Classic Sudan
The Classic Sudan tour is, as it sounds, a classic diving trip and liveaboard safari through the Red Sea. Here you will find some of the Red Sea's most beautiful and richest dive sites, right on par with Saudi Arabia.
- Sudan offers magical dive sites with spectacular reefs and marine life
- Sharks, sharks, sharks!
- You have the chance to explore Cousteau's famous expedition site Precontinent II
- Manta rays and dolphins are some of the vibrant marine life you will encounter during this safari
- Dive on the Umbria wreck
Diving trips to the Red Sea and the Classic Sudan safari offer everything from small tropical fish to beasts such as sharks, manta rays, dugongs and majestic whale sharks. In addition, exciting wrecks that kick start the imagination. Here in the clear waters of Sudan you will enjoy fantastic diving, sunny days and vibrant healthy coral reefs
What is included in a liveaboard package?
- Flight
- Transfers airport - boat t/r
- 7 nights in a share in a double room with private bathroom
- All meals, snacks, drinks (no alcohol)
- 6 days of diving with 3-4 dives per day and guide
- 12L bottle, weights and weight belt
Highlights
Song Neb - You can find Sanganeb an hour and a half north of the Umbria wreck. This reef rises from a depth of 800 meters up to the sea surface. Here there is a gigantic lighthouse built by the British. It is manned and stretches 70 meters over the reef. Visitors can take a trip up to the top and take photographs of the beautiful reef. There are 288 steps to the top! A must visit on your Classic Sudan tour.
The southern plateau of Sanganeb is a fantastic dive where there is an abundance of hard and soft corals and huge shoals of jacks, barracudas, tuna and snappers. Gray reef shark glides near you while the whitetip reef shark swims by. Sometimes you also find hammerhead sharks, silkies, oceanic white tips and manta rays.
The Northern Plateau makes for an outstanding dive, but can be somewhat dangerous. This is a deep dive with a lower plateau of 45 meters where schools of hammerhead sharks are common. Here it is common to see gray reef sharks, silver tips and "white tips". Where the boat anchors in the lagoon, you will often find a large group of dolphins that you can snorkel with.
Shaab Ambar - In the eastern part of Shaab Ambar you will find a large coral reef. An excellent place to spot hammerhead sharks. On the southern part of the island, you instead have a chance to see gray sharks, groupers and large schools of fish. The northern part is perfect for night diving.
Sha'ab Rumi and Conshelf II, history from the time of Cousteau
Sha'ab Rumi - Of all the places in the Red Sea, this place is truly like in the imagination. About 40 km northeast of the port of Sudan is this reef with a plateau at a depth of 9 meters and a steep underwater cliff. In 1963, legendary oceanographer Jacques Cousteau led his Conshelf II, an underwater living experiment in which five men spent a month underwater.
Forty years later, you can still swim among the remnants of his underwater village. It is only visible as a dark shadow from the boat, but once below the surface you begin to make out an onion-shaped building on three legs. It's the submarine's steel hangar, still airtight. Bubbles from divers have created an air pocket inside. Other parts of the foundation, even shark cages and metal parts from the tool shed are beautifully covered in coral.
This dive is a shallow dive along the western part of the reef. In addition to the remains of Cousteau's project, you get to experience an absolutely fantastic reef teeming with life.
The southern plateau is undoubtedly a world class dive with a sloping plateau from 20-30 meters and with steep surrounding reef walls. Here you can find barracudas, jacks, gray sharks, whitetip reef sharks, large groupers and huge shoals of Anthias.
During the colder months, there is a good chance of encountering schools of hammerhead sharks at the southern end of the reef.
Classic and mythical Umbria
Umbria - Wingate reef is 35 minutes from Port Sudan and is where Umbria is located. She is undoubtedly one of the Red Sea's most photographed wrecks. The Italian crew deliberately sunk her in 1940, to avoid being captured by the English. Her itinerary was towards Calcutta via Eritrea with a mixed cargo of over 350 bombs. She also carried tires, wine and three Fiat Lagunas, which she took with her to the bottom.
This 150 meter long wreck lies at a depth of 40 meters on the port side, while the starboard side is barely covered by the water surface. The chimney and mast have long since collapsed and the lifeboats are scattered over the seabed around her. As the current is not so strong, you can explore parts of the wreck with a snorkel and cyclops. The hull and handrails are completely covered in growth and the hull is open and easy to get into. The starboard propeller is undamaged and free from the bottom, making for an excellent photo opportunity at 18 meters deep. Marine life such as Spanish dancers, crabs, lobsters and small octopuses have their homes here and you can often see sharks stroking around.