Route Description - North Safari
M/Y Golden Dolphin offers a mixture of reef and wreck diving around the northern Red Sea for 7 night charters on the North Safari itinerary. She departs from Hurghada and visits sites like Abu Nuhas, Ras Mohamed, Thistlegorm and Dunraven. The area of Abu Nuhas has 4 well known wrecks offering specular dives with sightings of a variety of fish life. The Red Sea has a high temperature and salt content due to its isolated location between Asia and Africa with a narrow passage to the Indian Ocean.
Top Dive Sites
Abu Nuhas Area
The Abu Nuhas area offers some of the best wreck diving in the northern Red Sea where at least 7 wrecks have sunk. The four main wrecks are the Carnatic, Chrisoula K, Giannis D and the Kimon M that attract an array of great marine life and many types of hard and soft coral.
The Carnatic is a former 90 metre long British cargo ship that sunk in 1869 and is the oldest wreck in the Abu Nuhas area. When the ship sunk she was carrying wine and gold hence some people knowing it as the Wine Wreck. The wreck now lies in 22 metres of water with soft coral covering the entire wooden hull offering great picture opportunities.
The Chrisoula K is a former 98 metre long Greek cargo vessel that was transporting tiles to Italy and is the reason it is known as the Tile Wreck. She sunk in 1981 after hitting the Abu Nuhas Reef fortunately with no losses of life. The wreck is broken into 2 parts with the stern 28 metres down on the sandy bottom and the bow in the shallow waters at around 4 metres.
The Giannis D is a former 100 metre long Japanese freighter that sunk in 1983 while transporting wood. The wreck is broken into 3 parts with the bow and stern in good shape however the middle is in bad condition. The main entrance to the wreck is at the stern where you can reach a pocket of trapped air followed by the engine room.
The Kimon M is a former 120 metre long cargo vessel carrying lentils when it sunk hence the reason it is known as Lentil Wreck. She sunk in 1978 after hitting the Sha’ab Abu Nuhas Reef and now lies 32 metres down.
Ras Mohamed Area
Ras Mohamed was declared a national park in 1983 and is located off the southern coast of the Sinai Peninsula in the Red Sea. This are is known for its steep wall diving that is covered in bright colored corals descending up to 100 metres down.
Dives at the Shark and Yolanda reefs at Ras Mohamed National Park will be done before moving to the next dive site. The corals here are fed by nutrient rich water attracting many species of fish from turtles to red mouthed grouper.
The Dunraven Wreck was a British steam sail ship was on route from Bombay to Liverpool when she struck a reef in 1976. She came to rest upside down just outside Ras Mohamed National Park and years later she is covered in coral that attracts many yellow goatfish, baby barracuda and stonefish. Seeing old hessian ropes, remains of wooden cargo boxes and enormous boilers bring the once magnificent steam ship reality back to life.
The Thistlegorm Wreck is an iconic dive site and is a ‘must dive’ on many diver’s lists. It is the most well-known wreck in the Red Sea and one of the most spectacular wrecks in the world. Diving here is like diving an underwater museum with its locomotives, Bedford trucks, triumph motorbikes and variety of ammunition. As this site has a maximum depth of 32 metres it is advised for advanced divers only. Depending on the weather and current conditions a night dive may be done here.