El Fanadir is a 1.2 km long fringing reef just 25 minutes north of Hurghada marina. The closest 'real reef' you can dive · sheltered from the prevailing north wind by its own length, with dives that suit every certification level. We use it as the standard first-day reef for the daily 2-tank programme and as the open-water training site for new PADI Open Water students. Reliable conditions, healthy coral cover, and turtles on most dives.
- Depth
- 5-25 m
- Visibility
- 15–25 m
- Season
- Jan - Dec
- Boat ride
- 25 min
- Difficulty
- Open Water+
El Fanadir
The plan of the reef
On the chart
El Fanadir
25 min from the marina
Topography and dive profile
Long fringing reef running roughly north-south. The eastern (offshore) side has a steep wall dropping from 5 to 25 metres with hard coral cover and gorgonians. The western (sheltered) side has a sandy plateau at 8-12 metres dotted with coral heads · perfect for training and the second dive of the day. Two named entry points: 'North Garden' (for the eastern wall) and 'South Plateau' (for the sandy training side).
Most trips do one wall dive and one plateau dive. Bottom time generous because depths are friendly. The southern tip catches occasional current that brings pelagic fish in, otherwise the diving is gentle.
What you'll see
- ◇Resident turtles
- ◇Stingrays
- ◇Octopus
- ◇Glassfish swarms
- ◇Reef fish
Who it suits
All certification levels. The wall dive (15-25 m) suits Open Water and above. The plateau (5-12 m) is where we run PADI Open Water training dives 1-4 and PADI Discover Scuba intro dives. Strong photographers love the consistent visibility for macro work.
When the captain runs this site
El Fanadir is one of the closer reefs the captain may pick on a daily-dive day when conditions favour it (around 25 minutes by boat from the marina). To book a dive day, see the daily diving page · the captain confirms the morning of which sites the boat is heading to.
Frequently asked
Yes · the plateau side at 5-12 m is one of the most popular open-water training sites in Hurghada. Sheltered, gentle, with healthy coral and turtles on most dives. We run the first 4 dives of the PADI Open Water course here.
Most dives, yes. We have a small population of resident green turtles parked at the southern end of the reef · roughly 80% of our visits log a sighting. They've gotten used to divers and won't bolt if you maintain distance.
El Fanadir is the close, easy, reliable reef · ideal for the first dive day of a trip or for new divers. The further-north sites in our rotation (Carless Reef, Umm Gamar) are 75-90 minutes further out, less crowded, with bigger pelagic chances when the captain commits to the long-transit days.
Consistent 15-25 m. Drops slightly in winter (December-February) when the wind picks up plankton, peaks in summer (June-September) at 25-30 m. Never the worst dive in our rotation, often the best for the close-to-marina sites.