I did a diving cruise in Egypt on one of the best liveaboards in the Red Sea. Read on for my Blueforce 3 liveaboard review, practical tips, and our journey through the Northern Red sea scuba diving.
If you want to dive the Red Sea on a liveaboard, read this guide and the practicals tips.
Content of this article:
Getting to Hurghada -the gateway airport for Red Sea Liveaboards
Our itinerary on the Blueforce 3 departed from Hurghada, the largest touristic town in Egypt’s red sea and the port where most liveaboards in Egypt depart from
Hurghada gets plenty of charter flights from Europe and Russia.
I flew from Indonesia via Istanbul on Turkish Airlines. Turkish is one of the few mainstream airlines flying to Hurghada and they can connect you to a huge number of destinations around the world. If you have a long stopover in Istanbul, check out my review of the Yotel airport hotel here.
Passport control at Hurghada airport during Covid
The arrival at Hurghada airport was extremely well organized and it took me less than 10 minutes to pass all the controls. They first checked my PCR test and my temperature. Many passengers who didn’t have a PCR test could do it on arrival at the airport. I then bought the visa on arrival for 25 USD and went through customs. It was fast and friendly. Many airports could learn from the Hurghada airport)
Getting a taxi from Hurghada airport
Getting a taxi outside the Hurghada airport was unpleasant.
I was quickly directed to a driver who walked to his car refusing to talk about prices before we reached the car.
There is a big sign with the official prices that mentioned 100 Egyptian pounds for a trip to Hurghada town ( about 7 USD), yet the driver wanted 25 USD, pretending the 7 USD was the parking fee…
I was tired after 35 hours of traveling and felt compassion for people in the tourist industry that have been economically hit by Corona so I ended up agreeing on 15 USD instead of the normal price of 7 USD.
Upon arrival, he first refused to give me my change back and it led to some more unpleasant discussions…I felt I got cheated and that left me a bad first impression of Egypt…
Next time, I will try Uber or book the transfer in advance. A reliable driver in Hurghada is Mohamed. You can reach him at +201000239333
Tip: book an airport transfer or get a Uber when arriving at Hurghada airport.
If you arrive on the same day as the boat departure, the Blueforce team will pick you up directly from the airport and allow you to avoid taking an airport taxi 🙂
Getting an Egypt phone card at Hurghada airport.
If you want internet during your cruise, you might want to get a local Egypt sim card with a data plan.
The 4 phone companies in Egypt have a counter just outside of the arrival hall in the Hurghada airport (after you get your luggage and pass the luggage custom control)
The best cell phone coverage is with Vodaphone. The coverage from my phone was often faster than the hotels or airport’s Wi-Fi.
I purchased a card with 16 GB of data valid for 30 days for 20 USD. The data takes over an hour to activate so don’t worry if it doesn’t work immediately.
You need your passport as they will take a copy of it.
To check your package and data balance if you don’t read Arabic, the easiest is to download the Vodafone Egypt App.
TIP: Worth noting that calls with WhatsApp or skype are not working in Egypt but Viber is working.
Staying in Hurghada or around?
I decided to arrive a day earlier to recover from jetlag before the beginning of the cruise.
I stayed at the Marriott Hurghada as it is close to the airport and the port. It is a bit dated but is conveniently located. It has a beach and a large pool.
Hurghada is not the most charming place in Egypt… It is overbuilt with large hotels for packaged tourists.
If you want to spend a few days after or before your diving cruise, check out the tourist village of El Gouna. It is 25 minutes’ drive from Hurghada and I find it a lot more pleasant.
Covid procedure on the Blueforce liveaboard.
Blueforce has put in place a series of measures to prevent the spread of Coronavirus
All the guests need to have a PCR test result to enter Egypt and board the boat.
We were asked to sanitize our hands when we were picked up and our temperature was taken n upon boarding the boat.
Tip: bring your own hand sanitizer for the cruise. the hand sanitizer dispensers were empty and there is no hand sanitizer dispenser available in the dining room.
They have also removed the common rinsing tank for masks and ask that we rinse them with a hose to prevent the spread of the virus through masks.
Most guests had to do a PCR test at the end of the trip and everyone stayed healthy during our liveaboard in Egypt
Review of the BlueForce liveaboard
The first impression when boarding is that the BlueForce 3 is that it is big and shiny. It was built in 2018 is one of the newest and most luxurious boats for diving the Red Sea and Egypt. It has been built for diving and a lot of attention went into details to make it comfortable. The BlueForce 3 is one of the best boats around.
With a length of 42 meters, there is plenty of common space and seating areas so that the boat never feels crowded.
The lower deck is occupied by cabins.
On the main deck, we find the dining room, the living room, and the dive deck.
The dining room is large and has 5 tables. You can therefore choose to eat with your friends or you can eat at the larger central table and meet the other passengers.
Next to the dining room is a large area with multiple sofas and a TV.
Both the dining room and the living room have strong air conditioning so this is a great place for people who like it fresh.
The dive deck is spacious at the back of the boat and is shaded to protect you from the sun.
TIP: The Red Sea can be very windy. The diving station on the edge of the boat can be to windy and cold so you are better off choosing a dive station at the center of the boat.
On the superior deck, you can find the outdoor bar and another seating area. 4 more cabins are located on this deck.
In the bar, you can help yourself with soft drinks or alcoholic drinks. Beer wines and cocktails are available for purchase.
you can see the prices below.
The sun deck is huge and has another seating area and plenty of comfortable sun loungers. I certainly enjoyed the multiple cushions provided. Not only do they add a lovely touch of color to the boat but they also made us more comfortable when relaxing on the sundeck.
The boat is very easy to navigate with large stairs, handles rails, and anti-slip floors.
It is a well-designed boat and attention has been paid to the look of the boat. The main colors are blue, white, and yellow which goes very well with the Red Sea landscape. There is a lot of natural wood onboard giving it a relaxed feeling. Practical aspects have not been forgotten. For example, they have placed charging plugs and USB plugs under the sofas in the main living room.
Review of the rooms on the Blueforce liveaboard in Egypt
I stayed in the superior deck cabin number 10. The bedroom is well designed and comfortable.
There is plenty of natural light due to the large panoramic window. Only the superior cabins have a large window that allows you to see the passing landscape.
Attention has been paid to the lighting of the room with fancy led lights and electric charging points. (The plugs are European types)
There are 2 beds. One is a single bed and one is a double bed.
The bed is super comfortable and a plush duvet is provided. I slept very well.
There is individually controlled Airconditioning available in all the cabins but you can also open the bathroom window to get fresh air directly into the cabin.
The cabin is relatively quiet and the noise of the motor when navigating was fairly low.
There is a safety box
The superior cabins are excellent and nicer than on most diving liveaboard.
The bathroom
The bathroom is ensuite and relatively large for a liveaboard.
I really liked the blue Arabic-style flooring tiles. It gave the bathroom an interesting look.
The shower is separated by a glass so you don’t wet the whole bathroom each time you shower. A cloth drying line is conveniently placed in the shower.
There is hot and cold water and the water pressure was great. the best I have seen on any liveaboard!
Plenty of plush towels are provided.
The toilet is a “normal” toilet but make sure you don’t put toilet paper in it as it will block the pipes.
Tip: only shower gel is provided so bring your shampoo and conditioner.
What cabin to choose on the Blueforce 3 liveaboard?
All the cabins have a similar size and layout. What distinguishes them is the deck they are on.
Cabins on the superior deck have a large window with a sea view and a door opening to the outside allowing you to get fresh air into the cabin.
The price difference between cabins is quite small so I would suggest going for an upper-deck superior cabin
Review of the food on the Blueforce liveaboard
The food was good and varied. It was served buffet-style.
Breakfast would be served after the first dive at around 8 am. It consisted of eggs, bread, 4 types of cheese! Fruits, yogurts, and many other things to choose from.
I loved the fruits platter. It has many kinds of fruits like apple, melon, peaches, apricots, watermelon, and the fruits were delicious.
For coffee lovers, a Nespresso coffee machine is available and Nespresso capsules cost 1.5 Eur. Tea lovers were not forgotten as 5 types of tea were on offer.
Lunch would be served after the second dive around 12:00 or 1 pm and diner after the night dive around 8:30 pm
Lunch and diner consisted of a large buffet with 2 or 3 meat dishes, plenty of vegetables, Rice and Pasta. The food was mostly western style with some Egyptian dishes (Hummus, Okra, falafels…) there were plenty of options for vegetarians too. The chef was very accommodating of dietary preferences.
Most dishes were very appetizing and the quantity and quality of the food provided were impressive. It was even better than some five stars hotels I visited during this trip to Egypt.
The dessert buffet was also remarkable with 2 or 3 cakes on offer and plenty of tasty fresh fruits every day.
Snacks, fruits, and cake would be available at all times if you get hungry in between dives.
Needless to say that we didn’t get hungry during this diving cruise. Egypt is known for its food poisoning issue. I am happy to say that during this trip, I have not heard anyone complaining about stomach issues which confirms the quality of the chef and the hygiene measures in place.
Review of the service aboard the Blue Force 3 liveaboard.
The team on the Blueforce 3 is very solid. They are super-efficient and organized but also do everything with a smile.
A lot of attention to detail was obvious on the dive deck. They would help us put on diving gear. The tanks were perfectly filled every time. A drink would usually be waiting for us after each dive.
The cabin would be cleaned and turned down 3 times a day!
The waiter in the restaurants was ever attentive, bringing us drinks or special food orders.
The service on the Blue Force liveaboard is very good.
Review of the diving organization on the blue force liveaboard
A boat for advanced divers
The Blueforce 3 liveaboard caters to advanced divers as they request divers have a minimum of 50 dives. I always prefer to dive on boats that have a minimum number of dives required because it usually means that all the divers onboard have a good level. The cruise director can therefore choose dive sites that are more challenging and usually more exciting as usually current attracts the bigger fishes and the hunting action.
Each diver is assigned a spot on the dive deck with a tank and a box to put your other equipment
Easy access to the dive sites
For some of the dives, we could access the site directly from the dive platform. It was as easy as putting your gears on and jump in the water. Coming back up was through 2 ladders at the back of the boat. We would walk up those ladders with our fins and tanks. I was initially worried about that part but it was easier than it looked.
Other dive sites had to be accessed with the tender boats. There are 3 tender boats available. We would walk into the boat with the tank on our back. To come back, we would hand out our tank and weights to the boat driver before getting back on the boat, making it easier.
Fantastic guides
Guides are one of the most important aspects of a great liveaboard trip. Both our guides Sergio and Mahmoud were great. They have been diving those sites for years and it shows. They know the sites perfectly, understand the tides and the currents, and can plan a dive accordingly.
The briefings before the dives given by were some of the most complete I have seen on a liveaboard. Sergio had maps of the site, drawings of the wreck; not only would we understand the dive plan but we would often get a history lesson and get some information about the fishes and animals we were likely to see. They were both super friendly, passionate about diving, and great leaders for this cruise.
Water temperature in the Red Sea in June
Water temperature during our cruise in the North Red Sea in June was between 25 and 26 degrees. So I would recommend bringing a 5 mm wetsuit. I did a cruise in the South Red Sea later in the month and it was noticeably warmer with 28 or 29 degrees.
Water temperature in the Red Seas can drop down to 20 degrees in January so check the temperature for your dates of travel before you pack.
You can see the expected water temperature here: https://seatemperature.info/hurghada-water-temperature.html
Snorkeling, Nitrox, tanks, and more
This trip to the Northern Red Sea is really designed for divers. There are no activities offered besides diving. I also think that most of the sites we visited ( especially the wrecks) would not be suitable for snorkelers as they were quite deep. Other sites like Brothers had dangerous sharks lurking around in the shallow and would therefore be unsafe for snorkelers.
TIP: In Egypt, SMB and dive computers are mandatory for each diver so bring your own.
Knives and gloves are not allowed (except on wrecks)
Dive time is a maximum of 60 minutes or 50 bars.
Nitrox is available for 40 euros per week.
They also offer a range of diving courses onboard.
TIP: The Blue Force 3 uses aluminum tanks which are lighter to carry. Bigger tanks are available for a small fee. This combined with the higher salinity of the Red Sea means that you might need more weight than you normally would. I needed an extra 2 kilos!
Itinerary: Red Sea liveaboard diving the best sites in Egypt
I did the Blue Force 3 top Red Sea itinerary. This itinerary covers the North of the Red Sea and allowed me to discover some of the best dive sites in the world. In one week, I dove one of the world-famous wrecks, the Thistlegorm, the national park of Ras Mohamed, and even encountered sharks and pelagic fishes on Brother Island dive sites.
The trip was in June and I expected to feel really warm. Many people had warned me that it was too hot to go to Egypt in June. I shouldn’t have worried. The Red Sea was much windier than I expected which dramatically reduced the perceived temperature.
The water in most dive sites was around 25 or 26 degrees which I sometimes found a bit cold. So don’t have any hesitations about diving the Red Sea over the summer, especially itineraries in the North Red sea where the water is a bit cooler than in the South Red Sea.
Day one: Boarding the Blueforce 3 liveaboard
We got picked up from the Marriott hotel on Saturday at 7 pm to board the Blueforce Liveaboard.
After a 10 minutes drive, we entered the Hurghada Marina and got dropped straight in front of the boat. Someone took care of our luggage while we were escorted to the living room. There, we met Mahmoud and Sergio, our dive guides for the week.
We took care of all the paperwork and got a briefing about the cruise and the boat before being escorted to our cabins.
The diner was served at 8:15 pm and it was our first chance to meet the other passengers we would be sharing this cruise with.
The changing travel rules due to Covid means that a few passengers had to cancel last minute. We would be only 9 passengers for the cruise.
Day 2: Check dive on the reefs near Hurghada
Three dives were offered this day. Poseidon Reef is an easy dive for the check dive.
It is a sloping reef in the middle of the water. We can jump from the boat platform.
The place is full of colorful corals. There is a sandy bottom interspersed with coral bommies.
Small fishes like Butterflies fishes, angels, and anthias fishes are present in big numbers
The day dive and a night dive were at Abu Nuhas Channel, a reef that comes down into a wall
Day 3: Diving Wrecks near Hurghada
Giannis D wreck is in the channel of Gubal. It was launched in 1969 as the Shoyo Maru and sank in 1983. It is huge at about 100 meters long.
Starting at a depth of 10 meters and goes down to 25 meters, the entry into the water was a bit of an adventure as there were big waves near the wreck and the tender boat was rocking the waves. It was much quieter once underwater. Visibility was awesome. We started around the wreck but quickly went in, discovering hidden passages and rooms.
How awe-inspiring to see how such a huge boat could have been destroyed by the ocean and reminds us of the power of the sea. There are many glass fishes in the boat. We found a pretty pink pipefish.
After the wreck, we continued along with a sloping coral garden. A turtle was swimming and was kind enough to pose for our photos. It was a great dive.
We crossed the entrance of the Suez Canal. it was impressive to see all the huge boats entering it.
We then tried to dive the Wreck near Kinston Rock but couldn’t do it because the wind and the waves were too strong and the wreck is shallow. It goes from 3 meters all the way down to 15 meters. So this became a gentle drift dive along the sloping reef. The reef was quite pretty with lots of small fishes
The main course for today is the Thistlegorm wreck dive site. One of the most famous wrecks in the world. It was discovered by Jacques Cousteau in 1952.
Thislegorm means the blue flower from Scotland. The boat was built in 1940 and sank in 1941 on its first trip. The Thislegorm wreck is 126 meters long and lies 15 to 30 meters deep.
The wreck is still full of weapons, 2 locomotives, soldiers’ uniforms, tanks, cars, motorbikes, and even trucks. The content of the boat is very impressive to see. It is like a museum underwater
The wreck is full of scorpionfishes, crocodile fishes, and batfishes. I have dived many wrecks in the past and the Thislegorm is one of the most impressive wrecks I have ever seen so don’t miss it if you go to Dive in Egypt.
We did a night dive on the Thistlegorm wreck. It was fantastic but also a bit spooky to enter inside the boat during the night. Make sure you have a good torch! Diving this huge wreck at night is a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Don’t miss this opportunity.
Day 4: Thistegorm and more wrecks
The Thistlegorm wreck is so big and impressive that it was worth spending more time there and doing 2 more dives. We did a total of 4 dives there. We then moved to Dunraven that also has a nice wreck to explore.
Day 5: Ras Mohamed National Park – the crown jewel of the Northern Red Sea dive sites
We are now in the Ras Mohamed national park, a world-class dive area.
We dove the Shark and Yolanda reef sites. It is located at the corner of Ras Mohamed and is surrounded by a deep wall that goes down to 800 meters!
The site is composed of 3 submerged pinnacles. shark reef, Yolanda reef, and satellite reef.
We started the dive on the anemone city side. There are over 300 anemones in anemone city. Don’t forget to look in the blue when you cross between reefs. The deep wall attracts big pelagics. We saw a few huge tunas and schools of Jacks. The wall is pretty with many giant gorgonians and soft corals. A huge school of snappers was waiting for us near Shark reef. The school of unicorn fishes was magical. They were so close to us and didn’t seem bothered by us being there.
After the Yolanda reef, is an old wreck called Yolanda at 17 meters. The boat was transporting toilets so it makes for a surreal scenario. Hundreds of broken toilets are littering the bottom of the reef. The shallower coral garden is very pretty with thousands of colorful red anthias fishes. We saw 2 pipefishes in the shallow area.
What a dive! it was so good that we asked to do it a second time!
The afternoon dive was at small Giftun island, a reef surrounded by a wall. There is a plateau with sand patches that start around 15 meters. The wall is covered by soft corals and turtles
There was no night dive as we needed to cruise towards brother island which is a cool 12 hours away.
The wind had abated a bit. We gathered on the top deck while cruising for the sunset. It is always a special moment to end the day with a beautiful sunset.
Day 6: looking for oceanic white sharks and hammerheads in brother islands
We spent the whole night navigating towards Brother Island. It was however very quiet. I could barely hear the sound of the motor in my upper deck cabin and the waves were moderate. I slept great despite the long overnight crossing.
We woke up at 5:30 and couldn’t wait to go and look for those hammerheads. There was a special kind of excitement amongst the divers onboard.
Big brother island is a rock in the middle of the Red Sea. There is a lighthouse and a few decrepit buildings amongst the arid landscape. I wouldn’t like to be the military people that have to live on the islands for 90 days at a time.
Brother island dive site is a drift dive along the wall of the island.
We got a clear briefing focused on safety to avoid triggering an attack of white oceanic sharks.
TIP: It is important not to stay at the surface as Oceanic white tips like to eat animals on the surface.
If Oceanic white tips sharks come close, stay calm, vertical, and do not move away.
After our security briefing, we were ready for them but unfortunately, they didn’t come to see us. We saw a small black tip and a white tip reef shark. Everyone who dives a lot knows that with nature there is no guarantee.
We dove big brother twice but the biggest shark we saw was a grey reef. A few huge barracudas and tunas were patrolling the area.
The positive of this is that we got a bit of time to look at the wall that was spectacular and covered with pink, yellow, and green soft corals. It was absolutely full of Anthias.
So even if we were a bit disappointed by not seeing any big sharks, it was still a gorgeous dive.
Small brother was our last dive for the day. It is a small rocky island surrounded by a wall that comes down in a big plateau and then goes down in a very deep wall.
There were no sharks. Current can be weird. We got a bit of current including a spiraling upward current so make sure you control your depth and buoyancy.
The positive point is that it forced me to stay close to the wall. And what a wall it was. Some sections of the small brother wall dive site are amongst the most stunning soft coral walls I have ever seen.
Day 7: Last day of diving on the way back to Hurghada
The last day of diving came too quickly.
We navigated 75 kilometers overnight towards Safaga and stopped at the Panorama reef dive site.
Panorama is a submerged reef surrounded by a wall that comes down in a plateau at 10 or 12 meters.
The wall is full of soft corals. At about 30 meters, there is a pretty section with gorgonians corals.
The walls get much nicer in the shallow area around 8-15 meters. There is an incredible anemone city. Hundreds of anemones and playful nemos populated that reef section.
The last dive of the trip was nearer Hurghada. We had to be back in Hurghada by lunchtime as many guests had to do a PCR test to go back to their countries.
After a last sunset and diner on board, it was time to say goodbye to the blue force 3.
Day 8: Transfer to the Marriott and the airport
Blue Force cruises include one night in a 5-star hotel so that divers have time to process the nitrogen before their flight.
Our hotel was the Marriott Hurghada. The Blueforce team organized all the transfers from the boat to the hotel and also from the hotel to the airport on the next day. It was all flawlessly organized. We spend a relaxing afternoon swimming and chilling on the hotel’s beach.
In conclusion of the Review of Blue Force 3 liveaboard diving cruise to the Red Sea
The Blue force 3 is a new and splendid ship, perfect for diving the Red Sea. It is one of the best live-aboard boats in Egypt. The organization is flawless, the food is great and the team is helpful and smiling. The Blue Force 3 offers an outstanding value for money given the luxury experience that it provides.
The Top Red Sea itinerary allows you to sample the best dive sites in Egypt. The wreck of Thistlegorm and the national parks of Ras Mohamed and brothers. We had an amazing diving cruise on the Blue Force and I look forward to trying the company’s other boats in Sudan and the Maldives.
For booking, check the Blue Force website here.
For more Red Sea scuba diving, check my review of diving the Jackson reef near Sharm El Sheikh with the Four Seasons Resort.
Finally, no trip to Egypt is complete without a visit to the Pyramids and Luxor. I also wrote an article about the Luxor Winter Palace (Luxor’s best hotel) and what to do in Luxor.
Happy travel to Egypt!