By type of trip
Nile Cruises Luxor to Aswan: Routes, Boats and Prices
Classic Egypt Tours: Cairo, Luxor and Aswan Itineraries
Nile Cruise and Red Sea Holidays: Two-Week Egypt Trips
White Desert Tours from Cairo: Oases and Desert Camping
Short Breaks in Egypt: Three and Four Day Cairo Trips
Tailor-made Egypt Tours: Private Trips Built Around You
Red Sea · Wildlife and safety
There are sharks in the Red Sea, and most visitors never see one. Reef sharks live on the southern reefs. Oceanic whitetips and hammerheads gather at far offshore reefs such as the Brothers, Daedalus and Elphinstone, which divers reach by boat. Attacks on people are rare but do happen. Fatal incidents near Hurghada in 2022 and 2023, and Marsa Alam in 2024, led the authorities to close beaches for a few days. Never feed fish, swim only in marked areas and obey any beach closure.
Yes. The Red Sea is home to several kinds of shark, and many divers come to Egypt hoping to see one.
Where you are matters most. Snorkellers on hotel reefs and in sheltered bays rarely see sharks. Divers on the exposed offshore reefs in the south see them far more often.
Some names mislead. Shark Reef in Ras Mohammed National Park got its name in the early days of diving. Most divers there today see no sharks at all.
Reef sharks are the most common. They are an ordinary sight for divers on the southern reefs, cruising along the walls.
Oceanic whitetips live in open water and visit the offshore reefs. They are curious and will come close to divers. The IUCN Red List rates them Critically Endangered worldwide.
Scalloped hammerheads gather in groups at the deep offshore reefs. They are also listed as Critically Endangered.
Tiger sharks live here too. A tiger shark caused the fatal incident at Hurghada in June 2023.
Whale sharks are the gentle giant of the group. They eat plankton and are harmless to people. Sightings are uncommon. In 2018 one was reported between the Giftun islands off Hurghada and near Port Ghalib.
The Brothers are two small islands far offshore in the central Red Sea. Daedalus is a lone reef further south. Both are reached on liveaboards, boats you sleep on for about a week. They are known for oceanic whitetips, hammerheads and reef sharks.
Elphinstone is a long offshore reef north of Marsa Alam. It is dived as a drift in real current, with open water below. Oceanic whitetips are most likely there in autumn.
Hammerhead timing varies. Liveaboard operators give different months, from spring into summer, so ask your operator what they have seen recently.
These are advanced dives. Operators set minimum experience levels for the southern routes, and the sites are often cancelled in strong wind. Nothing is guaranteed.
Never feed fish, from a boat or from the beach. Food in the water changes how fish and sharks behave around people.
Swim only in the marked swimming areas. The 2024 incident at Marsa Alam happened in deep water outside them.
Obey every beach closure and every lifeguard instruction. If a guide tells you to get out of the water, get out calmly and straight away.
Divers should stay with the group and follow the briefing. If an oceanic whitetip comes close, stay calm, keep it in view and stay near the reef or your group.
For safety advice, read the current pages from the US State Department and the UK Foreign Office. They cover the sea as well as the wider country, and they change over time.
Our page on whether Hurghada is safe covers boats, the sun and the reef in more detail. Most problems people have in the water come from currents, sunburn and coral cuts, not sharks.
Yes. Reef sharks, oceanic whitetips, hammerheads, tiger sharks and the occasional whale shark. Most visitors never see one, because the bigger species stay around far offshore reefs.
Yes. Two women were killed at Sahl Hasheesh, south of Hurghada, in July 2022. A man was killed at Hurghada on 8 June 2023. Both times the authorities closed the coast to swimming for a few days.
Rare, as the UK Foreign Office says. They do happen, and several have been fatal since 2010. Follow the rules: no feeding fish, swim in marked areas and obey closures.
At the offshore reefs: the Brothers, Daedalus and Elphinstone. They are advanced dives, mostly done from liveaboards, and sightings are never guaranteed.
Autumn is the most likely season, especially at Elphinstone off Marsa Alam.
Yes, but most snorkellers never see one. Sharm had a series of attacks in December 2010, after which the beaches closed for about a week.
Check the current advice from the US State Department and the UK Foreign Office. In the water, never feed fish, stay in marked areas and leave when a beach is closed.
Several are. The IUCN Red List rates oceanic whitetips and scalloped hammerheads as Critically Endangered, and whale sharks as Endangered.
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Written and checked by the Nile Trip Guide editorial team · Last reviewed . Entry rules, prices and opening hours change — check anything critical against the official sources linked on this page.
Plan this trip
A real itinerary with real prices, usually within 24 hours. Nothing is booked and nothing is charged until you say yes.
8 days · Classic Egypt
The route most people take first, at the length it was built for: Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum, then a flight to Luxor and four nights sailing down to Aswan.
from US$2,135 / per person
8 days · Nile & Red Sea
No boat on this one. Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum, a night in Luxor for both banks, two nights on the Red Sea, then back to Cairo for the Citadel, Coptic Cairo and the Royal Mummies.
from US$2,040 / per person
10 days · Classic Egypt
Five nights in Cairo either side of a four-night sail from Luxor to Aswan. The Cairo days are private, just your party and a guide; the sightseeing off the boat is shared with a small group.
from US$2,635 / per person
