Advanced divers and up
Is it worth the trip?
85Good out of 100 for your dates
Best on Fri 6: Sea: flat, Visibility about 25 m, Water 28 °C
Mon 2 · 88 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.1 mflat
- Wind
- 8 kn
- Gusts
- 12kn
- Air
- 28°C
Tue 3 · 88 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.1 mflat
- Wind
- 7 kn
- Gusts
- 10kn
- Air
- 28°C
Wed 4 · 76 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.4 m
- Wind
- 18 kn
- Gusts
- 23kn
- Air
- 28°C
Thu 5 · 79 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.3 m
- Wind
- 16 kn
- Gusts
- 21kn
- Air
- 27°C
Fri 6 · 89 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.1 mflat
- Wind
- 4 kn
- Gusts
- 7kn
- Air
- 27°C
Sat 7 · 84 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.3 m
- Wind
- 13 kn
- Gusts
- 19kn
- Air
- 27°C
Sun 8 · 80 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.4 m
- Wind
- 15 kn
- Gusts
- 24kn
- Air
- 26°C
Tap a day for sea, wind and water. Full forecast
Forecast: next 9 days
Full forecast- Mon 288, good
- Tue 388, good
- Wed 476, good
- Thu 579, good
- Fri 689, good
- Sat 784, good
- Sun 880, good
- Mon 979, good
- Tue 1077, good
The site in five facts
- Down to 25 mits deepest
- From the shorehow you get in
- Advancedand up
- Water 28 °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.
| Day | Score | Sea | Wind | Gusts | Air |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 2Nov | 88, good | 0.1 mflat | 8 kn | 12kn | 28°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 88, good | 0.1 mflat | 7 kn | 10kn | 28°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 76, good | 0.4 m | 18 kn | 23kn | 28°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 79, good | 0.3 m | 16 kn | 21kn | 27°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 89, good | 0.1 mflat | 4 kn | 7kn | 27°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 84, good | 0.3 m | 13 kn | 19kn | 27°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 80, good | 0.4 m | 15 kn | 24kn | 26°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 79, good | 0.4 m | 16 kn | 25kn | 26°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 77, good | 0.4 m | 17 kn | 25kn | 25°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 05:47 −0.3 mHigh 12:20 +0.1 mLow 18:44 −0.2 m
- Tue 3 NovHigh 00:50 +0.1 mLow 07:14 −0.3 mHigh 13:34 +0.1 mLow 20:02 −0.3 m
- Wed 4 NovHigh 02:08 +0.1 mLow 08:29 −0.3 mHigh 14:38 +0.2 mLow 21:05 −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.
Best time to go
No month stands out
Good diving days in a typical week, each month, for Advanced divers, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).
- Jan7of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb6of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar6of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May7of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun7of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug7of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep7of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct7of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov7of 7: a trip from Tue 3 Nov
- Dec7of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec
Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.
Typical, not a forecast: the sea and the mean wind of each day, with no gusts or rain in the history.
Map
the site and its town
Sandy Island 1 on Google Maps · Directions
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.
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Sandy Island 1
A reef dive. It goes down to 25 m. You get in from the shore. 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. No dive centre within 10 km, the nearest 43 km away. The sea is about 24°C in February, its coldest month (5 mm wetsuit), and 31°C in August, its warmest (rash vest or 1 to 2 mm). No town nearby. Hamata, 51 km away, is the nearest town we list; we have not checked places to stay there. Nearest beds: Marsa Alam, 149 km. Nearest airport: Marsa Alam International Airport (RMF), 211 km.
- What it is Reef.
- How deep Down to 25 m.
- Getting in From the shore.
- Who it suits Suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it.
- Dive centres No dive centre within 10 km, the nearest 43 km away.
Water about 28°C: 3 mm wetsuit. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.
Visibility about 25 m. Typical for the time of year, estimated from ten years of NASA satellite water clarity, not a forecast. Clearest in Aug, Sep and Oct (about 30 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$757–US$1,550 each
about US$757–US$1,550 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
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return ORD to RMF, estimated from distance and season, changing at ZRH, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$677–US$1,410 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$27–US$40 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$54–US$100 |
| Total | about US$757–US$1,550 |
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 149 km away
No town nearby
Hamata, 51 km away, is the nearest town we list; we have not checked places to stay there. Nearest beds: Marsa Alam, 149 km. Nearest airport: Marsa Alam International Airport (RMF), 211 km.
See places to stay near Marsa Alam, 149 km away · Booking.comDistances are straight lines: a site out at sea is reached by boat.
Getting there: about 25h
About 25h door to door from Chicago
Fly ORD → RMF, changing at Zürich Airport (ZRH), then 3h 55m by road
Flights ORD → RMF on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.
In the water
Dives and courses in Sandy Island 1 · GetYourGuideDive gear hire in Sandy Island 1 · GetYourGuide
Dive centres nearby
No dive centre mapped within 25 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.
Saved: this link opens the same trip
The link holds the trip itself: nothing about you is kept. Check the forecast again before you book.