General Exposure Suit Advice for the Red Sea

In Summer time - temperatures can hit 30 degrees centigrade at 30m of depth in the south of Egypt and higher in Sudan. They’ll certainly be around there at the surface .

Some of our guest choose to dive in just shorts and t-shirts around July and August but we don’t recommend leaving your wet suit behind. A week, or two, of diving will bring your core temperature down and you will get chilled progressively quicker as the days go by.

I personally recommend a full length suit for protection against the rare stinging critter or that unfortunate and accidental contact with the reef. You’ll only want to brush lightly against fire coral once before you’ll be thinking the same way as me.

For most people in the heart of the summer a 3mm suit should be fine, late autumn and spring a 5mm (or a 3mm and a hood) would be recommended.

In Winter time -   December, January  and February its mighty cold - for us warm water divers.

In the North of the Red Sea around Sharm and Dahab you will see some dive guides and instructors in dry suits. Most are still in wet suits but there’s a reason for that. They can’t afford a dry suit!

Temperature can drop to 18 degrees in the North in the winter months so if you are out for a week - particularly on a safari boat with 4 dives in a day bring your dry suit if you have one. If you don’t, a semi-dry  or failing that 7mm wetsuit with a hood is a good idea.. 18 degrees may seem warm but it windy when you come out and getting out of a wetsuit can be a painful experience

Bring a fleece.

Brothers - Hurghada possibly 20/21 degree in the winter months.

Down South expect 21/22.

Heading to Sudan?  - it may drop to 24 - its only the day either side in Egypt that will really be cold. 5mm full length is enough for most.

Old Temperature Data

Readings come from my Suunto Stinger. All Readings in Celsius (Centigrade).

Its been unusually warm in Sudan recently. On the Xmas - New Year trip it had dropped a few degrees.

December 2009 - Jan 2010

Port Sudan  to Qita El Banna  27 degrees

Angarosh and Northern Sudan area  26 Degrees

Fury Shoal and St Johns 24 degrees.

October 2009

30 degrees down to 40m throughout the Sudan Range. Had one trip with thermoclines in the late 20s and mid 30s that saw drops on some sites to 27.

November 2009

Port Sudan  to Shaab Suedi  - 30 degrees all the way to 40m

Qita El Banna / Angarosh area  29 degrees

Abu Fanadir aka Pfeiffer Reef 28 degrees

Trip Date March 26th - April 8th 2009

Fury Shoal   23 degree

All Sudan Range   26 degree

St Johns - Egypt    24 degrees

Trip Date March 13th -25th 2009

Fury Shoal area   23 degrees

Port Sudan and southern area 26 degrees

Northern Sudan 25 degrees

Trip Date Feb 26th - March 4th 2009

Fury Shoal area   23 degrees

Port Sudan and southern area 26 degree

Northern Sudan 25 degrees

Trip Date 20th November - 3rd December 2008

Port Sudan - Umbria   30 degrees

Sanganeb - Shaab Rumi   29 degrees

Northern Sudan Reefs   28 degrees

St Johns - Egypt  26 degrees

Trip Date 30th August - 5th September

Brothers 29 degrees

Daedalus 29/30 degrees

Trip Date 23rd-29th August

Brothers 29-30 degrees

Trip Date 17th-22nd August

Brothers 30 degrees

Trip date 9-15 August

St Johns - 30/31 degrees

Trip Date 6th - 13th June

Daedalus -  27 degrees

Rocky, Zabargad & St Johns - 28 degrees

Trip date 23rd - 28th May

Hurghada - 23 degrees

Brothers - 23 degrees - thermocline on wrecks down to 21 degrees

Daedalus - 23/24 degrees

Sharm, Dahab and Nuwieba  - mid may - 23 degrees

Trip date 3rd- 13th May 2007

Humidity rising - Thermoclines below 25m

Umbria - Shaab Rumi-  30 degrees

Angarosh - Abington - Merlo  - 28-23 degrees

St Johns  - 25 degrees

Trip date 22nd March -  April 4th 2007

Fury Shoal - 22 degrees

Umbria - Shaab Rumi - 25 degrees

Angarosh - Abbington - Merlo -  24 degrees

Elphinstone / Marsa Shoona  - 22 degrees

Trip date 22 February - March 6th 2007

Port Sudan - Sha’ab Rumi  - 24 Degrees

Angarosh - Abington - Merlo -  23 Degrees

Trip date 30th November - December 6th 2006

Port Ghalib Area -  24 degrees

The Brothers - 23 degrees

Daedalus - 24 degrees

Rocky / St Johns - 25 degrees

I’m back in the UK for a couple of weeks so its been a couple of weeks - expect a 1 to 2 degree drop from those temperatures during this period

Trip date 21 December - January 2nd

Sudan 23/24 degrees

St Johns 23 degrees