Middle East and Red Sea · Egypt
The Red Sea most divers learned on
Egypt's Red Sea is the most accessible warm-water diving on earth and a good yacht charter in its own right: board at Hurghada or El Gouna, five hours from London, and within a day you are on the reefs of Ras Mohammed, the wreck of the Thistlegorm and the walls of the Brothers Islands. The season runs October to May; we rate November and March to April highest, with midwinter cooler on deck but still warm in the water. Add a night in Cairo for the pyramids on the way in.
Season
October to May. Our pick: November, and March to April
Fly into
Hurghada (HRG) or Sharm el-Sheikh (SSH), about 5 hours from London
Board at
Hurghada, El Gouna's Abu Tig Marina, or Sharm el-Sheikh
Water
22°C in January, 28°C in October. Visibility 20 to 40 metres
Wind
Northerly most days. The good anchorages sit in the lee of the reefs
Cruising
Sinai's tip and the wrecks in a week; the Brothers and Daedalus need a longer, calmer trip
Most of the world's divers did their first proper reef dive here, and it shows in the infrastructure: two international airports on the coast, marinas that know how to turn a yacht around, and a fleet of purpose-built liveaboards alongside the motor yachts. It is not the frontier that Saudi Arabia's coast is. It is the Red Sea that works, every time, in the months Europe is grey.
The honest advice is to choose your week by who is on board. A group that dives wants the northern wrecks and the offshore islands, with long days at sea. A mixed group wants the Sinai coast: Ras Mohammed's reef in the morning, a beach in the afternoon, a night ashore in El Gouna, and Cairo's pyramids at one end of the trip.
Where we actually go
Dive
Ras Mohammed National Park
Shark and Yolanda reefs at the tip of Sinai, where two currents meet and everything in the Red Sea comes to feed. The one dive we would do with a non-diver snorkelling above.
Dive
SS Thistlegorm
A British supply ship sunk in 1941 with motorbikes, trucks and locomotives still in her holds. Anchor overnight on the wreck and dive her at dawn before the day boats arrive from Sharm.
Dive
The Brothers Islands
Two specks 60 nautical miles offshore with walls, wrecks and oceanic whitetips. Calm weather only, and only for a group that dives; it is a long night at sea for everyone else.
Swim and anchor
Straits of Tiran
Four reefs strung across the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba, each with its own character. The afternoon anchorage in the lee of Gordon Reef is the flattest water on the coast.
Ashore
El Gouna
A built-for-purpose resort town on lagoons north of Hurghada, with a proper marina and the best restaurants on the coast. Board here rather than in Hurghada itself.
Ashore
Cairo, before you board
Two nights in Cairo for the pyramids at Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum, then the morning flight to Hurghada. The contrast between the desert and the first reef is the whole point.
Yachts
Yachts available in the Red Sea right now
Live from our charter list, in a different order every visit. Every rate is the real weekly figure from the listing.
PANAKEIA
Astondoa · 46m · 2008, refit 2025
11 guests | 5 cabins | 12 crew
€160k
IMLADRIS
Lagoon · 25m · 2025
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
€75k – 85k
CORAL OCEAN
Lürssen · 73m · 1994, refit 2026
12 guests | 6 cabins | 28 crew
€650k – 790k
Arax
Kazazian Cruises · 66m · 2022
18 guests | 9 cabins
Price on request
DARK HORSE
Riva · 30m · 2018
10 guests | 5 cabins | 5 crew
€110k
PIXIE
Fountaine Pajot · 20m · 2022
9 guests | 4 cabins | 3 crew
€32k – 43k
6 yachts in rotation. The order changes with every visit so no boat is always last.
Questions we get asked
Chartering in Egypt, answered
Common questions
When is the best time for a yacht charter in the Egyptian Red Sea?
October to May is the season. November and March to April are the best months: warm water at 24 to 28°C, air temperatures in the high twenties and calm enough for the offshore reefs. Midwinter is fine for divers but cool and windy on deck. Summer is too hot to recommend.
Where do Red Sea yacht charters in Egypt start?
Hurghada or El Gouna's Abu Tig Marina on the mainland coast, or Sharm el-Sheikh on the Sinai peninsula. Hurghada and Sharm both have international airports with flights from London in about five hours. El Gouna is the most comfortable place to board.
Is an Egyptian Red Sea charter only for divers?
No. The Sinai coast, Ras Mohammed and the Straits of Tiran offer world-class snorkelling straight off the swim platform, beaches, and El Gouna ashore, so a mixed group works well. The offshore islands such as the Brothers and Daedalus are long passages and really are for diving groups.
Can we combine Cairo and the pyramids with a Red Sea yacht charter?
Yes, and we recommend it. Two nights in Cairo for Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum, then a one-hour flight to Hurghada to board. The desert-to-reef contrast is one of the reasons to choose Egypt over other winter-sun destinations.
Egypt or Saudi Arabia for a Red Sea yacht charter?
Egypt for ease, infrastructure, famous dive sites and Cairo; Saudi Arabia's coast for reefs almost nobody has dived and a sense of being first. Both share the October to May season and both are on our Middle East and Red Sea region page.
Want this shaped around you?
Tell us the dates, who is diving and who is not, and whether Cairo is on the list. We come back with the yacht and the route.