Elphinstone Reef

Verified2026-09-11 checkedWallDriftPelagic

An offshore reef with sheer walls on both flanks and oceanic whitetips in autumn.

Depth: 10–40 m33–131 ft
Difficulty: Advanced
Entry: Boat
Typical current: Strong
Coordinates: 25°18.516′N 34°51.816′E
Activities: Scuba · Technical

A narrow reef running north–south in open water off Marsa Alam, with walls dropping beyond recreational limits on both sides and plateaus at each end. Oceanic whitetip sharks are regular in autumn. There is no shelter, so the dive is entirely current- and weather-dependent and boats will cancel. Depth discipline matters: the wall gives no visual cue that you are deeper than planned.

Boat from Marsa Alam, around 30 minutes offshore.

Best season

ExcellentSep–Nov
GoodMay–Jun
FairDec–Apr
FairJul–Aug

Before you get in

Past 30 m, where no-stop time and gas both go quickly and nitrogen narcosis starts to show.
A wall. There is no bottom in sight to judge against, so depth is kept by the gauge alone — and it is easy to end up deeper than intended.
Recorded as a site with strong current. Settle your gas reserve, when you would call the dive, and your surface signal before you get in.
A drift dive: you do not come back to where you went in, so boat pickup and an SMB are part of the plan rather than extras.

Taken from this site’s recorded depth, type and current, and nothing else. An empty list is not a safe site — the sea on the day, the local geography and the boat traffic are not in it. The briefing on the spot comes first.

Conditions

Water temperature: 28.2°C83°F
Wave height: 0.9 m3 ft
Air temperature: 28°C82°F
Wind speed: 15.8 km/h9.8 mph

Updated 2026-10-07 16:15 UTC · Source: Open-Meteo

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0)

Conditions are reported for information only. Assess the site yourself and follow your guide and your training.

No live conditions for this site yet.

We only show numbers we can attribute to a source.

Sea state and tide

On a date

Tide · 10/7

High03:500.36 m
Low10:12-0.15 m
Low22:38-0.14 m

Forecast heights against mean sea level. Real tides in a bay, a harbour or over a flat can differ — check an official tide table before you get in.

Pick a day to see its tide

Only wave height and wind are scored, because those are what close a boat ramp or a shore entry. Water temperature is reported and never scored: 12°C is an ordinary dive in a drysuit and punishing in a 3 mm, and a number that cannot see your suit has no business marking it down. Stars do not decide whether you get in — you and your guide do, on the day.

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0)

Marine life you may see

Scalefin anthiasPseudanthias squamipinnisCommon
Soft coralDendronephthya spp.Common
Longnose hawkfishOxycirrhites typusRare
Oceanic whitetip sharkCarcharhinus longimanusSep–DecSeasonal
Grey reef sharkCarcharhinus amblyrhynchosCommon
Scalloped hammerheadSphyrna lewiniJun–AugSeasonal
Staghorn coralAcropora spp.Common
TrumpetfishAulostomus chinensisCommon
Emperor angelfishPomacanthus imperatorCommon
Titan triggerfishBalistoides viridescensCommon
Fire coralMillepora spp.Common
Spanish dancerHexabranchus sanguineusRare

From divers

What people who were in the water reported. Not a forecast, and not a judgement about whether the site is safe to dive.

No recent reports from divers. If you dived here in the last two weeks, you can say how it was.

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