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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 it's 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 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 nothing but 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. Although the lighthouse was not enough to save the two ships the Numidia and Aida which lie wrecked, one directly beneath the lighthouse!
Underwater the Brothers are much larger, little brother has a few meters of shallows and then 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 and barracuda as well as hordes of reef fish. There is also a chance to see sharks with oceanic whitetips, grey reef sharks and even 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 will normally be offered before breakfast with a light snack and a briefing around 6 am before heading to the dive deck to prepare. These dives are definitely best on Nitrox especially since there will be four or more dives a day
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 it is not allowed inside the marine park area not only for conservation but also safety reasons. The currents and surface conditions at The Brothers can be quite rough so it isn’t really 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 colourful hard and soft corals all around.
To the North there is one exception to the underwater wall topography. A plateau sits right 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 is one of the best places to see oceanic whitetips and great hammerheads as well as 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 main body of the ship starts around 20 meters/65 ft. The Stern is around 80 meters/260 ft. giving technical divers the opportunity to explore an area not accessible 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 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 Diving Reviews
- 9.0 Superb
- 162 Verified Reviews
Incredible. Couldn’t have been better. Saw Thresher sharks and hammerheads
Diving The Brothers in May on the JP Marine
Great dive locations with lots to offer from wrecks to awesome wildlife.
Diving The Brothers in June on the Tillis
Very nice especially the wreck dive the last day or two
Diving The Brothers in July on the Blue Horizon
Excellent, beautiful wall dives with hammerheads and my favorite wreck I've dived.
Diving The Brothers in May on the Tillis
Amazing soft corals and scenery. Loads of fish
Diving The Brothers in June on the Samira Discovery
Big Brother was a little underwhelming but overall the wall diving was fun.
Diving The Brothers in July on the Amelia Discovery
I enjoyed diving here and the variety of marine life was exceptional. There were strong current but lots of encounters with pelagic species, which are fairly common here. At this site the thresher shark made an appearance which is something we hadn’t seen before. Also on our third dive I was lucky enough to see a great hammerhead, a very rare site but incredible.
Diving The Brothers in October on the Royal Evolution
Great; not a tremendous amount of sharks, but our groups saw both a hammerhead and a thresher
Diving The Brothers in November on the Emperor Superior
Diving The Brothers was pretty good. We saw some sharks, didn't see as much reef.
Diving The Brothers in November on the Red Sea Blue Force 3
Better visibility, but still not much fish life.
Diving The Brothers in March on the Blue
The current was very strong, and there wasn't as many sightings.
Diving The Brothers in November on the Tillis
Deep diving in search of Hammerheads. Conditions were rigorous. Unfortunately we didn't see any hammerheads. Made the dives seem pointless. That much work for no payoff. Surprised at the lack of color. Of course when your that deep your not going to see it any way.
Diving The Brothers in November on the Blue
Good but we didn't get to spend enough time there
Diving The Brothers in May on the JP Marine
Current was a little rough but saw a few sharks.
Diving The Brothers in October on the Red Sea Blue Force 3
We missed Brothers because of weather.
Diving The Brothers in March on the Emperor Superior
Complete!! Sharks, current and we could dive the Numidia while there was no current.
Diving The Brothers in June on the Blue Pearl Liveaboard
Nice dives, and not too many boats
Diving The Brothers in August on the Sea Serpent
Perfect, thresher shark and hammerhead at the same day!
Diving The Brothers in August on the Blue Melody
clear water, lots of wildlife. Not many boats around.
Diving The Brothers in September on the Sea Serpent
Amazing dive site...many sharks!! Two nice wrecks...Aida and Humidia!
Diving The Brothers in October on the MY Seawolf Dominator
One of 2 top dive sites in this trip. I'm impressed and would like to return.
Diving The Brothers in November on the MY Seawolf Felo
If you are a diver and have a bucket list - ADD BROTHERS !
Diving The Brothers in December on the Blue Seas Liveaboard
it was one of the best dive experiences, different sharks in every dive
Diving The Brothers in May on the Emperor Superior
Great, hammerheads seen frequently on most dives.
Diving The Brothers in July on the Sea Serpent
Excellent. Mix of coral, fish, big animals, drift etc. Many dives started quite deep but was not mandatory.
Diving The Brothers in April on the Aphrodite
This was the top dive sides from all. 2 wrecks - Aida, Numidia 3 dives at Big Brother, 3 dives at Small Brother
Diving The Brothers in April on the Gelen
We saw many fishes and grey reef sharks Current strong
Diving The Brothers in April on the JP Marine
Excellent, sometimes challenging because of currents
Diving The Brothers in May on the JP Marine
excellent with sharks during the dive and under the boat at the end of the dive
Diving The Brothers in May on the JP Marine
I found big hammerhead shark at Nubidia wreck at big brother in third dive. Very strong current but visibility very clear.
Diving The Brothers in June on the Tillis
super schön! Korallen, Fische soweit das Auge reicht!
Diving The Brothers in June on the Blue Planet 1
Fantastic. Pristine coral reefs and great sightings of threasher sharks, hammerhead and Oceanic white tips.
Diving The Brothers in July on the Emperor Echo
Beautiful reefs (the reason I booked this safari) . We were expecting to see more sharks but still it was enjoyable.
Diving The Brothers in July on the Seawolf Dominator
We were lucky to observe 2 reef sharks for about 10 minutes and saw our first hammerhead there.
Diving The Brothers in August on the JP Marine
Great, lots of fish beautiful coral. A little challenging because of currents
Diving The Brothers in August on the JP Marine
My favourite site of all, the wrecks were fabulous, but most of all the corals and the sharks
Diving The Brothers in August on the Blue Fin
Exceptional (3 types of sharks & great wrecks)
Diving The Brothers in August on the Nouran
Very bumpy on the boat or in the sea surface. But it's always good time underwater to immerse into the deep blue.
Diving The Brothers in September on the JP Marine
Awesome site. Two thumbs up!
Diving The Brothers in December on the Blue
Amazing dive with the oceanic whitetip (Longemanus)!
Diving The Brothers in December on the Blue
Simply wonderful. Beautiful reef, friendly sharks. Lots to see!
Diving The Brothers in December on the Blue
Amazing scenery and walls, very quiet
Diving The Brothers in April on the Blue Planet 1
Normally the trip to the Brothers was for two days but now there are new rules and so we were only allowed to dive one day at the brothers. And two at Daedalus. Beautiful dive spot and reef.
Diving The Brothers in April on the JP Marine
Perfect with the 2 wrecks as main attraction. Corals were also very colorfull.
Diving The Brothers in April on the JP Marine
Shipwreck on Big Brother, Hammerheads at little brother
Diving The Brothers in May on the Golden Dolphin III
challenging because of temporary high waves and strong current, beautiful and with remarkable diversity close to the reef and with the Numidia wreck.
Diving The Brothers in May on the JP Marine
Many sharks, huge deep wall.
Diving The Brothers in May on the Amelia Discovery
Good, best of trip. After the shark attacks, boats no longer allowed to stay overnight. One day is not enough time should return for 2nd day
Diving The Brothers in May on the Longimanus
Very good but current was very strong
Diving The Brothers in May on the JP Marine
No so much existing, little sea activity, strong currents cause problems and difficulties to most of divers
Diving The Brothers in May on the JP Marine
Some times current gets strong. Sharks and napoleon fish were impressive.
Diving The Brothers in May on the Seawolf Felo
Great coral reef, but haven’t seen any sharks
Diving The Brothers in June on the Samira Discovery
Very clean waters, nice corals, very warm.
Diving The Brothers in June on the Amelia Discovery
Outstanding, the reef here was endless. Just a giant wall of some of the healthiest reef I’ve ever seen!
Diving The Brothers in July on the JP Marine
Nice place, nice wall and current was not really strong Really nice wall
Diving The Brothers in July on the Golden Dolphin
Hammerhead sharks but no Longimanus
Diving The Brothers in July on the Blue Seas
Very good, especially little brothers with whale shark, hammerhead and grey reef shark
Diving The Brothers in July on the Aphrodite
Very good, thresher, hammerhead, Grey and white tip sharks
Diving The Brothers in August on the Tillis
Good dives we saw oceanic manta
Diving The Brothers in August on the Red Sea Blue Force 3
Fantastic, we saw 5 types of different sharks
Diving The Brothers in August on the Tillis
Amazing dives with sharks including a hammerhead and a thresher shark !
Diving The Brothers in August on the Tillis
Wonderful, we seen whale sharks
Diving The Brothers in August on the JP Marine
Wrecks or whalesharks... don’t know which way to look
Diving The Brothers in August on the JP Marine
Great, a lot of sharks seen.
Diving The Brothers in August on the Tillis
Hummer head sharks dives 😍😍
Diving The Brothers in August on the JP Marine
The gouvernement has mandated that all live aboards can only spend one day diving the Brothers. We had 4 dives and they were all amazing. Here we saw our first Oceanic White Tip, as well as a giant Manta. The coral reefs are in great shape and diving here was incredible.
Diving The Brothers in August on the JP Marine
Diving The Brothers was good. Although I just got a few chances to spot big marine life, it is a great site with large coral and nice currents perfect for drift diving.
Diving The Brothers in September on the Tillis
Very good, lot of colorful and varied marine life.
Diving The Brothers in September on the JP Marine
Le meilleur site pour ma part : requins renard, requins marteaux, longimanus, requins gris et même dauphins (gros coup de chance) nous on captivés !
Diving The Brothers in October on the Al Farouk II
Fantastic, though we ended up being more pleasantly surprised by little brother rather than the big brother.
Diving The Brothers in November on the Al Farouk II
Outstanding, sharks of every variety. Reefs very beautiful
Diving The Brothers in November on the Sea Serpent
We were fortunate to see the big sharks thrasher oceanic and hammerheads
Diving The Brothers in November on the Firebird
great, 5 white tip in one dive
Diving The Brothers in November on the Blue Planet 1
Brothers was amazing ! Oceanic reef sharks and thresher sharks and a hammer head all in one day
Diving The Brothers in November on the Emperor Superior
OK, liked the Little better than the Big. Nothing that special, although we did see some gray reef sharks.
Diving The Brothers in December on the Blue Seas
some larger sea life while we were there, incl. Grey Reef Shark, Barracudas, Napoleon Wrasses, Titan Triggerfish and Tuna
Diving The Brothers in December on the Sea Friend
Marvelous corals and marine life Dived with whalesharks
Diving The Brothers in December on the Grand Sea Serpent
Amazing, healthy reef - 2 dives at Little Brother and 1 dive at Big Brother.
Diving The Brothers in December on the Grand Sea Serpent
Good... time of year made water cold...
Diving The Brothers in February on the Samira Discovery
unfortunately poor visibility and no big fish
Diving The Brothers in February on the JP Marine
Fantastic... thresher shark for my birthday how can I complain!
Diving The Brothers in March on the JP Marine
Brothers was very nice corals but bad season for sharks. I have to go back in May or summer.
Diving The Brothers in March on the Samira Discovery
Very nice diving with hammerhead sharks!
Diving The Brothers in August on the Sea Legend
Amazing, we were so lucky to be the only boat there. But a bit unlucky with bigger marine life, but that is how it is.
Diving The Brothers in September on the Blue Pearl
Marine life in abundance, saw an eagle ray, turtle, Napoleon, tons of fish
Diving The Brothers in September on the Emperor Superior
Tipp: If you want to see hammerheads -> July/August For Longimnaus October/November
Diving The Brothers in September on the Emperor Superior
Little Brother was the highlight of the trip. Loads of fish and sharks.
Diving The Brothers in September on the Golden Dolphin
Wenig Strömung, wenig Boote, Hammerheads und Longimanus
Diving The Brothers in October on the Samira Discovery
Really good but we do less dives because of the weather
Diving The Brothers in April on the JP Marine
We faced some strong currents.
Diving The Brothers in May on the JP Marine
Except for the current a very nice place for diving.
Diving The Brothers in May on the JP Marine
Okay not at lot of big animals unfortunately.
Diving The Brothers in July on the Samira Discovery
Bad weather so no big things
Diving The Brothers in September on the Sea Serpent Grand
Brothers diving was good. The shallow reef before this dive was great as it had amazing visibility, rays, and eels.
Diving The Brothers in September on the Blue Pearl
Unfortunately only 1 day at brothers (the description said 2 days), therefore not seen all spots. Due to the big group (as already mentioned), the dives were not that satifying.
Diving The Brothers in September on the JP Marine
First dive was nice (saw a thresher shark) after that we were only near the reef not in the current where the shares are
Diving The Brothers in October on the Amelia Discovery
Unfortunately only one shark (tresher, far below).
Diving The Brothers in December on the Firebird
OK, currents were against us.
Diving The Brothers in February on the Thunderbird