two-hour open-sea crossing from El Gouna described as choppy, so a calm-weather day matters more here than a month of the year.
Conditions
Visibilitynot sourced
Currentmoderate
Surgenot sourced
WaterSalt water
Depth range10–22 m
Environmentreef
Coralnot sourced
Crowdsnot sourced
An offshore reef in the Gubal Strait, dived from day boats and liveaboards. The published picture is sandy bottoms and coral meadows with a lot of large coral blocks, shallow depths, sheltered moorings on the lee side and current on the north side. No source publishes a visibility or temperature figure for this specific reef, so none is recorded here.
On current: Two sources agree that the north side is the exposed one. The Swiss Wellness Dive Club says currents can be strong on the north side of the Siyul reefs and that the moorings sit sheltered behind the reef; 4EverSea calls Siyul Al Saghir a typical drift dive with unpredictable currents that require constant alertness. Since this pin is on the north side, plan for a drift with a marker buoy rather than an out-and-back, and expect a choppy open-sea crossing to get here.
Questions & answers
Where is Siyoul Lagoon exactly?
In the Gubal Strait, on the reef immediately north of the Small Siyul islets, which OpenStreetMap maps at about 27.552 N 33.855 E. Big Siyul lies roughly 2.5 km to the east. The name Siyoul Lagoon comes from the dive-site catalogue this entry was imported from; the operators working this area call their sites Siyul Kebir, Siyul Saghira and El Gilwa.
Are there wrecks here, like at Abu Nuhas?
No. This entry is filed under Abu Nuhas in the catalogue, but Shaab Abu Nuhas, with the Giannis D, Carnatic, Chrisoula K and Kimon M, is a different reef roughly 6.5 km to the east. Nothing in any source puts a wreck on the Siyul reefs, and operators sell Abu Nuhas and Siyul as separate stops. Do not come here expecting a wreck dive.
How deep is it?
Shallow. The 4EverSea dive centre gives the southern section of the Small Siyul reef at 10 to 12 m and the northern part, which is where this pin sits, at 15 to 22 m. The Swiss Wellness Dive Club gives the reef a maximum of 22 m overall. Big Siyul next door is deeper, listed at up to about 31 m.
Is there current?
On this side of the reef, yes. Two sources single out the north side of the Siyul reefs as the one that catches current, describing it as strong on Small Siyul and vicious on Big Siyul, while the moorings sit sheltered behind the reef. 4EverSea calls the site a typical drift dive with unpredictable currents that need constant attention, so carry a marker buoy and dive it as a drift.
How do I get there?
By boat only. It is about 110 minutes of cruising north from El Gouna, halfway between Gubal island and Shadwan, and the crossing is over open sea and described as choppy. 4EverSea runs it with a minimum of 12 divers holding Open Water certification. Liveaboards on northern routes pass the area between Abu Nuhas and Shadwan.
What will I see?
OBIS records at this pin include blackspotted rubberlip, hooded, blacktail and crown butterflyfish, striated and Suez fusiliers, rusty parrotfish, twinspot snapper, emperor and Red Sea angelfish, giant moray, a comet and a two-stick stingfish on the sand. The dive centre's own list for the reef adds hard and soft corals, snappers, sohal surgeonfish, goatfish, grouper and giant pufferfish over the coral blocks.
Why is our confidence low on this page?
Because the only source that uses the name Siyoul Lagoon is the catalogue this pin was imported from. Everything factual here comes from sources describing the Small Siyul reef, of which this pin is the north end, and from mapped geography. If you want a page about a site an operator sells under that exact name, it does not currently exist.
Life recorded at Siyoul Lagoon
30 species within 1.5 km · OBISGymnothorax javanicusrare · 1 records
Plectorhinchus gaterinusrare · 4 records
Chaetodon austriacusrare · 3 records
Caesio striatarare · 2 records
Hologymnosus annulatusrare · 2 records
Scarus ferrugineusrare · 2 records
All 30 species recorded in this area
| Species | How often | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Plectorhinchus gaterinus | rare | 4 |
| Chaetodon austriacus | rare | 3 |
| Caesio striata | rare | 2 |
| Hologymnosus annulatus | rare | 2 |
| Scarus ferrugineus | rare | 2 |
| Chaetodon paucifasciatus | rare | 1 |
| Dascyllus abudafur | rare | 1 |
| Epibulus insidiator | rare | 1 |
| Halichoeres hortulanus | rare | 1 |
| Caesio suevica | rare | 1 |
| Inimicus filamentosus | rare | 1 |
| Lutjanus bohar | rare | 1 |
| Odonus niger | rare | 1 |
| Parapercis hexophtalma | rare | 1 |
| Phyllidia varicosa | rare | 1 |
| Pinctada margaritifera | rare | 1 |
| Pomacanthus imperator | rare | 1 |
| Priacanthus hamrur | rare | 1 |
| Pterois miles | rare | 1 |
| Pygoplites diacanthus | rare | 1 |
| Stichopus pseudohorrens | rare | 1 |
| Abudefduf sexfasciatus | rare | 1 |
| Apolemichthys xanthotis | rare | 1 |
| Cephalopholis argus | rare | 1 |
| Calloplesiops altivelis | rare | 1 |
| Chaetodon semilarvatus | rare | 1 |
| Gymnothorax javanicus | rare | 1 |
| Ostracion cubicum | rare | 1 |
| Chaetodon fasciatus | rare | 1 |
| Chaetodon larvatus | rare | 1 |
Nearby sites in Abu Nuhas
Explore all sitesSiyoul Soraya1.7 km
Abu NuhasA small island in the Strait of Gubal with a disproportionately large reef and a lagoon you can enter through a channel.
El Gilwa2.3 km
Abu NuhasThe broken side of Siyul island: coral blocks and pinnacles standing on sand, with three moorings so the dive can be replanned around whichever way the current is running.
Siyoul Kebir3.0 km
Abu NuhasThe reef around Big Siyul island: a sheer north wall that runs into a plateau east and south, dived as a drift when the north current allows and from a mooring when it does not.
Blind Reef4.8 km
Abu NuhasA Strait of Gubal reef entry we could not verify: no published description of this site under this name.
Umm Usk5.4 km
Abu NuhasA horseshoe reef in the Strait of Gubal whose sheltered lagoon is a safari-boat overnight mooring, which is why most people who dive it do so at night.
Giannis D, wreck7.5 km
Abu NuhasA Greek freighter broken in three on Abu Nuhas, whose stern and engine room sit canted at 45 degrees and disorient everyone who enters.
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