Sunshine Egypt — a seasoned Red Sea workhorse with a crew that carries the week

Sunshine makes sense for divers who put the week underwater first. She is not sold as a polished luxury yacht; her appeal is a straightforward dive platform, included nitrox, routes built around Red Sea reefs and wrecks, and a crew that stays close to the operation. The boat is particularly suited to trips that combine Ras Mohamed, the northern wrecks, Abu Nuhas or the long North + Dahab route. The hull has more working-boat character than showroom shine, but that matters less when the guides put the tender on the right part of a drift and the galley keeps producing after another dive. Choose Sunshine for value, sociable evenings and a crew whose attention is felt in the small jobs all day.

Sunshine arrives as a working Red Sea liveaboard: a wooden yacht with broad outdoor areas, a dedicated dive platform and enough separate space for guests to spread between dives. The interior is practical rather than theatrical, with an air-conditioned saloon, restaurant and bar leading out towards the terrace and observation deck. She has been part of the fleet since 2013, after entering service with the operator, and the boat's age shows more in character than in inconvenience. You move between the lower cabin deck, the saloon and the dive area without the feeling of a resort built around decoration. By the second day, the boat's scale works in its favour: twenty guests is enough for company without making the dive deck anonymous.

Sunshine's atmosphere is lively and social rather than hushed. The group is small enough that the crew quickly knows who wants help with a tank, who needs another coffee and who is already discussing the next wreck. The crew's role is practical and constant: deck staff handle the tender work and dive preparation, the steward keeps the saloon moving, and the guides stay involved beyond the briefing. English is spoken on board. Evenings tend towards shared meals, drinks and the kind of loose conversation that follows a day of good dives. The boat itself scores more modestly than its crew, which is a fair description of the experience: Sunshine is an older, non-luxury yacht, and the people running her are what give the week its polish.

The routes are the reason to choose Sunshine. Recorded departures are 8 days and 7 nights, Hurghada to Hurghada, with North + Tiran, Deep North and Hurghada's Very Best alongside Safaga and North + Dahab itineraries. The northern programmes can target the Ras Mohamed escarpment, the Thistlegorm and the wrecks of Abu Nuhas, while the Dahab route reaches Ras Abu Galum, where the wall plunges to -80m, and the Blue Hole, whose technical passages reach -130m. Safaga sites change the mood: Middle Reef is a hard-coral labyrinth; Abu Kafan combines towering walls with current; Fanadir North follows a vegetated wall to -30m; Shaab Claude has monumental Porites formations and reef-shark encounters. In the Hurghada sector, Shaab Ruhr Umm Gamar drops to -40m beside pinnacles and at least three wreck remains, while El Fanadir reaches -40m and has a cleaning station on a shallow pinnacle. Shallower options include Shaab Sabina at -14m, Gotha Abu Nugar North at -9m and Shaab El Erg at 9 - 18 m, known for dolphins. The exact mix depends on the selected itinerary and conditions.

Abu Nuhas →

Ras Abu Galum →

Max. depth · 80 m

Blue Hole →

Max. depth · 130 m

Middle Reef →

Abu Kafan →

Tower →

Fanadir North →

Max. depth · 30 m

Shaab Claude →

Max. depth · 22 m

Shaab Ruhr Umm Gamar →

Max. depth · 40 m

El Fanadir →

Max. depth · 40 m

Shaab Sabina →

Max. depth · 14 m

Gotha Abu Nugar North →

Max. depth · 9 m

Shaab El Erg →

Across this route, turtles, barracudas, Napoleon wrasse, moray eels, scorpionfish, anthias, groupers, reef sharks, tuna, trevallies, rays and octopuses form the recurring Red Sea cast. The variety comes from the change in terrain: walls and current bring larger fish into the blue, while coral gardens and sandy patches hold morays, rays and small reef life. Some encounters give a site its reason for being there. Middle Reef is the recorded location for an oceanic whitetip shark; Shaab Claude adds anemones around its large coral formations; Blue Hole is the route's specific place for triggerfish. Shaab Sabina is notable for hard and soft corals and damselfish, Gabr el Bint for gorgonians and fusiliers, El Fanadir for sweetlips, and Shaab El Erg for glassfish and the nudibranch Chromodoris willani. Dolphins are associated with Shaab El Erg, while a whale shark is an occasional sighting at Gabr el Bint. None of these animals is guaranteed.

Napoleon Wrasse →

Cheilinus undulatus

Oceanic Whitetip Shark →

Carcharhinus longimanus

Nudibranch →

Nudibranchia

Whale Shark →

Rhincodon typus

The dive team works in English and includes guides and instructors, with the operator also running Red Sea diving courses. The guides plan routes around the site's conditions and adjust the itinerary to sea state and guest preferences; a recent North + Tiran trip included drift dives and night dives. Group ratios, minimum logged dives, guide qualifications beyond the instructor description and any onboard course schedule are not stated. The safety equipment is substantial: oxygen, first-aid capability, radar, sonar, GPS, VHF and satellite communications, an emergency position-indicating beacon, liferafts, fire alarms and extinguishers, bilge pumps and rescue flares. That gives the crew the tools to manage the boat and a diving incident, while the briefings determine how each group enters, drifts and returns.

The dive setup is built around a proper platform, two tenders and rinse tanks, with deck space arranged for repeated entries rather than sightseeing. Divers can use DIN adapters, and sidemount diving is supported. Nitrox is included for certified divers, making it useful on a week of successive reef and wreck dives. Rental equipment is available as an optional extra. The listed equipment does not give tank volume or cylinder material, and it does not describe the compressor or a camera table, so those details should not be assumed. The same applies to entry and exit technique: the tenders are part of the operation, but their exact loading procedure is not stated. Hot-water showers, including outdoor showers, are available after the water.

Between dives, Sunshine gives guests several different places to disappear. The air-conditioned saloon is the retreat when the heat has become tiresome, while the terrace and observation deck take the conversation outside. The sundeck is the obvious place to dry off, read or watch the reef pass during a crossing; the bar and audio-video lounge keep the evening from ending when nobody wants another formal activity. Non-diving guests are welcome, including snorkellers, so the boat also works for a mixed group. A quiet afternoon is simple here: shower, eat, move into the shade and watch the tenders return with the last divers.

A day on Sunshine is organised around the next descent. The first briefing comes before the first dive, followed by the return to the platform, a meal, a surface interval and another briefing as the boat either holds position or moves towards the next reef. The tenders take divers to the site and bring them back to the boat after the drift, leaving the deck crew to recover equipment and prepare it again. Later dives fit around lunch, snacks and the changing conditions; some itineraries add a night dive, as the North + Tiran programme has done. The gaps are filled with shade, a shower, a nap or the sundeck. By evening, the last tanks are rinsed, dinner arrives and the conversation shifts from navigation to what appeared in the blue.

Chef Ahmed works from a galley that sends out buffet meals built for repeated diving: breakfast, lunch and dinner, with snacks and fruit available through the day. The food combines Egyptian dishes with western cooking, and the kitchen can provide vegetarian and vegan options. Fresh ingredients are used, and the cooking is one of Sunshine's clear strengths rather than an afterthought between dives. That matters on a liveaboard: the table becomes the reset point after a current-heavy wall dive, a wreck descent or a long tender transfer. Soft drinks, water, tea and coffee are included, with a welcome cocktail at the start of the trip. Beer and local wine are available by pre-order.

The 10 cabins are arranged as twin accommodation, with eight on the lower deck and two on the upper deck. Each has two single beds, air conditioning and a private bathroom; the cabin windows are portholes, so the lower-deck rooms feel enclosed and functional rather than bright hotel rooms. That is the trade-off. Sunshine's nights are made for sleeping between dives, not for spending the evening in the cabin. The air conditioning and private shower matter after a long day, while the saloon and outside decks provide the room that the cabins do not. Guests who want a newer, quieter luxury yacht should look elsewhere. Divers who need a clean bunk, a bathroom and darkness when they turn in will find the arrangement uncomplicated.

The recorded departures and returns are from Hurghada, with the listed safaris running Hurghada to Hurghada. Airport transfer is included. Guests should arrive in Hurghada the night before boarding so a delayed flight does not put the first departure at risk; the transfer arrangement is communicated with the trip details.