Staying Home Sucks, home
Hamata port (66256)
Hamata, the nearest town, 4 km away. Photo: Accurimbono, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Um El Sheikh

Dive site · Egypt

Advanced divers and up

Is it worth the trip?

81Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

Best on Fri 6: Sea: flat, Visibility about 20 m, Water 27 °C

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 84 out of 100

Sea
0.1 mflat
Wind
9 kn
Gusts
13kn
Air
31°C

Wed 4 · 76 out of 100

Sea
0.5 m
Wind
15 kn
Gusts
24kn
Air
31°C

Thu 5 · 80 out of 100

Sea
0.4 m
Wind
13 kn
Gusts
23kn
Air
30°C

Fri 6 · 85 out of 100

Sea
0.2 mflat
Wind
2 kn
Gusts
6kn
Air
29°C

Sat 7 · 81 out of 100

Sea
0.4 m
Wind
10 kn
Gusts
23kn
Air
28°C

Sun 8 · 80 out of 100

Sea
0.5 m
Wind
13 kn
Gusts
27kn
Air
27°C

Mon 9 · 79 out of 100

Sea
0.5 m
Wind
13 kn
Gusts
28kn
Air
26°C

Tap a day for sea, wind and water. Full forecast

Forecast: next 9 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 284, good
  2. Tue 384, good
  3. Wed 476, good
  4. Thu 580, good
  5. Fri 685, good
  6. Sat 781, good
  7. Sun 880, good
  8. Mon 979, good
  9. Tue 1078, good

The site in five facts

  • Down to 20 mits deepest
  • From a boathow you get in
  • Advancedand up
  • Water 27 °C3 mm wetsuit
  • Faces NEswell from there reaches it

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know currents, the visibility on the day or your certification.

Suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it. Scored for Advanced divers.

Sea and wind forecast and score for each day at Um El Sheikh
DayScoreSeaWindGustsAir
Mon 2Nov84, good0.1 mflat6 kn13kn30°C
Tue 3Nov84, good0.1 mflat9 kn13kn31°C
Wed 4Nov76, good0.5 m15 kn24kn31°C
Thu 5Nov80, good0.4 m13 kn23kn30°C
Fri 6Nov85, good0.2 mflat2 kn6kn29°C
Sat 7Nov81, good0.4 m10 kn23kn28°C
Sun 8Nov80, good0.5 m13 kn27kn27°C
Mon 9Nov79, good0.5 m13 kn28kn26°C
Tue 10Nov78, good0.5 m14 kn27kn26°C

Sea is the waves near the site, in metres; wind and gusts in knots. "Boats in": gusts that keep dive boats in. More

Tide

  • Mon 2 NovLow 05:48 −0.3 mHigh 12:19 +0.1 mLow 18:43 −0.3 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 00:46 +0.1 mLow 07:11 −0.3 mHigh 13:32 +0.2 mLow 20:00 −0.3 m
  • Wed 4 NovHigh 02:03 +0.1 mLow 08:24 −0.3 mHigh 14:35 +0.2 mLow 21:02 −0.3 m

Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Slack water, the safest time to dive where there is current, is about half an hour either side of each high and low. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Map

the site and its town

Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

More diving near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Um El Sheikh

A reef dive. It goes down to 20 m. You get in from a boat. It suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces NE: swell from the NE reaches it, and wind from the SW blows out to sea. 2 dive centres or shops within 10 km, the nearest 6.4 km away. The sea is about 24°C in January, its coldest month (5 mm wetsuit), and 31°C in August, its warmest (rash vest or 1 to 2 mm). The town to stay in is Hamata. Within 5 km we also list 1 wind sports spot and 2 dive sites.

  • What it is Reef.
  • How deep Down to 20 m.
  • Getting in From a boat.
  • Who it suits Suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it.
  • Dive centres 2 dive centres or shops within 10 km, the nearest 6.4 km away.

Water about 27°C: 3 mm wetsuit. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

Visibility about 20 m. Typical for the time of year, estimated from ten years of NASA satellite water clarity, not a forecast. Clearest in Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct and Nov (about 20 m).

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$804–US$1,630 each

about US$804–US$1,630 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn ORD to RMF, estimated from distance and season, changing at ZRH, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$677–US$1,410
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$27–US$40
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$47–US$80
Food7 days eating outabout US$54–US$100
Totalabout US$804–US$1,630

Guided dives are not priced yet: we have no sourced price, so it is not in it. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Hamata

Ad Links marked Ad may pay us if you book. You pay the same, and they never change a score. How we earn

Closest

Hamata

about 10 min by car

about US$20/nightcountry average

See places to stay in Hamata · Booking.com

About Hamata its beds, food and every spot near it

Nearest town: Hamata, 4 km. We have not checked places to stay in Hamata yet. The nearest beds we have counted are in Marsa Alam, 98 km away. Search before you plan on staying there.

About US$20 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

Getting there: about 24h 15m

About 24h 15m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → RMF, changing at Zürich Airport (ZRH), then 3h 10m by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.

In the water

Dive centres nearby

The nearest named dive centres and shops within 25 km, in a straight line; training agencies where the map states them. Listings, not a recommendation. Dive centres: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits

What you might see

Too few open records near this site to list its animals. Ask a dive centre what you are likely to see.

This week's visibility, the current and the life no free forecast gives. Ask a dive centre before you book.