Amelie Adventures — a compact Red Sea liveaboard built around diving and naturalist routes

Amelie Adventures suits divers who want a Red Sea safari without joining a large floating resort. The boat is arranged for a maximum of 16 guests, with a shaded dive area, two tenders and a route focused on Hurghada’s reefs, lagoons and dolphin sites. Free nitrox and night dives are part of the diving package, while a naturalist guide and dedicated camera-rinse area give the trip a clear marine focus. The strongest reasons to choose it are not a luxury label but the combination of diving, food and crew: passenger feedback scores the crew, diving and value highly, with food rated highest. Non-divers can snorkel at suitable sites, relax on deck and join the full-board stay. This is a boat for a mixed group that still wants the week to revolve around the water.

Amelie Adventures was renovated in 2024, so boarding should feel less like stepping onto a worn working boat and more like entering a maintained diving vessel with its older hull history kept in the background. The boat’s compact scale makes the layout easy to understand: move from cabin to salon, then outside to the terrace, observation deck and dive platform without losing contact with the sea. The upper deck holds the cabins, each with a sea-view bay window, while the indoor salon is air-conditioned for the hot parts of the day. Outside, the shaded diving area is the practical centre of the boat. Guests return there after every dive, and that matters more than a long list of hotel-style features. The result is a vessel designed to keep people close to the dive operation while leaving enough room to step away from it.

The atmosphere is shaped by a crew that stays visible in the working parts of the day. English, German and French are spoken, and the crew combines local and international staff. Passenger feedback places the crew well above the boat itself, which is useful context: the strength of Amelie Adventures lies in how people run the vessel, not in pretending it is a new yacht. The crew helps guests find the more stable areas when the sea moves and keeps the diving facilities, cabins and common spaces in good order. That practical attention becomes noticeable over several dives a day, when a missing towel, a badly placed camera or a slow hand on the tender can change the whole rhythm. Evenings can stay informal, with dinner outdoors, a barbecue, drinks and the shared aftermath of the night dive. Solo travellers are paired in twin cabins, while groups of six can arrange a small-group charter.

The recorded route is the 4-day, 3-night Best of Hurghada mini-safari, running from Hurghada back to Hurghada. Shaab Ruhr Umm Gamar is the deeper, more varied profile: an oval reef gives way to a plateau scattered with pinnacles and the ghostly remains of at least three wrecks, reaching -40m. El Fanadir follows a lively wall to cavities occupied by morays and a cleaning station on a shallow coral pinnacle, also to -40m. Shaab Sabina stays shallower at -14m, with a wide labyrinth of coral garden, hard and soft corals and reef fish. Shaab El Erg brings the classic Hurghada reef setting, with the possibility of dolphins around the horseshoe reef. El Fanous West is a protected reef leading into a calm lagoon, reaching -15m, while El Fanous East slopes over sand to two ergs frequented by dolphins, reaching -18m. The route combines walls, gardens, lagoons, pinnacles and wreck remains rather than repeating one reef shape.

Shaab Ruhr Umm Gamar →

Max. depth · 40 m

El Fanadir →

Max. depth · 40 m

Shaab Sabina →

Max. depth · 14 m

Coral Garden →

Max. depth · 20 m

Shaab El Erg →

El Fanous →

Max. depth · 27 m

Turtles, dolphins, anthias, giant morays, scorpionfish, butterflyfish and parrotfish are the recurring cast across this route, but the sites do not all offer the same reason to enter the water. Shaab El Erg is the place to look for barracuda as well as dolphins. Shaab Ruhr Umm Gamar concentrates the larger possibilities: groupers, giant groupers, Napoleon wrasse, reef sharks, grey reef sharks, tuna and jacks have all been recorded there among the pinnacles and wreck remains. Shaab Sabina stands out for its coral garden, where hard and soft corals and damselfish add colour to the reef-fish scene. El Fanadir’s cleaning station gives morays and smaller reef animals a particular setting, while El Fanous West and East offer protected shallow water where dolphins, turtles and stingrays may pass. None of these encounters is guaranteed; the value lies in giving each site a distinct underwater subject rather than promising the same animals everywhere.

Napoleon Wrasse →

Cheilinus undulatus

Stingray →

Dasyatidae — Dasyatis, Hypanus, Pastinachus, Himantura, Taeniura

The crew speaks English, German and French, and diving is supported by guides and instructors able to run PADI training on board. Courses include Open Water Diver, Advanced Open Water Diver, Enriched Air Nitrox and Deep Diver; theory can be completed through PADI eLearning before boarding so the practical work does not consume the whole safari. Certified divers can use nitrox, while those without the qualification can take the nitrox course during the trip. A private dive guide is available as an option, and specialist photography guidance can be arranged. Beginners are not excluded: a Discovery Scuba Diving session takes place in shallow water with an instructor. Oxygen, first-aid kits, a trained first-aid crew, fire alarms and extinguishers, radios, GPS, radar, emergency beacons and lifeboats form the stated safety equipment. Group ratios, minimum logged dives and a diver-recall system are not stated.

The dive operation is built around a shaded dive area, a proper platform and two tenders that take divers to and from the sites. Nitrox is included for certified nitrox divers, and DIN adapters are available. The boat supports sidemount diving and rebreathers, so it is not limited to a standard recreational setup. Rinse bins are provided for equipment, with a separate rinse area for cameras; charging stations and a camera station keep the photographic workflow away from the general gear handling. Rental equipment is available, including BCDs, regulators, wetsuits, masks and fins, and sizes should be sent at least 14 days before departure so the set can be prepared. Night dives are included in the diving package. The setup is strongest for divers who bring a camera, use nitrox or need a tender-based entry rather than a crowded shore-style operation. Tank material, tank volume, compressor details and SMB provision are not stated.

Between dives, the useful places are outside. The shaded dive area gives wet divers somewhere to sit without standing in full sun, while the terrace and observation deck offer wind, light and a view of the reef or open water. A quiet afternoon can move between the air-conditioned salon, the library and the upper deck; photographers have a dedicated station and a separate camera rinse. Charging stations, Wi-Fi and audio-video entertainment cover the less active gaps, but the boat’s real pause is simpler: dry off, eat, check a camera and watch the tender return. Non-divers can sunbathe or snorkel at suitable sites while the dive groups are underwater. When no dive is scheduled, the outdoor dining area and barbecue space give the day a social centre without forcing everyone into the salon.

A day begins with the boat already organised for diving: breakfast, a briefing, then the first descent at the site chosen for the route and conditions. After the divers return, the deck turns practical—rinse equipment, hang up exposure protection, check cameras and eat before the next call to the water. The daytime dives are separated by meals, snacks and the short periods when the boat moves between reefs or tenders collect divers from the surface. Later, dinner gives the group a longer pause, with the option of an outdoor table or barbecue when planned. The included night dive changes the character of the day: the deck quietens, torches and equipment are checked, and the reef becomes a smaller world of beams, hunting fish and returning bubbles. Then comes the final rinse and sleep in the air-conditioned upper-deck cabins. The next briefing starts the cycle again.

Food is one of Amelie Adventures’ strongest points. Full-board meals arrive as a buffet combining local and Western cooking, with vegetarian and vegan options available, while snacks remain available through the day. Freshly prepared dishes matter on a diving boat because the table is not an event between excursions: it is where the body replaces what several hours in the water have taken out. Breakfast comes before the first underwater session, later meals break up the surface intervals, and dinner closes the diving day. Non-alcoholic drinks, tea and coffee are included; beer and wine are available separately. Meals can be served outdoors, and the boat also offers barbecue dinners. The food score is notably high, which fits a trip where eating well is part of maintaining the dive programme rather than decoration around it.

The cabin choice is straightforward: twin cabins for shared accommodation, or suites for more space and privacy. Cabins are on the upper deck and have air conditioning, private bathrooms and sea-view bay windows, so the room is not a dark place to disappear between dives. The boat also has family cabins, which makes it workable for a family group rather than only pairs of adult divers. Common areas include an air-conditioned indoor salon, an outdoor terrace and an observation deck; the choice is between shade, wind and open sky rather than between a dozen disconnected lounges. Daily housekeeping, hot-water showers and cabin towels keep the practical side simple. At night, the bay window gives the cabin a direct connection with the sea, while the air conditioning provides a more controlled sleeping space when the Red Sea stays warm.

The Best of Hurghada mini-safari departs from Hurghada and returns to Hurghada. Airport and hotel transfers are included, together with the transfer to the vessel. Arriving in Hurghada the night before is the sensible way to protect the first day from flight delays and arrive at the boat rested.