Monkey Divers Diving College

Monkey Divers Diving College is a PADI-affiliated centre situated at the Elphistone Marsa Alam Resort. Its position in the Red Sea places you within easy reach of some of the most significant marine habitats in Egypt, from sheltered bays to high-energy offshore reefs.

The centre is designed to accommodate a wide range of diving interests, offering everything from introductory sessions for beginners to advanced technical training. Its location allows for efficient access to both coastal sites and offshore excursions via boat or speedboat.

Managed by Lorella and Ahmed, the centre operates with an international team of instructors and guides. This multicultural approach ensures that communication is seamless, with staff capable of instructing and guiding in English, French, Italian, Spanish, and Arabic.

The team focuses on providing professional guidance across a variety of environments, including night dives and drift dives. Their expertise covers the full spectrum of recreational and technical diving, ensuring that both novice and experienced divers receive appropriate supervision.

The centre provides a complete catalogue of PADI courses, beginning with Discover Scuba Diving and the Bubblemaker programme for younger divers. For those starting their certification journey, the Open Water Diver and Advanced Open Water Diver courses are the primary pathways.

Advanced divers can progress through several specialties, including Deep Diver, Night Diver, Peak Performance Buoyancy, Wreck Diver, and Drift Diver. The centre also caters to technical divers with Sidemount Diver and TecRec programmes, as well as Self-Reliant Diver training.

Professional development is available through the Divemaster course, and the centre offers Emergency First Response (EFR) training. Other specialised training includes Digital Underwater Photographer, Dive Against Debris, and Dry Suit Diver courses.

The centre utilises boats and speedboats to reach offshore sites such as Elphinstone Reef and Dolphin House. Depending on the excursion, you can choose between standard boat trips or faster transit via speedboat to reach specific locations like Shaab Abu Dabab.

Onboard services include soft drinks and meals during the day. For those looking to extend their experience, the centre organises night dives and dedicated trips to remote reefs.

A full range of rental kit is available on-site for those not travelling with their own equipment. This includes BCDs, regulators, long or shorty wetsuits, dive computers, compasses, masks, fins, and buoyancy control devices.

For night diving or technical excursions, the centre provides torches and SMBs. The facility is equipped to support various diving profiles, with Nitrox and Trimix available for divers requiring enriched air or technical gas blends.

The marine life in this region is exceptionally diverse, ranging from large pelagics to delicate macro species. In the deeper waters and along the walls of sites like Elphinstone, you can encounter hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna lewini), oceanic whitetip sharks (Carcharhinus longimanus), and grey sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos). Schools of tuna (Thunnus), barracudas (Sphyraena barracuda), and jacks (Carangidae) are also common in the current-swept areas.

In the sheltered bays and seagrass meadows, such as Marsa Egla and Marsa Abu Dabab, the focus shifts to turtles and dugongs (Dugong dugon). You will frequently see green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) and various rays (Batoidea) resting on the sandy bottom. These areas are also excellent for spotting camouflage specialists like scorpionfish (Scorpaenidae), stonefish (Synanceia), and crocodilefish.

The reef structures themselves are built from a rich tapestry of hard corals (Scleractinia) and soft corals (Alcyonacea), alongside gorgonians (Gorgoniidae). These habitats support a vast array of reef fish, including Napoleon wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus), parrotfish (Calotomus), and various species of snapper (Lutjanus).

For those interested in macro life, the crevices and corals host seahorses (Hippocampus kuda), frogfish (Antennarius), and various species of nudibranch. You may also find octopus (Octopus vulgaris), moray eels (Muraenidae), and various species of shrimp (Caridea) amongst the reef architecture.

Diving in the Marsa Alam region involves a variety of environments. Offshore sites like Elphinstone Reef are characterised by strong currents, which attract larger pelagic species but require experienced divers.

In contrast, the many 'Marsas' or bays in the area offer much calmer, shallower conditions with minimal current, making them suitable for beginners and training courses. Visibility typically ranges from 10 to 50 metres depending on the specific site and conditions.