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Liveaboard Diving at The Brothers

Our guests rated liveaboard diving in The Brothers as 9.1

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Liveaboard Diving in The Brothers

What to Expect on a Liveaboard to The Brothers

Liveaboards to The Brothers are the only way to visit these reefs due to their remote location. The two islands, Big Brother and Little Brother or El Akhawein as they are known locally, lie less than a mile apart, around 67 km/ 40 miles from the coast at Al-Qusayr. For those more familiar with the Sharm el Sheikh area, that is around 200 km/ 125 miles South of the Ras Mohammed National Park.

Both islands are tiny when viewed above water; the tear-shaped little brother has only a few rocks on its flat surface. Big Brother is made much more obvious only by the 30-meter-high lighthouse that was put there by the British in the late 19th Century as a warning as to what lay beneath. However, the lighthouse was not enough to save the two ships, the Numidia and Aida, which were wrecked, one directly beneath the lighthouse!

Underwater, the Brothers are much larger; Little Brother has a few meters of shallows and a huge drop-off into the blue. Big Brother drops straight down from the side of the island; the walls on both islands are covered in soft and hard coral. These reefs are home to huge Napoleon wrasse, barracuda, and hordes of reef fish. There is also a chance to see sharks with oceanic whitetips, grey reef sharks, and hammerheads hanging around. Numerous Red Sea dive liveaboards will offer a visit to The Brothers in their itineraries.

Daily Schedule (example)

Morning - A dawn dive is normally offered before breakfast with a light snack and a briefing around 6 am before heading to the dive deck to prepare. These dives are best on Nitrox, especially since there will be four or more dives daily.

The divers will be dropped and picked up on the dive site by small tender boats with a small surface or underwater swim each way. The conditions can be quite rough on the surface, so a negative entry is best if possible. After returning to the boat for a proper breakfast and a rest, there will be a second dive before lunch.

Afternoon - After lunch, in the afternoon, there will be two more dives, likely to the shallower areas of the reef. Unfortunately, there will not be night dives at The Brothers as they are not allowed inside the marine park area for conservation and safety reasons. The Brothers' currents and surface conditions can be rough, so it isn’t the best for night diving.

The Brothers Underwater

The Brothers have long been known to be among the best dive sites in the Red Sea. The tear-shaped Little Brother is a wall dive with sheer drops on all sides. It is a feast for the eyes with gorgonias and fantastic, colorful, hard, and soft corals.

To the North, there is one exception to the underwater wall topography. A plateau sits at the edge of recreational dive limits, 40 meters/130 ft. down. This is the place to see sharks. Grey reef sharks, silvertips, and even the occasional hammerhead can be seen coming out from the blue.

Big Brother is only 1km away from Little Brother and is one of the best places to see oceanic whitetips, great hammerheads, and the more common reef sharks.

In addition to the big fish, Big Brother has two shipwrecks sitting to the North, ironically just beneath the lighthouse. Lying stem to stern on the sloping walls of the island, Numidia is the larger of the two. The wreck starts at 8 meters/26 ft. with the stem of the boat, but the ship's main body starts around 20 meters/65 ft. The Stern is around 80 meters/260 ft., allowing technical divers to explore an area inaccessible to most other visitors.

The smaller Aida also provides a dive for recreational and technical divers starting shallow and reaching 60 meters/196 ft. Both wrecks are covered in corals and fish and make fantastic dives, although divers should be aware that the currents on both wrecks can be severe.

Top Tips for the Brothers

  • The currents here are very strong, and with very deep waters on every side, a safety stop on the slightly sheltered shallow reef is a wise move.
  • A depth alarm on your computer is a good idea, given the tremendous drop-offs and 30-meter-plus (100-feet) visibility.
  • Plentiful thermal protection is a good idea since the currents here make for some serious thermoclines.

Getting to The Brothers

Only accessible by diving from a liveaboard the Brothers are an overnight sail from land. Egyptian liveaboards depart from either Hurghada or Marsa Alam; some depart from one and disembark at the other, the advantage being less time spent sailing back, so more time diving. Those departing Marsa Alam are typically part of an itinerary that also takes in Daedalus and Elphinstone reefs. Hurghada to Marsa Alam itineraries on the other hand often visit the Northern wrecks before heading down to The Brothers.

Both Hurghada and Marsa Alam have their own airports close to the departure ports offering international flights from mainland Europe and connections further afield. It is worth noting that transfer between the two resorts is around 4 hours and can involve an extra charge.

The Brothers Islands are remote and can only be dived by liveaboard, guaranteeing pristine dive sites and thrilling encounters with big pelagics.

The Brothers Diving Reviews

  • Rating 9.1 out of 10
  • 9.1 Superb
  • Rating 9.6 out of 10
  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Michael M
  • Flag of United StatesUnited States

Good. Though we did not see any sharks, we did see beautiful reefs and fish, along with octopi.

Diving The Brothers in July on the Discovery II
  • Rating 9.6 out of 10
  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Spencer R
  • Flag of United StatesUnited States

We saw a thresher shark in the distance. The reefs were in good shape.

Diving The Brothers in June on the Discovery II
  • Rating 9.2 out of 10
  • 9.2 Superb
  • Alexandra V
  • Flag of United StatesUnited States

Saw one hammerhead but not big schools like we hoped.

Diving The Brothers in May on the Grand Discovery
  • Rating 8.0 out of 10
  • 8.0 Very good
  • Tyler G
  • Flag of United StatesUnited States

Great visibility and got lucky enough to see a whale shark! would have loved to do an additional dive at the wreck.

Diving The Brothers in February on the Grand Discovery

What to know about diving in The Brothers

What are The Brothers actually known for?

Big Brother and Little Brother are a pair of remote, uninhabited islands rising from an open-ocean seabed roughly 2,625 ft (800 m) deep, about 38 mi (61 km) off the Egyptian coast. They're the Red Sea's premier destination for two things at once: two historic wrecks encrusted in coral on Big Brother, and reliable open-water encounters with oceanic whitetip sharks — a combination few other sites in the world offer.

What's the story behind the Numidia wreck?

The Numidia was a British cargo steamer, about 450 ft (137 m) long, that ran aground on Big Brother's reef in 1901 while carrying railway wheels bound for India. The bow lodged in shallow water and eventually broke away from the stern, which slid down the wall — so the wreck now spans from around 26 ft (8 m) near the bow to about 262 ft (80 m) at the stern. Over a century later, the hull is remarkably intact and heavily colonized by coral, making the shallower sections feel more like a reef than a ship.

What happened to the Aida?

The Aida was an Egyptian supply and passenger ship that serviced Red Sea lighthouses; it sank in 1957 after being caught against Big Brother's reef in a storm while attempting to dock at the lighthouse pier. Everyone aboard was safely evacuated, but the ship broke up, with wreckage now scattered from about 23 ft (7 m) at the bow down a wall to roughly 115-213 ft (35-65 m), and the propeller sitting even deeper in technical-diving territory. It's a serious, current-exposed dive best suited to experienced wreck divers.

How deep is the diving at The Brothers, and what's a typical profile?

Reef tops and plateaus sit around 33-66 ft (10-20 m), with walls and wreck sections dropping well past recreational limits — the Aida and Numidia both extend beyond 100 ft (30 m). Most dives are planned to explore the shallower reef and upper wreck structure before working back up along the wall, since the deepest sections require technical training.

What's the current like at The Brothers — is it a drift or wall dive?

A strong, sometimes unpredictable current runs around both islands more or less continuously, which is part of what draws in the pelagic life. Dives are typically flown along the wall or plateau rather than a fixed swim route, and the current has been strong enough in the past to sweep divers off the site, which is why night diving is prohibited here.

What certification level do I need to dive The Brothers?

This is an advanced-only site — most operators require Advanced Open Water certification plus a meaningful number of logged dives (commonly cited around 50), along with real experience diving in strong currents and solid buoyancy control. It's not a place to be working out your trim or your air consumption for the first time.

When's the best time to see oceanic whitetip sharks?

Oceanic whitetips can turn up year-round in the deep water around The Brothers, but sightings peak in late summer through autumn, roughly September to November. Thresher sharks are more of an early-morning encounter, occasionally seen along the plateau at dawn, while grey reef sharks and scalloped hammerheads are possible but less predictable.

Is Big Brother accessible by day boat, or is it liveaboard-only?

Liveaboard-only — there's no day-boat access this far offshore. Boats typically make an overnight crossing of around 7-9 hours from Hurghada, Safaga, or Port Ghalib, so you arrive at first light and dive both islands over the following days as part of a broader southern Red Sea itinerary.

What's the water temperature like at The Brothers?

Expect roughly 73-75°F (23-24°C) in winter, warming to about 81-84°F (27-29°C) in summer. A 5mm wetsuit is comfortable for most of the year, though divers running long or deep profiles in winter often add a hood or a thicker exposure suit given the current and dive times involved.

What's the lighthouse on Big Brother, and can you visit it?

Big Brother is topped by a stone lighthouse about 102 ft (31 m) tall that's still operational and staffed, marking the island for ships in what is otherwise open water. It's not part of the dive itself, but it's a striking landmark from the boat and the reason the Numidia's captain was navigating by its light when the ship struck the reef in 1901.

How long do liveaboards typically spend at The Brothers?

Given the long crossing required to get there, most itineraries build in two to three days at the islands, diving both Big and Little Brother multiple times to cover the wrecks, the walls, and the open-water shark encounters. It's usually paired with other southern Red Sea sites like Daedalus Reef and Elphinstone Reef on the same trip.

Are there other safety considerations besides the current?

Beyond the strong current, the main hazards are depth discipline around the wrecks — it's easy to get drawn deeper chasing the Aida's lower sections — and the general remoteness, which means no nearby chamber or quick evacuation if something goes wrong. Divers should also expect entry fees for the marine-protected area, which apply as of 2026 and are typically built into the liveaboard price.

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