Dive Four Seasons Sharm

Right at the southern tip of the peninsula lies the once sleepy fishing village of Sharm el Sheikh, now one of the prime resort towns on the Red Sea and close to the world-renowned dive sites of the Ras Mohammed National Park and the Straights of Tiran.

The prime reason for Sharm's superb world-class diving is its position at the point where the Red Sea splits, and helped as well by the plethora of wrecks that litter the coast. Understandably, given the constant sunshine and relative lack of time change, this has become a favoured destination for European divers. The dive centre is no more than a five minute walk from any of the rooms and is a very professional operation.

From the resort, the dive sites of the Straights of Tiran are 15 minutes away, while the more distant sites of the Ras Mohammed National Marine Park are right at the tip of the arrowhead dividing the Gulf of Suez from the Gulf of Aqaba. Both areas have much to commend them, and there are well over 35 sites to choose from, so you could easily spend a few weeks without diving the same spot twice.

The topography of the reefs varies from gentle slopes to full walls; the one thing they all have in common is that the top of the reef is only a matter of feet beneath the surface, making the sites good for snorkellers too. Corals, both hard and soft, abound and are in generally excellent condition.

The variety of sea life is amazing, ranging from the trademark technicolor anthias to schools of hammerhead shark, jack and barracuda in season. Giant green morays are present on every dive, as well as lionfish of every size and colour. The colours are incredibly vivid and altogether there are nearly as many fish species as on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. There are also a number of wreck dives available.