Liveaboard Diving in Elphinstone

What to expect on an Elphinstone Reef Liveaboard

Liveaboards to Elphinstone Reef take divers to one of the best-loved dive sites in the Red Sea. Around 30 km/19 miles North of Marsa Alam, the reef is named after the British Admiral George Elphinstone due to his time spent in Egypt during Napoleon's time. It lies just under the surface with only a few small waves to indicate it is even there. From the surface, it looks like a long, yellow oblong under the surface, with a shallow reef and then deep drop-offs to the sides.

Elphinstone is a very popular site for liveaboards running dive safaris in the Red Sea. There will normally be a few dive boats here during the day, although not too many, as this site is only for advanced divers. Choosing an Egypt Liveaboard to visit Elphinstone will allow you to get the first dives of the day before anyone else arrives.

The site offers crystal clear waters, coral and gorgonia just meters under the surface, and a host of beautiful tropical fish. As for the bigger aquatic life, down on the plateaus at either end of the reef, you can encounter oceanic whitetips and hammerheads in the winter months. Mantas and the fierce tiger sharks are more common in the warmer season. Whatever the season, though, Elphinstone is teeming with life and makes a fantastic dive.

Daily Schedule (example)

Morning - The first dive will be early, around 6 am to make the most of the peaceful early mornings. The dive briefing will be before breakfast, but you should be able to grab a quick coffee and snack while the guide fills you in on the reef. The dives will be from a small tender boat, which will drop the divers according to the current direction.

Afternoon - After lunch, there will normally be another two shallower dives. Divers should be careful with their profile since they can be doing five dives a day, leading us onto the night dive! There is no night diving in many of the best dive sites in Egypt, but at Elphinstone, it is allowed. Liveaboards can offer sunset dives on the walls and reefs. This is only for those who feel comfortable, though the depth and currents are not for inexperienced divers.

Elphinstone Underwater

The reef consists of two plateaus at the North and South and one Eastern and one Western wall, each good for seeing different life. The Northern plateau drops down like a set of steps only a hundred meters wide. They begin at 5 meters/16 ft. and sloop to 20 meters/65 ft before a sharp fall to 40. This is a great place to see smaller pelagics, such as giant trevally and reef sharks.

The South Plateau starts around 25 meters/80 ft and slopes gently to 40 meters/130 ft before dropping off at around 45 meters/150 ft. This is the place to see oceanic whitetips passing by with their Pilot fish followers. These beautiful sharks come surprisingly close, making this a unique opportunity for stunning photographs and close encounters. For technical divers with the right training, around 60 meters, a tunnel passes between the two walls called the Elphinstone Arch. The arch is home to an intriguing old fable that a sarcophagus-shaped outcrop of coral contains the remains of an Egyptian pharaoh!

The two walls on either side start at 1 meter and go down into the abyss with hundreds of little ledges and hiding places for all kinds of creatures. Beautiful corals, triggerfish, Napoleon wrasse, and great barracuda are just some of the inhabitants here. Elphinstone seems to have it all between the four sides, and if luck is on your side, there have been sightings of hammerheads and whale sharks there, too.

Top Tips for Elphinstone Reef

  • The current here is fairly regular North to South but that isn't guaranteed and it is strong around 2 knots or more so be prepared.
  • The site is very popular; later in the day, it can get a little busier; a liveaboard is best as you will get in the water before anyone else.
  • Set a depth warning on your computer. No one knows how deep the waters around Elphinstone go; the clear water makes it easier to go deeper than you intended.

Getting to Elphinstone

Egypt Liveaboards to Elphinstone usually depart from Port Ghalib near Marsa Alam or Hurghada. Both have international airports with flights from most major European airports and connecting flights from afield. Transfer between the two takes around four hours and will be an additional charge.

Itineraries vary depending on the departure and length of sailing, but there are certain sites the majority visit. If your trip includes Elphinstone and other sites, you will most likely be heading to Daedalus and the Brothers. Sometimes, you will transit to Elphinstone overnight and arrive early in the morning at the site. Alternatively, there are day boat trips to Elphinstone leaving from Marsa Alam.

 


Elphinstone Diving Reviews

  • 8.9 Fabulous
  • 395 Verified Reviews
  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Taylor D
  • United States United States

It was nice, the corals were healthy, but it was a little busy since day trips can also go there.

Diving Elphinstone in September on the Blue Pearl

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Aaron T
  • United States United States

Amazing. 6 sharks on one dive alone.

Diving Elphinstone in November on the Blue Horizon

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • terry M
  • United States United States

Found the Oceanic white tip !!!!! 😊👍

Diving Elphinstone in May on the Blue Horizon

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Colin G
  • United States United States

Like the others stunning diving, we saw a Thresher Shark in the blue and were surrounded by a giant bait ball for most of the dive it was breath taking

Diving Elphinstone in May on the Blue Horizon

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Eric T
  • United States United States

Very strong current and early morning is very crowded. Afternoon dive was peaceful, we had the station alone.

Diving Elphinstone in June on the Tillis

  • 8.4 Very good
  • Karen N
  • United States United States

Hammerheads, nudibranchs, eels, octopus, and more. Other group saw an oceanic whitetip. Beautiful reefs.

Diving Elphinstone in July on the Discovery I

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Elizabeth P
  • United States United States

The Longimanus shark was making regular appearances.

Diving Elphinstone in September on the Blue

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Erica H
  • United States United States

Very busy, vis wasn't very good on that day.

Diving Elphinstone in September on the Tillis

  • 8.4 Very good
  • Paul H
  • United States United States

Another great reef, but I actually preferred the less famous reefs because of fewer divers.

Diving Elphinstone in September on the Ghazala Explorer

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Greg K
  • United States United States

Beautiful and healthy corals we’re the highlight

Diving Elphinstone in October on the Blue Storm

  • 6.8 Review score
  • Jim B
  • United States United States

2/10. Go deep and maybe see something. Boring!

Diving Elphinstone in October on the JP Marine

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Robert S
  • United States United States

Outstanding. Saw the hammerheads at this reef and the oceanic white tips here

Diving Elphinstone in November on the Emperor Elite

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Kris H
  • United States United States

We were blessed with lots of shark action.

Diving Elphinstone in November on the Ghazala Explorer

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Mary F
  • United States United States

Elphinstone is the most colorful and beautiful reef I have ever seen!

Diving Elphinstone in November on the Tillis

  • 7.6 Good
  • Sergei K
  • United States United States

We saw hummerheads and oceanic white tip sharks. Probably the best dives of the whole trip.

Diving Elphinstone in November on the Sea Serpent

  • 8.0 Very good
  • Andrew D
  • United States United States

We were not able to dive at elfin stone because the current was too bad

Diving Elphinstone in March on the SS Glorious Miss Nouran

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • PETER G
  • United States United States

Too many Liveaboards at one location, but the diving was great.

Diving Elphinstone in April on the JP Marine

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Andrew P
  • United States United States

Elphinstone had some of the more colorful reefs and abundant fish than the other sites.

Diving Elphinstone in May on the Emperor Elite

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Ankit M
  • United States United States

Only 1 dive here but it was still quite pretty, not the best conditions the day we dives though

Diving Elphinstone in June on the Sea Serpent Excellence

  • 7.6 Good
  • Mark B
  • United States United States

Blue water would have been exciting but in the first week of November, there were no sharks present due to higher water temperatures.

Diving Elphinstone in October on the Blue Horizon

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Juha V
  • Finland Finland

Elphinstone never fails! We could dive on top of the reef for several days as the coral is just so fantastic there.

Diving Elphinstone in December on the Blue Seas

  • 8.0 Very good
  • Ken C
  • Belgium Belgium

We did north en south plateau full of fish

Diving Elphinstone in October on the JP Marine

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Volker W
  • Germany Germany

Longimanus was exciting. Too many divers.

Diving Elphinstone in October on the Sea Serpent Contessa

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Duncan S
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

Elphinstone didn’t have as much of the large wildlife but the coral and small wildlife were awesome.

Diving Elphinstone in October on the JP Marine

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • ELI A
  • Portugal Portugal

Nice dives, but we expected to see more sharks

Diving Elphinstone in November on the Tillis

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Maxime C
  • Canada Canada

Very Nice dive site. Lot of marine life

Diving Elphinstone in March on the Blue

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Richard D
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

Didn't see anything big but the mid morning sunlight made the coral and small aquatic life pop beautifully

Diving Elphinstone in March on the Blue

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Nasr A
  • Jordan Jordan

Elphinstone is the highlight of this trip, especially the southern platue.

Diving Elphinstone in March on the Sea Serpent Contessa

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Pascal J
  • Switzerland Switzerland

I was once in Elphinstone in May and saw hammerheads. This time the visibility was poor and I saw nothing in the blue.

Diving Elphinstone in April on the JP Marine

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • luis fernando R
  • Spain Spain

Not lucky days, bad visibility

Diving Elphinstone in April on the JP Marine

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Richard A
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

Excellent, nice corals at a shallow depth, with the potential to see larger fish down deeper if required.

Diving Elphinstone in April on the JP Marine

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Susana M
  • Spain Spain

No big fishes, bad visibility, bad luck this time

Diving Elphinstone in April on the JP Marine

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Michel B
  • Belgium Belgium

Always nice Elphinstone (not my first time) Would have loved a better visibility and some longimanus sharks, but it was still too early in the season

Diving Elphinstone in April on the JP Marine

  • 8.0 Very good
  • MARK E
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

One of my all time favourite dive sites. Saw hammerheads.

Diving Elphinstone in April on the Blue Melody

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Clément L
  • France France

Only one dive because of the weather.

Diving Elphinstone in April on the Ghazala Explorer

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Nachshon M
  • Israel Israel

This place is amazing - out of the blue came two whale sharks to eat from a fish bowl, escorts by a large longimanus. I will be back there soon.

Diving Elphinstone in May on the Sea Serpent Grand

  • 8.0 Very good
  • Camilla Adamsen N
  • Denmark Denmark

Amazing! Spotted longimanus

Diving Elphinstone in May on the JP Marine

  • 7.2 Good
  • Ji W
  • Canada Canada

Over hyped. We saw one oceanic whitetip by the boat. The dives over the reef were below average.

Diving Elphinstone in May on the JP Marine

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Michael R
  • Switzerland Switzerland

Also a very beautiful reef, we didn’t have a lot of current which gave us the chance to explore the reef in detail.

Diving Elphinstone in May on the Emperor Elite

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Emily P
  • Malaysia Malaysia

There was a gentle and strong current while diving, we also heard oil digging in the ocean that we didn’t enjoy.

Diving Elphinstone in June on the Blue

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Christian
  • Netherlands Netherlands

Absolute Highlight of the tour! Hammer-heads! :-)

Diving Elphinstone in June on the Tillis

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Billy L
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

Was lovely, sad we didn't see oceanic white tips but we did see hammerheads which are also very cool.

Diving Elphinstone in June on the Tillis

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Layla S
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

Limited due to the weather

Diving Elphinstone in June on the JP Marine

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Erica V
  • Netherlands Netherlands

Great: Hammerheads and grey reefsharks

Diving Elphinstone in June on the Tillis

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Joe T
  • Ireland Ireland

Excellent, lots of large fish, Hammerheads, Manta, and Eagle Ray

Diving Elphinstone in July on the Sea Serpent Grand

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Rolf L
  • Netherlands Netherlands

Always nice and we did see hammerheads!

Diving Elphinstone in July on the Tillis

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Catherine M
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

Unfortunately only one hammerhead, but great as always

Diving Elphinstone in July on the Tillis

  • 8.4 Very good
  • Florian M
  • Germany Germany

Very nice, shark and dolphins on the safetystop

Diving Elphinstone in July on the Blue Melody

  • 8.0 Very good
  • Nichola D
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

The sea was very rough in this area

Diving Elphinstone in August on the Discovery I

  • 6.4 Review score
  • Juliane B
  • Germany Germany

too many boats even in shoulder season

Diving Elphinstone in August on the Discovery I

  • 7.2 Good
  • Nathan A
  • France France

Ok, we were unlucky with hammerheads though.

Diving Elphinstone in August on the Discovery I

  • 7.2 Good
  • Dirk S
  • Germany Germany

Great, with plenty of longimanus action

Diving Elphinstone in September on the Sea Serpent Grand

  • 5.6 Review score
  • Mariska D
  • South Africa South Africa

Very good saw the Longimanus there

Diving Elphinstone in September on the JP Marine

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Matthias G
  • Switzerland Switzerland

Excellent! I think the 1 1/2 years pandemic has done the reef and its inhabitants good

Diving Elphinstone in September on the SS Glorious Miss Nouran

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Maximilian L
  • Germany Germany

Nice reef but it didn't meet my expectations.

Diving Elphinstone in September on the Emperor Asmaa

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • howard E
  • Australia Australia

The current was very strong so we only went for one dive here staying close to the reef that was full of fish.

Diving Elphinstone in September on the Andromeda

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • howard E
  • Australia Australia

The current was very strong so we only went for one dive here staying close to the reef that was full of fish.

Diving Elphinstone in September on the Andromeda

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Florian S
  • Germany Germany

Ausgezeichnet, Hammerhaie!

Diving Elphinstone in September on the Blue Horizon

  • 8.0 Very good
  • Ross P
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

Very good, lots of oceanic white tip sharks.

Diving Elphinstone in October on the Discovery I

  • 8.0 Very good
  • Pierre M
  • France France

Good - nice different dives and less peole

Diving Elphinstone in October on the Discovery II

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Marc B
  • Switzerland Switzerland

Good dives. One longimanus made a quick pass. Still a beautiful reef.

Diving Elphinstone in October on the Discovery II

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Igor
  • Russia Russia

Nice place to explore corals and small fishes, we've met there a shark on first day of safari!

Diving Elphinstone in October on the Emperor Elite

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Nenad B
  • Serbia Serbia

Great. Saw Longimanus and school of hamerheads

Diving Elphinstone in October on the Blue Seas

  • 5.6 Review score
  • Calin M
  • Romania Romania

Nice, I've not seen the hammer head

Diving Elphinstone in October on the Tillis

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Gabriel C
  • Spain Spain

Great! We saw a school of hammerheads twice!

Diving Elphinstone in October on the Tillis

  • 6.8 Review score
  • Siegfried M
  • Austria Austria

to much waves on, no diving possible

Diving Elphinstone in October on the Emperor Asmaa

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Christa K
  • Finland Finland

We did only two dives here, beautiful reef but didnt see so much nbig stuff.

Diving Elphinstone in November on the Tillis

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • John G
  • Ireland Ireland

Excellent - Oceanic White Tips on both dives.

Diving Elphinstone in November on the Ghazala Explorer

  • 5.6 Review score
  • Gordon H
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

Great, close up encounters with sharks But of a shame the boat decided to only do two dives here and move to a close reef at midday, could really have done with staying for dive 3 and 1st dive the following day

Diving Elphinstone in November on the Blue Horizon

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Fabian S
  • Germany Germany

Okay, lots of divers in the water and only 1 dive

Diving Elphinstone in November on the Blue

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Paul G
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

Quite a lot of current on the firt dive so not for the faint hearted!

Diving Elphinstone in November on the JP Marine

  • 8.4 Very good
  • Tommy B
  • Norway Norway

Great dive with oceanic white tip

Diving Elphinstone in November on the Discovery II

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Stephan R
  • France France

am Elphinstone immer viel Wildlive

Diving Elphinstone in November on the Discovery II

  • 7.2 Good
  • Jerome R
  • France France

Very crowded that day. Few sharks.

Diving Elphinstone in November on the Sea Serpent Contessa

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Christopher H
  • Australia Australia

Thoroughly enjoyed, good vis reef in good condition lots of sealife

Diving Elphinstone in December on the Blue

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Christian L
  • Germany Germany

Perfect, habe Seen longimanus

Diving Elphinstone in December on the Tillis

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Linus G
  • Switzerland Switzerland

Lots of Drift! No sharks when we were there.

Diving Elphinstone in December on the Hammerhead I

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Mikkel C
  • Denmark Denmark

Beautiful reef and great vis!

Diving Elphinstone in March on the Discovery II

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Milda P
  • Lithuania Lithuania

Very very nice aquatic life, high chance to see hammerhead sharks, insane reef wall- so much life in it

Diving Elphinstone in March on the JP Marine

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Christian J
  • Germany Germany

Pretty uneventful. One Grey Reefshark. No Longis. Still the wall is always impressive, with lots of massive fish schools flushing us.

Diving Elphinstone in March on the Discovery II

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Alex F
  • Netherlands Netherlands

Hammerhead and nice wrecks. What more do you want

Diving Elphinstone in April on the Sea Story

  • 8.0 Very good
  • Christian S
  • Switzerland Switzerland

Great, we saw several different sharks (silk, thresher, hammerhead, longimanus)

Diving Elphinstone in April on the MY Odyssey Liveaboard

  • 8.4 Very good
  • wybe K
  • Netherlands Netherlands

Same as The Brothers, crowded lots of boats at the dive site, nice corals but no pelagics around.

Diving Elphinstone in May on the Discovery II

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Eleanor S
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

A bit overcrowded with divers but a good challenging dive

Diving Elphinstone in June on the Sunshine

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Mahbod T
  • Canada Canada

The least favorite but still great. Very crowded dive site 40+ divers in the water with lots of boat around. We only did one dives and ended up moving to a different location

Diving Elphinstone in June on the Discovery II

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • William P
  • Canada Canada

Again, amazing. The corals and fish life are both incredible

Diving Elphinstone in June on the Discovery II

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Sébastien S
  • Switzerland Switzerland

Poor visibility, only one dive.

Diving Elphinstone in June on the SS Glorious Miss Nouran

  • 9.2 Superb
  • VANESSA S
  • Switzerland Switzerland

Great drift dive with hammerhead shark and lots of stunning coral

Diving Elphinstone in July on the Sea Serpent Contessa

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Stefani E
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

Some strong currents- good opportunity to see pelagics

Diving Elphinstone in July on the Sea Serpent Contessa

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Mark H
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom

particularly challenging, we hit a sudden, very fast down current which was a bit hairy but the dive guide was excellent. Dive 2 had to be relocated to a totally different site as conditions were too tough.

Diving Elphinstone in September on the JP Marine

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Vladimir P
  • Slovakia Slovakia

This is a very beautiful reef and we saw a hammerhead shark come right up to the reef, which is apparently quite unusual for them.

Diving Elphinstone in September on the Ocean Lovers

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Lucie Iris Pauline K
  • Switzerland Switzerland

Disappointing because no sharks :( but nice barracudas schools and reef.

Diving Elphinstone in September on the Tillis

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Anna B
  • Canada Canada

Very crowded with other divers. Saw some turtles

Diving Elphinstone in September on the Blue Seas

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Ying L
  • Germany Germany

Only did one dive there but loved the plateau

Diving Elphinstone in September on the Discovery I

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Lasse J
  • Germany Germany

One of the most beautiful reefs we have seen so far.

Diving Elphinstone in October on the Serenity

  • 7.2 Good
  • Jan V
  • Mauritania Mauritania

It's a nice reef with interesting marine life, but pretty crowded.

Diving Elphinstone in October on the Tillis

  • 4.4 Review score
  • Sven B
  • Germany Germany

no hammerheads, but 2 huge napoleons on north plateau too many divers in the water (appr. 100 at the same time) south plateau turtle, longimanus and dolphins, also here too many divers in the water

Diving Elphinstone in October on the Sunshine

  • 8.0 Very good
  • Sune Levy T
  • Denmark Denmark

Calm waters, nice reef, very crowded

Diving Elphinstone in November on the Discovery I

  • 8.4 Very good
  • Moritz-Gabriel H
  • Switzerland Switzerland

Nice Reef, no big stuff, turtles

Diving Elphinstone in January on the Tillis

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Julia H
  • Germany Germany

Maybe because of low season but felt kind of overrated

Diving Elphinstone in January on the Tillis