Staying Home Sucks, home

Merlo Reef

Dive site · Sudan

Experienced divers only

Is it worth the trip?

83Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

2 days tie for best

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 85 out of 100

Sea
0.2 mflat
Wind
4 kn
Gusts
7kn
Air
29°C

Wed 4 · 85 out of 100

Sea
0.2 mflat
Wind
4 kn
Gusts
8kn
Air
29°C

Thu 5 · 84 out of 100

Sea
0.3 m
Wind
8 kn
Gusts
16kn
Air
29°C

Fri 6 · 84 out of 100

Sea
0.3 m
Wind
9 kn
Gusts
13kn
Air
29°C

Sat 7 · 84 out of 100

Sea
0.3 m
Wind
5 kn
Gusts
9kn
Air
29°C

Sun 8 · 78 out of 100

Sea
0.5 m
Wind
17 kn
Gusts
24kn
Air
28°C

Mon 9 · 75 out of 100

Sea
0.6 m
Wind
21 kn
Gusts
28kn
Air
28°C

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

Forecast: next 9 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 284, good
  2. Tue 385, good
  3. Wed 485, good
  4. Thu 584, good
  5. Fri 684, good
  6. Sat 784, good
  7. Sun 878, good
  8. Mon 975, good
  9. Tue 1075, good

The site in five facts

  • Down to 20 mits deepest
  • From a boathow you get in
  • Experienced / deepexperienced divers only
  • Water 29 °Crash vest or 1 to 2 mm
  • Faces Eswell 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 experienced divers only, as a dive guide states it. Scored for experienced divers.

Sea and wind forecast and score for each day at Merlo Reef
DayScoreSeaWindGustsAir
Mon 2Nov84, good0.2 mflat6 kn9kn29°C
Tue 3Nov85, good0.2 mflat4 kn7kn29°C
Wed 4Nov85, good0.2 mflat4 kn8kn29°C
Thu 5Nov84, good0.3 m8 kn16kn29°C
Fri 6Nov84, good0.3 m9 kn13kn29°C
Sat 7Nov84, good0.3 m5 kn9kn29°C
Sun 8Nov78, good0.5 m17 kn24kn28°C
Mon 9Nov75, good0.6 m21 kn28kn28°C
Tue 10Nov75, good0.7 m20 kn28kn27°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 06:23 −0.2 mHigh 12:56 −0.0 mLow 19:18 −0.1 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 00:54 −0.0 mLow 07:44 −0.1 mHigh 14:03 +0.0 mLow 20:21 −0.1 m
  • Wed 4 NovHigh 02:27 +0.0 mLow 08:50 −0.1 mHigh 14:51 +0.0 mLow 21:13 −0.1 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.

Dive site

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

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Merlo Reef

A pinnacle and reef dive. It goes down to 20 m. You get in from a boat. It suits experienced divers only, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces E: swell from the E reaches it, and wind from the W blows out to sea. No dive centre within 50 km on the map: book a liveaboard or a boat from further off. The sea is about 25°C in February, its coldest month (3 mm wetsuit), and 32°C in August, its warmest (rash vest or 1 to 2 mm). No town nearby. Nearest beds: Port Sudan, 138 km. Nearest airport: Port Sudan New International Airport (PZU), 158 km. Within 5 km we also list 1 dive site.

  • What it is Pinnacle and reef.
  • How deep Down to 20 m.
  • Getting in From a boat.
  • Who it suits Suits experienced divers only, as a dive guide states it.
  • Dive centres No dive centre within 50 km on the map: book a liveaboard or a boat from further off.

Water about 29°C: rash vest or 1 to 2 mm. 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, 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$1,030–US$2,060 each

about US$1,030–US$2,060 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, 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 JED, estimated from distance and season, changing at LHR, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$710–US$1,470
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$100–US$174
Food7 days eating outabout US$221–US$415
Totalabout US$1,030–US$2,060

No town nearby, so no stay is in it. 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: nearest beds 138 km away

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

No town nearby

Nearest beds: Port Sudan, 138 km. Nearest airport: Port Sudan New International Airport (PZU), 158 km.

See places to stay near Port Sudan, 138 km away · Booking.com

Distances are straight lines: a site out at sea is reached by boat.

Getting there: about 25h 40m

About 25h 40m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → JED, changing at London Heathrow Airport (LHR), then 3h 50m by road

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

In the water

Dive centres nearby

No dive centre mapped within 50 km.

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.

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