Rocky Island (Egypt)

Rocky Island is a tiny, remote outcrop in the far southern Egyptian Red Sea, near the Sudanese border and often paired with neighbouring Zabargad. Its isolation and steep walls make it one of the Red Sea's most pristine and exciting dive sites, reached only by liveaboard.

The diving is dramatic wall and drift. Sheer reef walls drop from the surface past 40 metres, densely covered in hard and soft coral, gorgonians and sponges. The exposed position and strong currents draw big pelagics: grey reef, whitetip and silvertip sharks, hammerheads, eagle rays, turtles, tuna and huge schools of barracuda and jack. Visibility is typically excellent, often 25–35 metres in the clear southern water.

This is Advanced, current-swept diving. The steep walls, depth and powerful, sometimes unpredictable currents demand an Advanced Open Water certification, good buoyancy and drift-diving experience; nitrox is widely used. The warm 24–29°C water calls for a 3–5mm wetsuit depending on season.

Access is by liveaboard only. There is no land infrastructure; boats reach Rocky and Zabargad on southern "deep south" itineraries sailing from Marsa Alam or Port Ghalib, spending a day or two working the exposed reefs when conditions allow. The remoteness keeps the coral healthy and the sites uncrowded. The window from March to November brings the warmest, calmest conditions, with shark activity strong through the summer. Rocky Island rewards experienced divers seeking wild, pelagic-rich walls in the deep southern Red Sea. Its remoteness near the Sudanese frontier means only a handful of liveaboards reach it each season, keeping the reef among Egypt's least-touched.