Best of the Red Sea Safari Travel Itinerary

Day 1
Meet your tour leader at the OR Tambo International Airport, check in for your flight to Cairo (flight times to be announced closer to departure date). Overnight flight to Cairo, dinner and breakfast will be served onboard the flight (please note that no alcohol is served on any Egypt Air flights).

Please ensure that you arrive and book in at least three hours prior to departure.

Day 2
Early morning arrival at Cairo International Airport, clear passport control and proceed to the Domestic departures hall for your connecting flight to Hurghada (flight times and numbers to be announced closer to the date).

Arrive in Hurghada after a one hour flight, collect luggage and proceed through customs. Your tour leader will assist and direct you to your luxury coach for your transfer to the Hurghada New Marina where you will board your luxury Yacht, the M/Y Scuba Scene where you will be directed to your superiorly finished cabin.

Spend the afternoon and evening exploring the wonders of Hurghada, overnight onboard your Yacht in the harbour.

(Lunch and dinner)

Day 3
Early morning departure from Hurghada, your first dives will be in the Safaga area on reefs such as "Panorama Reef" and "Sha'ab Sheer", you will be able to do three day dives and one night dive in the Safaga area.

(4 dives, full board)

Day4
You will make your way to the "Brothers Islands" where you will anchor on the "Big Brother" you will be afforded the opportunity to dive the two very well known wrecks of the "Aida" and the "Numidia", the islands are also well known for the variety of pelagic species around such as the rare "Thresher Shark" identified by the elongated caudal fin as well as Oceanic White Tip Shark and Hammerhead Shark.

The sunsets over the Island is truly something to behold and affords awesome photographic opportunities.

(3 dives, full board)

Day 5
The "Little Brother Island" will be your next stop and is virtually in line of sight from his "Big Brother", this island however affords you the most beautiful wall dives with depths dropping down hundreds of metres and a real opportunity to spot the endemic Napoleon Wrasse.
 
(3 dives, full board)

Day 6
You will be setting sail to the Southern part of the Red Sea and your third stop will be Daedalus reef, this reef forms part of a marine park and is a large oval reef with a Light house, it's deep walls with mountainous corral formations makes for some of the best diving in the Red Sea, it's also one of the furthest offshore reefs in the Red Sea and you are likely to see schooling Hammerheads and Grey Reef Shark.

(3 dives, full board)

Day 7
Rocky Island is your next stop, a tiny rock emerging a few feet out of the water, offering the most incredible underwater scenes with steep walls falling to great depths with an abundance of Pelargic’s and numerous reef fish.

(4 dives, full board)

Day 8
Your fifth stop will be Zabargad Island, one of the largest islands in the Southern Red Sea and is renowned for its micro life, a photographers dream with fairytale, castle like pinnacles where the most wonderful of creatures hide like cuttlefish, tiny anthias, nudibanchs and many more.
 
(4 dives, full board)

Day 9
You will spend two glorious days on the next stop namely the St John’s Islands, the grouping of islands covers an astonishing 4.50 square kilometres and it is believed that you can dive these islands for days on end without diving the same site twice.

Fish life around this region is typified as abundant and you can expect to encounter an array of rays, morays, octopus crocodile fish, cuttlefish and a plethora of reef fish in the shallow enclaves.

(4 dives, full board)

Day 10
Again the wonders of St John's will be explored before you depart late afternoon to the Sataya area.

(4 dives, full board)

Day 11
Again you will be spending two days exploring this area and you will be afforded ample opportunity to enjoy the wonders of reefs like Dolphin reef, Erg Abu Diab and Gota Sataya el-Saghir to name but a few.
 
(4 dives, full board)

Day 12
Spend the morning still exploring the reefs around Sataya before setting sail to Marsa Alam.

(4 dives, full board)

Day 13
Marsa Alam with its frequent sightings of friendly Dugong and Spinner Dolphins will ensure that you do not miss a single dive on the reefs surrounding this area, load your cameras for an unparalleled opportunity to capture these creatures on film or video.

(4 dives, full board)

Day 14
On day 14 of your Safari you will find yourself in Elphinstone with its pinnacles reaching from the depths you will have an unique opportunity to explore the walls of this natural wonder, look out for shark, especially the Oceanic White Tips seen along with their pilot fish, other things to see include Barracuda, an array of angel fish, giant moray eels and shoals of fusiliers as well as the most beautiful soft corral the Red Sea has to offer.

(4 dives, full board)

Day 15
The Salem express will be your first stop on day 15, this is a ferry that came to peril in 1991, carrying pilgrims on route back from Mecca. The vessel is still largely intact and at a depth easily dived by the most inexperienced diver, a must dive on your way back to Hurghada.

The next reef you will be diving is Panorama reef which lends itself to drift diving due to the current coming from the north, making it an ideal spot to see the bigger game fish, the reef however also offer one of the largest anemone gardens, sometimes referred to as "anemone city" and with it comes the playful, sometimes cheeky clownfish.

(4 dives, full board)

Day 16
You will have one more dive in the Hurghada area before entering the harbour, you will depart from Hurghada in the late morning and be transferred to Cairo via Luxury Coach (5 Hour bus ride with halfway stop).

(Breakfast on Yacht)

You will be booked in to your luxury hotel and have the rest of the evening to spend at your leisure at the hotel.

(Dinner, Bed and Breakfast)

Day 17
After breakfast, relocate to your day room and spend the rest of the day at leisure at the hotel or book yourself on a day tour to the Pyramids, carpet factories, Cairo Museum and the Khan El Khalili Market for an unforgettable experience (all day trips and tours are optional extras and can be booked at the hotel and will be charged for).

Late evening transfer to the Cairo International Airport for your flight back.

(Lunch and Dinner not included)

Day 18: 11 July
Board your flight back to Johannesburg, early morning arrival at OR Tambo International Airport