Ghazala Adventure — a new Red Sea liveaboard built around serious diving

Ghazala Adventure suits divers who want the Red Sea's offshore sites without giving up a boat that still feels new. The choice is not between a comfortable yacht and a proper dive platform here: the boat is designed to provide both. Its routes reach the wrecks and reefs of the northern Red Sea, or the current-swept walls and pelagic sites around the Brothers, Daedalus and Elphinstone. Free nitrox matters over a week of repeated dives, while the technical-diving setup leaves room for more specialised profiles. The reason to come aboard is simple: a full week built around the water, with enough space above it to recover properly between dives.

From the dock, Ghazala Adventure presents as a large, recently built steel yacht rather than an ageing safari boat that has been made presentable between seasons. The interior is bright, and the layout gives the trip distinct places for diving, eating, sitting and getting out of the sun. Once aboard, the useful impression is space: divers can prepare equipment on the dive deck without turning the rest of the boat into a gear store, then move up to the lounges and outdoor decks still wet from the last dive. The crew gives a welcome briefing covering the cabins, shared areas and safety procedures before the trip settles into its diving pattern. Shoes are stored after boarding, and smoking is restricted to designated outdoor areas.

The atmosphere is shaped by a crew that stays close to the diving rather than treating it as a separate service. Guides help with equipment, brief the groups, support guests on deck and share underwater and onboard camera work. With up to eight divers per guide, the group is large enough to be sociable but still organised around a clear entry and exit plan. By the second day, the same faces are appearing at the tank stations, in the saloon and around the bar after dinner. The evening is more likely to be a meal, a dive log and conversation about the last descent than a formal performance. English is spoken on board, and the crew's role is most visible when a diver needs something before having to ask twice.

The recorded trips are 8 days and 7 nights, departing and returning to Hurghada. North: Wrecks & Reefs combines the SS Thistlegorm, Abu Nuhas, Gubal and Ras Mohammed; North & Brothers adds the offshore walls and wrecks of the Brothers. Brothers, Daedalus, Elphinstone is the sharper pelagic choice. Elphinstone drops down dramatic walls to -60m, with the possibility of oceanic whitetips and other sharks in the blue. The Brothers reach -85m and combine isolated walls, coral and wreck diving; Big Brother itself is listed to -40m. Daedalus is a remote pinnacle to -40m, known for walls and pelagic encounters. Closer to Hurghada, Shaab Ruhr Umm Gamar reaches -40m, where an oval reef leads to a plateau with small pinnacles and the remains of at least three wrecks. Fanadir North gives a shallower wall to -30m, while Shaab Sabina stays at -14m among a wide coral garden.

Abu Nuhas →

Daedalus →

Max. depth · 40 m

Elphinstone →

Max. depth · 60 m

Big Brother →

Max. depth · 40 m

Shaab Ruhr Umm Gamar →

Max. depth · 40 m

Fanadir North →

Max. depth · 30 m

Shaab Sabina →

Max. depth · 14 m

Coral Garden →

Max. depth · 20 m

Turtles, morays, reef sharks, grey reef sharks, hammerheads, tuna, jacks, anthias, scorpionfish, soft corals and blue-spotted stingrays recur across the recorded sites. Dolphins are possible at several northern reefs, while barracuda, Napoleon wrasse and manta rays add to the larger Red Sea picture. The single-site encounters are the reason to pay attention to the itinerary: Marsa Egla is the place associated with dugongs and green turtles, Brothers Islands with anemones, Daedalus with bigeye trevally, and Shaab El Erg with glassfish. At El Fanadir, a cleaning station brings life to a shallow coral pinnacle and gaterfish are recorded there. Elphinstone is linked with blacktip reef sharks, tiger sharks and labrids. Shark sightings remain conditional: on the BDE route they are seasonal, with warmer months noted for hammerheads at Daedalus and autumn for oceanic whitetips at Elphinstone.

Stingray →

Dasyatidae — Dasyatis, Hypanus, Pastinachus, Himantura, Taeniura

Napoleon Wrasse →

Cheilinus undulatus

Manta Ray →

Mobula birostris

Dugong →

Dugong dugon

Tiger Shark →

Galeocerdo cuvier

English-speaking dive guides and instructors organise groups with a maximum ratio of eight divers to one guide. Certification and recent experience are used when groups and dive plans are set, rather than treating every diver as interchangeable. The Brothers, Daedalus and Elphinstone itinerary requires Advanced Open Water or a Deep Diver speciality; both advanced training and other diving certifications can be completed on board through PADI or SSI. Southern itineraries are recommended for divers with at least 30 logged dives and a last dive within six months. Briefings cover the site, entry, route, current and return plan, while guides can exclude a diver from a particular dive or change the route when experience or conditions make that necessary. Oxygen, first-aid kits, life jackets, life rafts and fire alarms are carried on board.

The dive deck is shaded and set up for repeated diving from the main platform. Divers have a dedicated tank and equipment station for the trip, with 24 aluminium 12-litre tanks, DIN adaptors and two Bauer compressors. Free nitrox is available, and the boat also supports technical diving, sidemount and rebreather diving; nitrox certification and rental equipment are optional extras. Two RIBs, each fitted with a 115 HP Yamaha outboard, take divers to sites where the main boat cannot position directly over the entry point. Divers can enter from the platform or from the RIBs, then return to the boat or tender according to the dive plan. Separate rinse facilities for cameras, a camera room, charging stations and rinse tanks keep wet equipment from spreading through the living areas. Outdoor showers are available after the dive.

Between dives, the shaded dive deck is the working centre: rinse the mask, log the dive, drink something, and let the surface interval pass without carrying equipment through the saloon. When the sun is welcome, the upper outdoor decks and observation deck provide room to stretch out; when it is not, the air-conditioned lounge is the better refuge. The boat also has an indoor library and multimedia entertainment, a photo area, charging stations and a souvenir shop. These are useful gaps in a diving day, not reasons to stay out of the water. A non-diving snorkeller can join the trip, with snorkelling equipment and the RIBs available for access away from the main boat.

The day begins before the first dive briefing, with the compressor already part of the background and divers moving through the tank stations rather than assembling everything from scratch. On full days, the programme allows three or four dives, including a night dive when local authorities permit it. The morning concentrates the first descents, lunch separates the next part of the day, and the afternoon leaves a useful gap for a shower, a logbook or time on the shaded deck. A night dive, where allowed, changes the reef completely; marine-park islands do not permit night diving. The final day is limited to two dives before the boat returns to port. Dinner, equipment rinsing and the next briefing then set up the following cycle.

The galley serves three buffet meals through the day, with Western and local dishes, snacks between meals, and non-alcoholic drinks included. Vegetarian and vegan options are available, and food allergies can be taken into account when the galley is told in advance. The useful feature is the timing: meals are spread around the dive programme instead of asking divers to wait for one large restaurant sitting. Breakfast follows the first movement of the boat and the early diving, lunch restores the surface interval, and dinner closes the main work of the day. Tea, coffee, drinking water and soft drinks are available; beer and wine are available separately. On a four-dive day, that steady supply matters more than elaborate presentation.

The cabin choice is practical rather than theatrical: lower-deck twins and suites, upper-deck twins, single suites and convertible twin/double suites. Every cabin has air-conditioning, a private bathroom and hot-water shower, and the upper-deck cabins have panoramic windows. That matters after several dives, when a cabin that can be cooled and closed off is worth more than decorative detail. Towels and dressing gowns are provided, and the cabins are cleaned daily. The boat has more bathrooms than cabins, which keeps the shared spaces from becoming a queue after a late return from the water. Nights are spent in a modern steel yacht with the choice of a quiet cabin or an air-conditioned indoor lounge; Wi-Fi is available, though coverage varies with location.

The listed departure and return port is Hurghada, although some itineraries may start or finish at Port Ghalib. Airport and hotel transfers can be arranged and are included when confirmed in advance; the crew's representative meets arriving guests at the airport and provides the onward details. Because the yacht may be entered on the agreed arrival day and the first night can be spent in port, arriving the night before gives useful protection against a delayed flight.