Staying Home Sucks, home
Halayeb We Shalateen Rd, Qesm Marsa Alam, Red Sea Governorate, Egypt - panoramio
Near Wadi El Gimal. Photo: youssef_alam, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Wadi El Gimal

Dive site · Egypt

Advanced divers and up

Is it worth the trip?

72Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

3 days tie for best

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 78 out of 100

Sea
0.3 m
Wind
6 kn
Gusts
10kn
Air
27°C

Tue 3 · 78 out of 100

Sea
0.2 mflat
Wind
9 kn
Gusts
11kn
Air
28°C

Wed 4 · 52 out of 100

Sea
0.9 m
Wind
15 kn
Gusts
20kn
Air
29°C

Thu 5 · 62 out of 100

Sea
0.8 m
Wind
11 kn
Gusts
18kn
Air
27°C

Fri 6 · 78 out of 100

Sea
0.3 m
Wind
2 kn
Gusts
6kn
Air
27°C

Sat 7 · 69 out of 100

Sea
0.7 m
Wind
13 kn
Gusts
18kn
Air
25°C

Sun 8 · 60 out of 100

Sea
0.8 m
Wind
13 kn
Gusts
19kn
Air
25°C

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

Forecast: next 9 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 278, good
  2. Tue 378, good
  3. Wed 452, fair
  4. Thu 562, good
  5. Fri 678, good
  6. Sat 769, good
  7. Sun 860, good
  8. Mon 954, fair
  9. Tue 1052, fair

The site in six facts

  • Down to 40 mits deepest
  • From the shorehow you get in
  • Advancedand up
  • Water 27 °C3 mm wetsuit
  • Faces NEswell from there reaches it
  • Best in Jul7 good days in 7

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 Wadi El Gimal
DayScoreSeaWindGustsAir
Mon 2Nov78, good0.3 m6 kn10kn27°C
Tue 3Nov78, good0.2 mflat9 kn11kn28°C
Wed 4Nov52, fair0.9 m15 kn20kn29°C
Thu 5Nov62, good0.8 m11 kn18kn27°C
Fri 6Nov78, good0.3 m2 kn6kn27°C
Sat 7Nov69, good0.7 m13 kn18kn25°C
Sun 8Nov60, good0.8 m13 kn19kn25°C
Mon 9Nov54, fair0.9 m14 kn19kn25°C
Tue 10Nov52, fair0.9 m14 kn19kn24°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.

Best time to go

best in Jul

Good diving days in a typical week, each month, for Advanced divers, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).

  1. Jan4of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
  2. Feb4of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
  3. Mar5of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
  4. Apr5of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
  5. May5of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
  6. Jun5of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
  7. Jul7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
  8. Aug6of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
  9. Sep4of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
  10. Oct5of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
  11. Nov6of 7: a trip from Tue 3 Nov
  12. Dec5of 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, its town, photos

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.

Photos of Wadi El Gimal

Qesm Marsa Alam, Red Sea Governorate, Egypt - panoramio (8)
Near Wadi El Gimal. Photo: youssef_alam, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

More diving near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Wadi El Gimal

A reef dive. It goes down to 40 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 16 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). For Advanced divers the best month is usually July, with about 7 good days in 7; in January, February and September, about 4. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Hamata.

  • What it is Reef.
  • How deep Down to 40 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 16 km away.

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

Visibility about 15 m. Typical for the time of year, estimated from ten years of NASA satellite water clarity, not a forecast. Clearest in May, 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

Closest

Hamata

21 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, 12 km. We have not checked places to stay in Hamata yet. The nearest beds we have counted are in Marsa Alam, 88 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

About 24h door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → RMF, changing at Zürich Airport (ZRH), then 2h 55m 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.

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