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South Laguna Reef, Tiran Island
Egypt · reef · beginner
5–20 mbeginnerOWboat entry
South Laguna Reef, Tiran Island
The larger half of Tiran's western lagoon and the strait's best shelter: a shallow hard-coral lagoon drifted along its outer wall between the Laguna entrance and the green beacon.
Max depth5–20 m
Required levelbeginner
Entry typeboat
Visibilitynot sourced
The dive
Laguna Reef runs along the western side of Tiran Island, a shallow hard-coral lagoon averaging 10 to 12 m. A transverse hard-coral wall cuts it in two, giving North Laguna and South Laguna, and this pin is the southern half. South Laguna is the larger of the two and is also known as Marsa Shabir; it is the primary mooring in this part of the strait and gives shelter when the sea is up, which is why boats end up here on days when the four channel reefs are unworkable.
The dive itself is a drift along the outer wall. Camel Dive Club describes it as running between the Laguna entrance and the green beacon, in whichever direction the water is going that day. A plateau sits south of the South Laguna beacon and steepens into a wall as you work north. The coral is the point: table Acropora, gorgonians and fire coral on hard-coral structure, with glassfish pinnacles carrying gorgonian fans out on the plateau. Schools of butterflyfish work the hard-coral wall, and pelagics turn up along it when there is current running.
Direction is set by the tide, not by preference, and operators recommend the afternoon here. That makes this a briefing-led dive: you find out which way you are going when the guide reads the water. This is also the mild end of Tiran. The four channel reefs, Gordon, Thomas, Woodhouse and Jackson, are deep-wall drifts running from 25 m to well past 90 m; South Laguna is shallow, sheltered and rated for all levels by the Sharm operators who run it.
One caution on geography. The island is not landfall: Tiran is inhabited only by military personnel, some of its beaches are mined, and sovereignty passed from Egypt to Saudi Arabia when Egypt ratified the transfer in June 2017, although the diving is still worked entirely from Sharm el-Sheikh day boats. The Zingara, a German freighter lost in 1984, sits on this same reef system and is listed by Dive The World as divable from here when conditions allow; it has its own pin about 3 km away and its own story.
- The outer-wall drift between the Laguna entrance and the green beacon
- Glassfish pinnacles with gorgonian fans on the plateau south of the beacon
- Table Acropora, gorgonians and fire coral on the hard-coral wall
- Butterflyfish schooling along the hard coral
- The strait's best mooring and shelter, so it is the fallback when Gordon, Thomas, Woodhouse and Jackson are unworkable
Please note before you go
- Tidal current in the strait, which sets the drift direction and can pick up on the outer wall
- Fire coral on the hard-coral structure
- Tiran island itself is off limits: military personnel only and some beaches are mined, so there is no landing and no shore exit
Access & rules
Mandatory requirementsGetting there
Day boat from Sharm el-Sheikh, on the standard Straits of Tiran programme with Gordon, Thomas, Woodhouse and Jackson. South Laguna, also called Marsa Shabir, is the mooring point for this part of the strait and shelters from adverse sea conditions, so it is often the second dive or the surface interval anchorage. There is no landing on the island.
Operator
Access to the site runs through a local operator.
Restrictions
Tiran Island itself cannot be visited. Wikipedia records it as inhabited only by military personnel, with some beaches mined. Sovereignty passed from Egypt to Saudi Arabia, ratified by Egypt on 24 June 2017 and approved by Israel in July 2022, while the dive sites continue to be worked from Sharm el-Sheikh.
Rules and permits
Tiran was part of Ras Muhammad National Park. The island is also a designated Important Bird Area for its breeding white-eyed gulls, which is a further reason nobody lands. No source read here records a specific permit or fee attached to the Laguna dives themselves, so ask the centre what its Tiran day includes.
Season
Nothing in the sources ties this site to particular months; the constraint is the tide and the sea state on the day. As a general Red Sea baseline, autumn gives the best pairing of air and water temperature with good visibility, spring visibility is often above 30 m, and December to February is the coldest at around 22 C and the choppiest, which matters more here than on a sheltered local reef because Tiran is an hour or more offshore.
Conditions
Visibilitynot sourced
Currentmoderate
Surgelight
WaterSalt water
Depth range5–20 m
Environmentreef
Coralnot sourced
Crowdsmoderate
A shallow hard-coral lagoon averaging 10 to 12 m, worked as a tidal drift along the outer wall. Conditions here are calmer than anywhere else in the strait, which is precisely why the mooring is used as shelter from adverse sea. Afternoons are the recommended window. No source gives a measured visibility figure for this site.
On current: Tidal, and it decides the dive rather than the other way round. The direction of the drift along the outer wall, from the Laguna entrance toward the green beacon or the reverse, is chosen on the day from which way the water is setting, and operators say the afternoon is the better time here. The Straits of Tiran as a whole are known for strong flow, and although South Laguna is the sheltered end of it, the outer wall is still exposed to the strait. Depths are consistent across sources at 10 to 12 m in the lagoon, with the plateau south of the beacon deeper before it steepens into the wall; no source gives a measured figure for the wall, so none is recorded.
Best months: Apr, May, Jun, Sep, Oct, Nov
Questions & answers
What is the difference between South Laguna and North Laguna at Tiran?
They are the two halves of one shallow lagoon on the western side of Tiran Island, separated by a transverse hard-coral wall. South Laguna is the larger of the two, also known to local fishermen as Marsa Shabir, and it is the primary mooring for this part of the strait because it shelters from bad sea. Story Divers places South Laguna at the green beacon in the lagoon, which is the marker the drift is run to or from.
How deep is South Laguna Reef?
The lagoon averages 10 to 12 m of hard coral, which is consistent across every source. A plateau sits south of the South Laguna beacon and gets deeper before steepening into a wall as you move north. No source publishes a measured maximum for that wall, so treat 20 m as the working floor for a normal recreational dive here and ask the guide about the plateau.
Is South Laguna good for beginners?
The site itself, yes. Camel Dive Club, The Scuba Directory, Story Divers and Aquarius all rate Laguna Reef for all levels, and at 10 to 12 m over hard coral it is the gentle dive of the Tiran day. The catch is the operator, not the site: some Sharm centres apply a blanket requirement to the whole Straits of Tiran programme, and Circle Divers, for example, asks for Advanced Open Water and 20 logged dives. Check before booking.
Which way does the drift run at South Laguna?
Whichever way the tide is going. The dive runs along the outer wall between the Laguna entrance and the green beacon, and the direction is decided on the day from the current. Operators recommend the afternoon here. That makes this a briefing-led dive rather than one you plan in advance, and it is why the boat drops and collects rather than sitting on the mooring throughout.
What will I see at South Laguna?
The structure is the draw: table Acropora, gorgonians and fire coral on hard-coral wall, with glassfish pinnacles carrying gorgonian fans out on the plateau. Butterflyfish school along the wall, and pelagics come through when there is current. Records at this pin include sea goldies, coral hind, humphead wrasse, blue-spotted ribbontail rays, bluefin trevally, coronation trout, yellowbar angelfish and giant clams, plus bottlenose dolphins and Risso's dolphins.
Can you visit Tiran Island itself?
No. Wikipedia records the island as inhabited only by military personnel, with some of its beaches mined, so there is no landing and no shore exit from any of these dives. Sovereignty over Tiran passed from Egypt to Saudi Arabia, ratified by Egypt in June 2017 and approved by Israel in July 2022, while the diving continues to be run from Sharm el-Sheikh day boats.
Is the Zingara wreck part of this dive?
Not usually. The Zingara, a German freighter lost in 1984, sits on the same Laguna reef system and Dive The World lists it as divable from here when conditions allow, but it is treated as its own site with its own pin about 3 km from this one. If the wreck is what you want, ask for it by name when you book rather than assuming a South Laguna dive will include it.
How does South Laguna compare to Gordon, Thomas, Woodhouse and Jackson?
It is the shallow, sheltered one. Those four are the channel reefs in the middle of the strait, deep-wall drifts running from about 25 m to well past 90 m with strong current and pelagic traffic. South Laguna is a 10 to 12 m coral lagoon on the island's west side with a drift along its outer wall, and its mooring is the shelter boats use when the strait is too rough to work the channel reefs.
Life recorded at South Laguna Reef, Tiran Island
60 species within 1.5 km · OBISTaeniura lymmaoccasional · 13 recordsCheilinus undulatusoccasional · 5 recordsTursiops truncatusrare · 4 recordsGymnothorax javanicusrare · 3 records
Pseudanthias squamipinnisoccasional · 16 records
Paracirrhites forsterioccasional · 15 records
All 60 species recorded in this area
| Species | How often | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Pseudanthias squamipinnis | occasional | 16 |
| Paracirrhites forsteri | occasional | 15 |
| Taeniura lymma | occasional | 13 |
| Cephalopholis miniata | occasional | 12 |
| Chaetodon semilarvatus | occasional | 10 |
| Fistularia commersonii | occasional | 9 |
| Coris aygula | occasional | 9 |
| Epibulus insidiator | occasional | 9 |
| Amphiprion bicinctus | occasional | 8 |
| Pterois miles | occasional | 8 |
| Chlorurus sordidus | occasional | 8 |
| Grampus griseus | occasional | 7 |
| Ctenochaetus striatus | occasional | 6 |
| Parupeneus cyclostomus | occasional | 6 |
| Pomacentrus sulfureus | occasional | 6 |
| Tridacna maxima | occasional | 6 |
| Variola louti | occasional | 6 |
| Balistapus undulatus | occasional | 6 |
| Arothron diadematus | occasional | 6 |
| Pycnochromis dimidiatus | occasional | 5 |
| Arothron stellatus | occasional | 5 |
| Caranx melampygus | occasional | 5 |
| Chaetodon austriacus | occasional | 5 |
| Cheilinus undulatus | occasional | 5 |
| Halichoeres hortulanus | occasional | 5 |
| Heniochus diphreutes | occasional | 5 |
| Heniochus intermedius | occasional | 5 |
| Oxycheilinus digramma | occasional | 5 |
| Pomacanthus maculosus | occasional | 5 |
| Rhinecanthus assasi | occasional | 5 |
| Thalassoma rueppellii | occasional | 5 |
| Amblyglyphidodon indicus | occasional | 5 |
| Sargocentron spiniferum | rare | 4 |
| Scarus ferrugineus | rare | 4 |
| Cetoscarus bicolor | rare | 4 |
| Chaetodon paucifasciatus | rare | 4 |
| Abudefduf vaigiensis | rare | 4 |
| Chromis flavaxilla | rare | 4 |
| Tursiops truncatus | rare | 4 |
| Chaetodon melannotus | rare | 4 |
| Neoniphon sammara | rare | 4 |
| Flavocaranx bajad | rare | 4 |
| Caesio suevica | rare | 4 |
| Myripristis murdjan | rare | 4 |
| Pseudanthias taeniatus | rare | 4 |
| Naso hexacanthus | rare | 3 |
| Amblyeleotris steinitzi | rare | 3 |
| Aluterus scriptus | rare | 3 |
| Cheilinus lunulatus | rare | 3 |
| Chromis pembae | rare | 3 |
| Diodon hystrix | rare | 3 |
| Gymnothorax javanicus | rare | 3 |
| Monotaxis grandoculis | rare | 3 |
| Neopomacentrus miryae | rare | 3 |
| Odonus niger | rare | 3 |
| Ostracion cyanurus | rare | 3 |
| Oxycirrhites typus | rare | 3 |
| Pomacanthus imperator | rare | 3 |
| Siganus stellatus | rare | 3 |
| Sufflamen albicaudatum | rare | 3 |
Nearby sites in Sinai
Explore all sitesWoodhouse Reef2.1 km
SinaiThe long thin reef in the middle of the Straits of Tiran: no mooring, no shelter, one drift from south to north.
Ras Gomaa2.1 km
SinaiA submerged ledge in the gap between Woodhouse and Jackson whose top is already at 22 m, dived only when the strait lets you.
Jackson Reef2.4 km
SinaiThe northernmost Tiran reef, with the stripped hull of the Lara on its north point and the strait's most reliable hammerhead corner below it.
Thomas Reef2.4 km
SinaiThe smallest of the four Tiran reefs, dived as a drift because there is nowhere to moor, with a canyon at 35 m that is a technical dive and not part of the recreational plan.
Kormoran / Zingara Wreck - Tiran3.0 km
SinaiAn 82 m phosphate carrier broken across the shallow north edge of Laguna Reef, dived inside 12 m on the days the Straits of Tiran let you.
Gordon Reef3.5 km
SinaiThe southernmost Tiran reef: a freighter still aground on the north end, a shallow plateau on the south, and the sandy hollow divers call the Shark Pool.
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