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Liveaboard Diving in St. Johns
What to Expect On A St John's Reef Liveaboard
Liveaboards to St. Johns, Egypt will visit this area located in the southern Red Sea, more than 200 km/ 124 miles South of Marsa Alam, St. John's island sits in the inlet of Foul Bay. It is one of a number of small islands inside the bay which, despite its ominous name, is home to some of the best waters for diving in the region. The island and the surrounding reefs are part of the Elba National Park which covers a very large area of land and islands close to the Sudanese border. Though both nations have expressed great interest in the region because of its natural beauty and international appeal the area is currently under the protection of the Egyptian National Park. This means that fortunately, the area is well protected on land and underwater. A good selection of Egyptian Liveaboards run popular itineraries to St.Johns throughout the year.
The St. John's 'reef' is actually a number of reefs all around the island. They cover around 290 square kilometres with a wealth of diverse dive sites on offer. Due to their remote location St.Johns is recommended to be visited on a liveaboard dive cruise. These reefs are home to a huge selection of beautiful hard and soft corals and numerous reef fish and sharks. There are also a huge number of atmospheric caves and caverns, swim-throughs and tunnels and deep drop-offs for spotting the bigger fish.
Daily Schedule (example)
Morning - The very first dive of the day will be as early as possible to enjoy as much time underwater as possible. After a quick snack and a coffee on board there will be a briefing from the guide on the site and conditions. Although it is one reef system the dives vary substantially, so be sure to keep a good ear out during the briefing for conditions and warnings.
After the briefing everyone will head to the dive deck and prepare, many of these dives are perfect depth for Nitrox so most people will have to analyse before kitting up. The groups will be dropped and picked up by small tenders at the dive site.
Afternoon - After a proper breakfast there will be another three dives in the afternoon with a lunch break in between. There will often be an opportunity for night or sunset dives later in the day in certain areas of the reef.
St. John's Underwater
The reefs of St. John's are varied in depth, topography and wildlife. Habili Ali to the East end of St. John's is a submerged shallow plateau with huge drop-offs on all sides. The walls are spectacular for gorgonias and black coral and anemone as well as grey reef sharks, barracuda and napoleon wrasse. There are also passing visitors with the occasional manta, oceanic whitetips and even occasional hammerheads. There is also a chance to see pods of dolphins which can appear from nowhere and take over the reef. The visibility can be up to 35 meters on a good day but the currents here gets very strong which considering the sheer drop-offs makes it a site for advanced divers only.
In addition to reefs with all-round walls like Habili Ali and Habili Gafaar there are also slightly more relaxed dives like the strangely named Dangerous Reef. Here the current is much less and Dangerous Reef benefits from a flat bottom at 20 meters instead of a deep drop-off. There are some easy swim throughs and lots of squid and eels, perfect for a night dive.
Caves are also a big attraction with St. John's Caves being one of the best. Coral encrusted swim throughs and chimneys are everywhere along with beautifully lit caverns. Unsurprisingly, eels and huge shoals of cardinal fish are a common sight here along with soft and hard corrals and all kinds of reef fish.
Top Tips for St. John's Reef
- An SMB is a must, with so many boats around these very popular sites surfacing without one can be very hazardous.
- Keep an eye on your depth gauge or consider a depth alarm on your computer especially since a lot of boats use EANitrox.
- Be very careful when diving in caverns and swimthroughs as there is hard coral and sharp rocks all around these spaces.
Getting to St. John's Reef
Most Egypt Liveaboards going to St. John's depart from Port Ghalib, 1 hour from the resort of Marsa Alam. Marsa Alam has its own international airport with connecting flights to most major European destinations. Alternatively, Hurghada airport has a wider range of departure ports but is around a four-hour transfer from Port Ghalib. Be aware that most companies will charge extra for a transfer from Hurghada to the departure port.
The reef itself is an overnight sail, around 14 hours in transit from Port Ghalib. It is possible for liveaboards to make the journey in one sailing and arrive in St. John's early morning. However, this reef is often part of an itinerary that includes Daedalus and Fury Shoals so they may stop of there first, before moving on to St. John's. Other Southern itineraries take in St. John's and the neighbouring Rocky Island and Zabargad dive sites. Liveaboards will often anchor a little further away and drop and pick up divers at the dive sites by small tenders.
St. Johns Diving Reviews
- 8.9 Fabulous
- 165 Verified Reviews
St. Johns has nice beautiful caves.
Diving St. Johns in November on the Seawolf Dominator
Corals much better than expected
Diving St. Johns in April on the Tillis
Great. Best coral I have ever seen.
Diving St. Johns in November on the Blue Horizon
Great water clarity, nice coral
Diving St. Johns in December on the Golden Dolphin II
Really interesting coral topography
Diving St. Johns in April on the Emperor Elite
Some of the reefs were spectacular and some pretty boring
Diving St. Johns in July on the JP Marine
Crystal clear nice dive site
Diving St. Johns in September on the Blue
Nice swim throughs and healthy corals, but not much marine life to see. Also, quite crowded.
Diving St. Johns in November on the Sea Serpent
St John's caves were outstanding and stands as one of my top 3 dives.
Diving St. Johns in February on the Emperor Asmaa
Good . Very nice corals but no big life at all
Diving St. Johns in December on the Emperor Elite
Great! And we managed to visit Zabargad and Rocky Island as well.
Diving St. Johns in March on the Emperor Elite
Visiting, evolving into caves of this particular reef by easy and shallow diving was amazing and wonderful !
Diving St. Johns in September on the Emperor Asmaa
It was absolutely beautiful.
Diving St. Johns in September on the Sea Serpent Contessa
Coral is very beautiful, the topography of the dive is spectacular. But there are few fish and big things
Diving St. Johns in February on the JP Marine
Very good dive sites, we enjoyed the deep dives, with several species of fish undisturbed by divers, probably due to less frequent diving in those areas. Amazing.
Diving St. Johns in June on the Tillis
The boat stops and there's nothing in the landscape. When you look down , you seem a espetacular reef. This place is not only one reef, it is a set of various reefs.
Diving St. Johns in July on the JP Marine
really beautiful geographical features
Diving St. Johns in August on the JP Marine
There were various beautiful canyons and caves. It was awesome the sun shine through the cracks.
Diving St. Johns in August on the Blue Melody
Very good. Lots of marine life and cool swim throughs.
Diving St. Johns in December on the Emperor Asmaa
Amazing huge reef - beautiful caves
Diving St. Johns in April on the JP Marine
I loved the cave system with wonderful corals.
Diving St. Johns in April on the Blue Horizon
Excellent vis on most dives, probably +30 m. And you won't see better corals (hard and soft) anywhere else.
Diving St. Johns in May on the JP Marine
Excellent diving, well planned and guided and safe. Saw lots of interesting things.
Diving St. Johns in May on the JP Marine
We had the good fortune to be the only boat, so the reefs weren't crowded. the other reefs were also great (but with more divers in the water).
Diving St. Johns in May on the JP Marine
Diving was good although the "cave" diving got a little congested at times, corls were good - relaxed diving.
Diving St. Johns in June on the Discovery II
Excellent dive spots (Big Gota, Dangerous, Small Gota) and conditions
Diving St. Johns in July on the Emperor Asmaa
Variety of dive sites, some sharks, it would be good to spend more time there.
Diving St. Johns in August on the JP Marine
Some nice dives in cave systems. A good variety of the small fishes on most sites. Schools of larger fishes not really at all. Generally healthy reef systems.
Diving St. Johns in September on the Discovery I
Excellent visibility, amazing life beneath the sea.
Diving St. Johns in September on the MY Odyssey Liveaboard
Beautiful. Rich marine life and lots of vast and colourful coral gardens, plus surreal underwater landscapes.
Diving St. Johns in November on the JP Marine
Wonderful, just the water is to worm. Sad to see the coral diing.
Diving St. Johns in September on the Blue
It's my first time in Egypt, so I can't compare it to other places. There was a variety of dive sites in this trip, from amazing to ok.
Diving St. Johns in November on the JP Marine
interesting but only a few fishes
Diving St. Johns in June on the JP Marine
The dive sites were incredible. (Although we didn’t see many sharks or other large animals.)
Diving St. Johns in August on the Emperor Asmaa
Untouched sites, labyrinths, great variety of creatures
Diving St. Johns in August on the JP Marine
I loved it, amazing dives, great corals, lots of fish +++, I will be back !
Diving St. Johns in October on the JP Marine
Disappointed apart from caves
Diving St. Johns in October on the Thunderbird
The caves were amazing with sunlight coming from the top.
Diving St. Johns in November on the Emperor Elite
I had heard so much about St John’s but it did not quite live up to expectations..A lot of dead coral and bleaching..
Diving St. Johns in November on the Blue
Beautiful aquarium sized fish and huge coral reef with caves, swim throughs & pinnacles
Diving St. Johns in November on the Blue
Really great coral formations and colorful fish
Diving St. Johns in November on the Blue
Very good - dramatic drop offs, lots of life.
Diving St. Johns in February on the Blue Seas
Beautiful, lots of small life and stunning swim throughs and caverns
Diving St. Johns in March on the Blue Seas
Best dive at UmmKhararim with caves
Diving St. Johns in March on the JP Marine
Very good. Large area with lots of reef choices.
Diving St. Johns in April on the JP Marine
Excellent diving on some seldom dived reefs. Excellent fish life and undamaged reefs.
Diving St. Johns in May on the JP Marine
Excellent. The caves and labyrinth were magnificent and clear
Diving St. Johns in July on the Tillis
On previous visits I've gone through the caves unguided, which I think I prefer, but we had great dives. The corals are just spectacular
Diving St. Johns in July on the Tillis
We dove at St Johns last year. Cavern system is amazing.
Diving St. Johns in July on the Emperor Elite
Stunning but some dives challenging due to currents
Diving St. Johns in July on the Blue Seas
okay for small stuff, not the best and a little boring
Diving St. Johns in July on the JP Marine
the "caves" were very interesting
Diving St. Johns in July on the Tillis
Atemberaubend schön, mir haben die Korallenriffe sehr gefallen
Diving St. Johns in September on the Emperor Elite
Exelent! Felt like I was the first one there! Not a single broken corall and we found the endemic fish!!
Diving St. Johns in October on the Emperor Asmaa
Sehr schöner Tauchgang mit Haien und Delfinen. War aber sehr viel los.
Diving St. Johns in November on the Royal Evolution
Great site - especially caves is an experience (when you get there before all others)
Diving St. Johns in February on the Blue Storm
Beautiful and a lot oft fish
Diving St. Johns in February on the Emperor Asmaa
Great coral little or no sightings of bigger fish
Diving St. Johns in March on the Sea Story
Very good, remote sites with very few people
Diving St. Johns in May on the JP Marine
Caves which desserve a visit at least one time in your life diver
Diving St. Johns in July on the Hammerhead II
Not what expected, quite a bit of bleaching
Diving St. Johns in August on the Discovery I
I enjoyed every minute of my time diving at the Saint Johns Reefs. Some of the sites were truly WOW! I recommend this trip for the beautiful coral gardens. Unfortunately, we did not see any sharks or larger fish, and some coral is starting to bleach. This may be due to the high water temperatures, which averaged 30 degrees Celsius. Perhaps the larger fish had moved to cooler waters or were deeper than we could dive.
Diving St. Johns in September on the Blue
Wonderful. Probably the best set of dives of the trip
Diving St. Johns in October on the Golden Dolphin
Probably the best area we did.
Diving St. Johns in October on the Tillis
It was great to visit a remote site as the only boat, but the coral was largely dead and lacked vitality.
Diving St. Johns in December on the Blue Storm