Saudi Explorer, Saudi Arabia

8.5 Fabulous

Nitrox available
En-Suite bathrooms
Aircon Cabins
Warm Water Showers

Check dates

“Very nice diving without wetsuit in water at 33°. ”
Alain P, Italy

Highlights

Trips to Seven Reefs, Five Sisters, and Farasan Bank
Dive setup with camera stations
Unlimited diving (logistics permitting)

The Saudi Explorer is a 33-meter liveaboard that accommodates up to 20 guests across 10 cabins. The upper deck features 4 flexible double/twin cabins, while the main deck offers 5 twin cabins and 1 suite with a double bed. All cabins include en-suite bathrooms and individually controlled air conditioning.

Guests can relax in air-conditioned indoor spaces, including the restaurant area with an open bar. Outdoor areas are designed for leisure and functionality, with a spacious dive deck equipped with individual gear stations, camera tables, and charging points. A shaded lounge area with seating and an outdoor bar offers the perfect place to unwind between dives, while the sun deck invites guests to soak up panoramic sea views.

Itineraries explore the reefs of the Farasan Banks, the pelagic-rich waters of Seven Reefs and Five Sisters, and embark on exploratory cruises to the remote Farasan South and Qumais Islands. In Egypt, routes include marine parks such as Brothers, Daedalus, and Elphinstone, as well as northern wreck-focused itineraries like Ras Mohammed and Tiran. Encounters range from hammerhead sharks and dolphins to vibrant coral gardens and historic wrecks, offering unforgettable adventures.

Book your diving adventure aboard the Saudi Explorer today.

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2026

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2028

Included: VAT, Drinking Water, Soft drinks, Tea & Coffee, Welcome Cocktails, Full-Board Meal Plan (All meals), Snacks, Diving Package, Night Dives, Beach Towels, Cabin Towels, Deck Towels, WiFi internet.

Required Extras: Fuel Surcharge (7 EUR / day), Gratuities (15 EUR / day), Port Fees (35 EUR / day).

Optional Extras: Airport Transfer (19-175 EUR), Hotel Transfer (19-175 EUR), Nitrox, Nitrox Course, Rental Gear.

Book now, pay later: You can easily place your booking online. We will then hold the spaces for you and you can confirm with a payment later.

* Extra fees are shown per person.

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Boat features

En-Suite bathrooms
Aircon Cabins
Warm Water Showers
Air Conditioned saloon
Sun Deck
Camera Station
Seaview Cabins
Custom built for diving
Charging stations
Indoor Saloon
Local & International Crew
Separate Rinse for u/w Camera
Leisure Deck
Daily housekeeping
Bar

Food & Drinks

Al Fresco Dining
Vegetarian Options
Free Soft Drinks
Welcome Cocktails
Buffet style
Western Food
Local Food

If you have any specific dietary requirements whilst on-board your cruise, you can add this to your special requests on step 2 of the booking form. We advise limiting these requests to religious beliefs or food allergies.

Diving

Nitrox available
Shaded Diving Area
DIN Adaptors
Rinse Hoses
Dive deck
Tenders for diving

Languages Spoken

The crew speaks English.

Gear Rental

Equipment is available for rent on this boat. Please provide your rental needs on the booking form. If the rental gear is not included in the price, you will need to pay for it on board the boat. Show prices

Drawings & Vessel Layouts

Cabin Types

Boat Specifications

Year built: 2019

Length: 34 meters

Beam: 7.8 meters

Top speed: 11 knots

Cruising speed: 8 knots

Engines: 2 Man Marine 600HP

Max guests: 20

Number of cabins: 10

Number of bathrooms: 11

Tenders: 2

Water capacity: 30 tons

Fuel capacity: 50 tons

Freshwater maker: 2 x 1 ton/day

Boat navigation and safety

Radar
Depth Sounder
GPS
Radio VHF/DSC/SSB
E.P.I.R.B. Distress System
Emergency Rafts
Life Vests
Fire Alarm & Fire Extinguishers
Oxygen
First Aid Kits
Fishfinder
Satellite & mobile phones
Bilge pump alarm
Search light
Engine room CCTV
Crew trained in first aid
Emergency flares

Saudi Explorer Reviews

8.5 Fabulous
22 Verified Reviews

Vessel

8.2
Crew

8.7
Food

9.1
Diving

8.7
Value

8.0

9.2 Superb
Alain P
Italy

I'll be back!
First class cruise with spacious cabins, efficient professional staff who know how to remain discreet.The dives are well organized and supervised without having crossed a boat during the week :)
Recommended for
The only boat of the week!. Crew, experienced and friendly guides. Very well organized dives and transfers.
28 Feb, 2025

Translated from French

9.2 Superb
Laurent B
France

7 Days Saudi Explorer, Saudi Arabia
Very nice diving experience without overtourism in a country opening up to diving
Recommended for
The destination very little frequented. Life on a cruise. Wildlife.
06 Dec, 2024

Translated from French

8.0 Very good
Alain P
Italy

A must done !
Absolute exclusivity on the sites. Excellent sailing conditions. Very nice diving without wetsuit in water at 33°. Boat, owner and crew of great professionalism; I recommend :)
Recommended for
Only boat during the whole week, very good boat, crew and professional guides
10 Oct, 2023

8.0 Very good
Alain P
Italy

A must done !
Exclusivité absolue sur les sites.Conditions de navigations excellentes.Fort belles plongée sans combinaison dans de l'eau à 33° . Bateau,propriétaire et équipage d'un grand professionalisme ; je recommande :)
Recommended for
Seul bateau pendant toute la semaine, très bon bateau,équipage et guides professionnels
10 Oct, 2023

9.6 Exceptional
Hooman Z
Canada

Great crew, good food, amazing dive sites.
Saw lots of Nudibranches . Only 2 dives on the first day and one dive on the last day. I wish they accommodate a bit more dives. I have lost my wallet and they helped me a lot with regards to this unrelated incident. Thanks
Recommended for
Remote nature, clean rooms and friendly crew.
06 Dec, 2023

7.6 Good
izaskun L
Spain

INCREDIBLE CREW, BUT THE ORGANIZATION CAN BE MUCH BETTER
There have been a lot of special moments. The dive sites have been really really beautyfull. The crew work very hard to help us everyday in every moments. Not so much sharks that we thought but it is because the hot water. Diving guides very nice with all of us, but one of them had never dived in this area and it is a handicap for him and for the group that he guides, but he had done all of his best to do his work very well.
Recommended for
FIRST THE INCREDIBLE CREW, DIVE SITES ARE FANTASTIC AND THE ROOMS ARE VERY COMFORTABLE
14 Sep, 2022

7.6 Good
Franck L
France

Great cruise but August is not the most favorable month because the water is at 32° so less pelagics
Beautiful dives with healthy corals, lots of life, silky, grey and hammerhead sharks when they were willing to show themselves but always in depth
Recommended for
The dives, only boat on the sites, good atmosphere
14 Oct, 2022

Translated from French

10 Exceptional
Ann P
United States

Must do this trip again
Diving in Saudi was very beautiful with red, purple and orange anemones and playful clown fish. Many caves and tunnels to explore and dive masters were knowledgeable, briefings were informative and safety was a priority
Recommended for
Dive Sites and Dive Master knowledge. Service was incredible. Cabin was master suite and so spacious and comfortable.
22 Oct, 2024

10 Exceptional
Adel Z
United States

Had a great week in Saudi
I saw some sea creatures that they have never seen before, quite impressive
Recommended for
Diving in the southern areas of the Red Sea
15 Nov, 2022

8.8 Fabulous
Edward S
Ireland

Biodiversity like no where else in red sea
If you want to diving in a location and be the only boat, dive unexplored reefs, get personal with hammerhead and silky sharks. This is the trip for you. Experience needed as dive can be deep.
Recommended for
Diving, people and remoteness
17 Mar, 2023

22 reviews

Sort reviews by:

8.8 Fabulous
Yousef F
Canada

All in all lovely Experience
Farsan Banks is an amazing trip. Guides do their best to ensure everyone is getting the most out of the dives based on their experience level. We’d be the only boats on the site. Hammers, reef sharks and dolphins! The organization from JED to the port could be better. Some people waited 3 hours without notice. Also no net because its quite remote you don’t see any land.
Recommended for
Marine life, Corals , No other boats
18 Mar, 2024

10 Exceptional
Eva W
Germany

Amazing Crew!
We loved this dive trip, especially the amazing crew. Every single member was funny, welcoming and helpful. Aman is one of the most knowledgeable guides I have met, with more than 40 years experience in the red sea and as one of the pioneers in Saudi. The boat is a bit older but well kept. The crew will clean all cabins daily and meticulously. They offered night dives every day, which gives you lots of choice. You should prepare for a lot of current but will be rewarded by sharks - even a whale shark for christmas and dolfins. The corals are amazing at some sites, others sadly have been suffering under the climate change. Nevertheless a trip worth taking.
Recommended for
Food, Dolfins, Whale Shark
30 Dec, 2023

9.6 Exceptional
David O
Belgium

If you are looking for diving off the beaten trail, this is it!
Experiencing something great without the crowds can be such a privilege in this day and age. That is exactly what this liveaboard offers, with the ease and comfort of a package trip. The crew is great, the cabins very comfy, the food excellent and the fact that this boat is twice the number of guest I've gotten accustomed to didn't bother me at all. The diving was good, despite most of large pelagic sharks out of sighr due to unusually warm water we still saw some of the big stuff. A word of caution though: due to absence of mass diving in this area, the actual conditions on the reefs in terms of currents and wildlife can be a bit of a surprise for the dive guides too, most dives are also deep dives with some ending up being genuine decompression dives. So not recommended for relatively inexperienced divers or for the faint of hearth.
Recommended for
Being the only boat around the reefs, the huge pod of dolphins we saw one morning anf the whale shark that casually popped up during a safety stop, the food that was just excellent
06 Jan, 2024

6.8 Review score
Frank D
Austria

A very nice experience
Relaxation far away from the stress of everyday life!!!!!!!!! Sleeping in the open air!!!
Recommended for
Hammerhead sharks, pure relaxation, no cell phone
01 Jul, 2024

Translated from German

9.2 Superb
Kirsi I
Finland

Expedition type trip into pristine uncharted waters
The diving was physically harder than expected. Deep dives (35m) and strong currents, and quite often we had to swim against the current to get where we needed to be. Our efforts were rewarded by sightings of hammerheads, big schools of barracuda and jackfish. Other sharks as well. Pristine untouched reefs where literally almost no divers have visited before. We saw no other boats at all during our week at sea. The crew are from Egypt and very experienced in getting divers in and out of the water quickly and efficiently. The boat is owned by Italians, so the food was very good if you like European.
Recommended for
Hammerheads, no other boats at dive sites, food onboard.
05 Aug, 2022

7.6 Good
Anne M
France

Uncrowded Red Sea diving
Diving the Red Sea without any other boat around is what you get when diving Saudi Arabia. The reefs look healthy though bleaching was visible on some hard corals. The visibility was good on every dive. The water was warm at the end of December and pretty calm. Sturdy boat with good Egyptian food onboard. There were two dive guides onboard, they are in the water to try and find animals, not to look after you underwater.
Recommended for
Pristine reefs, uncrowded dive sites, Egyptian crew
16 May, 2024

7.2 Good
Alena Miriam S
Czech Republic

Unexplored part of the Red Sea
Corals are in perfect condition, visibility is good, there is no other boat there. However water was still warm in November and sharks could be seen deep only. Without those deep dives with shark sights the dive sites would be very repetitive I disagree with the guide approach to safety, firstly they provided me a stage cylinder for increased safety (I am qualified for that, never needed to use it and stayed within my qualification limits) and set me no limits although I asked, then they took it from me with very stupid reasoning. They also skipped 2 dives only because few people were interested.
Recommended for
Coral diversity, deep diving
16 Nov, 2022

8.0 Very good
vincent C
Netherlands

Diving was good. The rest okay
Overall it was okay. It was really nice that we were the only ones at every dive site, but we did have like 10 people per guide. I therefore had less bottom time than i would have hoped. There is no wifi on board at all and the beds are really really hard. If you have difficulties with a hard bed, you're in for a toigh week.
Recommended for
Mohammed! The fact that he brought me my earpods after i forgot them on the boat. Good diving. Food was really nice too.
13 Dec, 2024

7.2 Good
Heike L
Germany

Spektakuläres tauchen
Neue Riffe, große biodiversität, nach Absprache eigenständiges tauchen möglich, spektakuläre weich und hartkorallenriffe und das wissen, dass die kaputten Korallen nicht durch Taucher sondern durch die Natur verursacht wurden.
Recommended for
The 3 best things are the Dive Guide, the staff and the reefs
12 Dec, 2022

7.6 Good
Jaime G
Spain

Fantastic dive guide, good crew but partly spoiled by a diver
The transparency of the Red Sea, its colors and the fact that it is not overcrowded allowed us to see hammerhead sharks and tiger sharks on several occasions.
Recommended for
Mohamed dive guide, non-overcrowding, transparence and colors
23 Jun, 2023

Translated from Spanish