BUDGET AND LUXURY
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SDOP
If you feel like more adventurous diving a short, 20-minute speedboat trip will take you to the iconic offshore beauty of Elphinstone. This cigarshaped reef is subject to strong, nutrient-rich currents and the sheer walls are festooned with
24 The soft corals on the walls are colourful and healthy
25 Marsa Shagra eco-village with the stunning house reef in front and the ethereal Eastern desert behind
colourful soft corals. Just beneath the surface on the northern plateau is one of the best places in the Red Sea to find the oceanic whitetip shark( Carcharhinus longimanus). These guys are generally in the area from summer to late autumn. Also keep an eye out in the blue for other pelagics including hammerheads that are occasionally spotted off the deeper southern plateau.
Marsa Shagra is one of three wonderful ecovillages with Red Sea Diving Safari along the coast of the Red Sea south of bustling Hurghada. The diving is relaxed and‘ open deck’ on the house reef. The welcome is warm and friendly and it really is like being in a Bedouin village, only with diving, excellent local and international food and many other activities around to keep the whole family busy.
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