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Villa Koraffi
Egypt · reef · beginner
0–35 mbeginnerOWboat entry
Villa Koraffi
The hard-coral garden of the five Torfet Ali reefs, ten minutes north of the Port Ghalib marina, dived one way along a drop-off into blue water.
Max depth0–35 m
Required levelbeginner
Entry typeboat
Visibility25 m
The dive
Villa Koraffi, which Emperor Divers lists as Villa (Kharafi), is one of five reefs grouped under the name Torfet Ali, roughly 3 km and ten minutes by boat north of the Port Ghalib marina. The five share a shape: deep blue water close in, sections of steep drop-off, and shallower sand shelves and reef tongues behind them. That means the guide sets the profile rather than the site setting it, and the same reef is a shallow potter for one group and a deep drift for another.
What separates this particular reef from the other four is the hard coral garden, which Emperor Divers rates the most varied in the area. The dive is normally run one way, so the garden falls either at the start or at the end depending on which direction you swim. Along the drop-off itself dart gobies hover off the edge, and the guides work with a resident hawksbill turtle they call Barney. The OBIS occurrence records inside 1.5 km of the pin match that small-reef picture rather than a big-animal one: blue-spotted ribbontail ray, blackfin dartfish, twoband anemonefish, giant moray, titan triggerfish and bluefin trevally.
The published numbers are group figures for Torfet Ali, not measurements of this reef alone. Divers Guide lists the group as boat access only, all levels, 20 to 30 m visibility with 25 m as the average, and a maximum of 35 m. Its seven logged dive reports, filed by Dutch clubs between 2016 and 2018, record maximum depths of 10 to 30 m, water between 21 and 27 C, and 20 to 35 m visibility. There is no shore entry anywhere in the group: everything starts from a day boat or a RIB out of Port Ghalib.
- Hard-coral garden that Emperor Divers rates the most varied of the five Torfet Ali reefs
- Drop-off into blue water running alongside the shallow shelf
- Dart gobies hovering off the reef edge
- A resident hawksbill turtle the Port Ghalib guides know by name
- Ten minutes by boat from the marina
Please note before you go
- The reef edge falls steeply into open blue water and the group is logged to 35 m, so depth is easy to lose track of
- Current is recorded as usually limited but sometimes strong, and the dive is normally run as a one-way boat drift
Access & rules
Mandatory requirementsGetting there
Boat only, from the Port Ghalib marina. Divers Guide puts Torfet Ali about 3 km from the port and five to ten minutes' sailing; Emperor Divers says ten minutes north. Day boats and RIBs both run the group, and one of the five, Torfet Abu Shash, has no mooring at all and needs the RIB. Extra Divers' Three Corners Fayrouz base, five minutes' drive south of the marina, runs its boat trips out of Port Ghalib.
Operator
Access to the site runs through a local operator.
Rules and permits
Divers Guide records no permit for the site. Local operators add a daily reef-conservation fee on top of the diving: the Extra Divers base at Three Corners Fayrouz Plaza, which sends its boats out of Port Ghalib, listed a reef-save fee of EUR 3 per person per day on its page as archived in August 2019. Confirm the current amount with whoever takes you.
Season
No source gives a season for this reef specifically. The only seasonal data attached to it are the logged dives, which fall between November and May and record water from 21 C at the cold end to 27 C. Because it is a ten-minute boat run rather than an offshore reef, the practical constraint is the wind on the day rather than the month.
Conditions
Visibility25 m
Currentmoderate
Surgenot sourced
WaterSalt water
Depth range0–35 m
Environmentreef
Coralnot sourced
Crowdsnot sourced
Divers Guide gives 20 to 30 m visibility with 25 m as the average, over a sand bottom broken by coral. The seven dives logged there by Dutch clubs between 2016 and 2018 came back with 20 to 35 m visibility, water between 21 and 27 C, and maximum depths of 10 to 30 m. That is what a normal day looks like: warm, clear, and as deep as the guide chooses to go.
On current: The sources do not fully agree. Divers Guide records the current at Torfet Ali as 'limited, strong' — usually little, occasionally serious. Emperor Divers describes reef fish facing into it as divers pass, and runs the neighbouring Torfet Ali site Pipeline as a north-to-south drift. Take the stronger reading when you brief it: plan a one-way dive with a boat pick-up rather than a return to the shot line.
Questions & answers
How deep is Villa Koraffi?
Divers Guide gives 35 m as the maximum for the Torfet Ali group that Villa Koraffi belongs to, and the seven dives logged there between 2016 and 2018 turned in maximum depths of 10 to 30 m. The reef edge itself keeps falling into open blue water past that, so the depth is set by your plan rather than by the bottom. The hard coral garden sits shallow enough to spend the end of the dive on.
How do you get to Villa Koraffi?
By boat from the Port Ghalib marina and nothing else — there is no shore entry. Emperor Divers puts the Torfet Ali sites ten minutes north of the port; Divers Guide gives about 3 km and five to ten minutes' sailing. Day boats and RIBs both run the group, though one of the five sites, Torfet Abu Shash, has no mooring and can only be reached by RIB.
Is Villa Koraffi good for beginners?
Yes, with a guide. Divers Guide labels Torfet Ali an easy site suitable for all levels, and Emperor Divers describes the group as one where divers who want to stay shallow work the sand shelves and reef tongues while experienced divers drift deeper. The thing a new diver needs watching for is the drop-off, which falls away into open water with no visual floor.
Can you snorkel Villa Koraffi?
There is no source describing snorkelling here, and the practical answer is no. The site is a boat drop on a reef edge with no shore access, run as a one-way dive along a drop-off. Emperor Divers sends snorkellers to Marsa Mubarak, the large bay about 5 km south of the marina, which it describes as suitable for divers and snorkellers at every level.
Is there current at Villa Koraffi?
Usually not much, but it can run. Divers Guide records the current at Torfet Ali as limited to strong, and Emperor Divers describes small reef fish facing into it as divers pass along the coral garden. The neighbouring Torfet Ali site Pipeline is run as a north-to-south drift, so brief the dive as one-way with a boat pick-up rather than a swim back to the shot.
What will I see at Villa Koraffi?
The draw is the hard coral garden, which Emperor Divers rates the most varied of the five Torfet Ali reefs, plus dart gobies hanging in the water over the drop-off and a hawksbill turtle the guides there treat as a resident. OBIS occurrence records within 1.5 km of the pin add blue-spotted ribbontail ray, twoband anemonefish, giant moray, titan triggerfish, sea goldies and bluefin trevally. Divers Guide's log reports for the group also list napoleon wrasse, tuna and amberjack.
What is the visibility and water temperature like?
Divers Guide gives 20 to 30 m visibility for Torfet Ali with 25 m as the average. The seven dives logged on the site between 2016 and 2018 recorded 20 to 35 m visibility and water between 21 and 27 C, the cold end in the winter months. Those logs run from November to May, so there is no summer figure attached to the site itself.
Do I need a permit or pay a fee to dive Villa Koraffi?
Divers Guide records no permit requirement for the site. What you will pay is the daily reef-conservation fee the local centres add to the diving: Extra Divers' Three Corners Fayrouz base, which runs its boats out of Port Ghalib, listed EUR 3 per person per day on its page as archived in July 2019. Amounts change, so confirm the current one with the operator taking you.
Life recorded at Villa Koraffi
50 species within 1.5 km · OBISTaeniura lymmaoccasional · 5 recordsBalistoides viridescensrare · 1 recordsGymnothorax javanicusrare · 1 records
Fistularia commersoniirare · 4 records
Arothron diadematusrare · 3 records
Chaetodon austriacusrare · 3 records
All 50 species recorded in this area
| Species | How often | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Taeniura lymma | occasional | 5 |
| Fistularia commersonii | rare | 4 |
| Arothron diadematus | rare | 3 |
| Chaetodon austriacus | rare | 3 |
| Abudefduf vaigiensis | rare | 3 |
| Naso elegans | rare | 3 |
| Paracirrhites forsteri | rare | 2 |
| Genicanthus caudovittatus | rare | 2 |
| Thalassoma rueppellii | rare | 2 |
| Zebrasoma desjardinii | rare | 2 |
| Ctenochaetus striatus | rare | 2 |
| Chaetodon auriga | rare | 2 |
| Cyclichthys spilostylus | rare | 2 |
| Diodon hystrix | rare | 2 |
| Epibulus insidiator | rare | 2 |
| Pomacentrus sulfureus | rare | 2 |
| Priacanthus hamrur | rare | 1 |
| Ptereleotris evides | rare | 1 |
| Rhinecanthus assasi | rare | 1 |
| Scarus niger | rare | 1 |
| Scolopsis ghanam | rare | 1 |
| Scorpaenopsis diabolus | rare | 1 |
| Synodus variegatus | rare | 1 |
| Acanthopleura vaillantii | rare | 1 |
| Nembrotha megalocera | rare | 1 |
| Acanthaster benziei | rare | 1 |
| Caesio varilineata | rare | 1 |
| Glaucostegus halavi | rare | 1 |
| Oxycheilinus digramma | rare | 1 |
| Abudefduf sordidus | rare | 1 |
| Balistoides viridescens | rare | 1 |
| Chromis viridis | rare | 1 |
| Ostracion cyanurus | rare | 1 |
| Pseudanthias squamipinnis | rare | 1 |
| Arothron hispidus | rare | 1 |
| Amphiprion bicinctus | rare | 1 |
| Caranx melampygus | rare | 1 |
| Chaetodon semilarvatus | rare | 1 |
| Cheilio inermis | rare | 1 |
| Acanthurus sohal | rare | 1 |
| Caesio suevica | rare | 1 |
| Cheilodipterus macrodon | rare | 1 |
| Chlorurus sordidus | rare | 1 |
| Echeneis naucrates | rare | 1 |
| Gymnothorax javanicus | rare | 1 |
| Heniochus intermedius | rare | 1 |
| Mulloidichthys vanicolensis | rare | 1 |
| Myripristis murdjan | rare | 1 |
| Parupeneus forsskali | rare | 1 |
| Platax orbicularis | rare | 1 |
Nearby sites in Port Ghalib
Explore all sitesPort Ghalib Sand-Oasis1.0 km
Port GhalibPort Ghalib Palace1.6 km
Port GhalibThe Palace jetty entry onto the Port Ghalib house reef: stairs into the water, then north or south along a wall that runs past 30 m.
Port Ghalib Fishmarket2.4 km
Port GhalibFayrouz Hous Reef North3.3 km
Port GhalibThe northern end of the Three Corners Fayrouz Plaza house reef at Port Ghalib: a shallow lagoon behind a reef flat, a pontoon to get past it, and a near-vertical drop-off on the outside.
Fayrouz House Reef South3.7 km
Port GhalibThe southern leg of the Three Corners Fayrouz house reef: lagoon inside, vertical wall outside, entered off a 368 m jetty.
Marsa Mubarak5.3 km
Port GhalibA shallow seagrass bay a few kilometres from Port Ghalib where the dugongs actually are, and where the dive plan is mostly hovering.
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