| | Soma Bay, with its upscale resorts, long soft sandy beach and stunning fringing coral reef, is an ideal location for a diving holiday with the family. If you kids or spouse aren’t divers, you can be sure that they will be kept perfectly pampered and spoilt by the resort’s great facilities while you enjoy the fantastic underwater sights of the area. Located on the northernmost point of the large bay of Safaga, Soma Bay commands impressive views of the sea and the mountains. To the south-west there is a large, shallow sandy beach, ideal for swimming and snorkelling. To the east and north-east, one of the most beautiful fringing reefs of the region borders the headland of Ras Abu Soma, accessible by the long jetty in front of the Sheraton. The Soma Bay marine area is protected, as many other areas in Egypt, and diving centres here operate under environment-friendly procedures. Starting from year 1995, local authorities, NGO’s and international bodies such as USAID have co-operated in the conservation of the underwater life of the region. Nowadays, regular checks and upgrades ensure the presence of mooring buoys in all dive sites. | Dive sites in Soma Bay | Scuba diving in Soma Bay is performed either from shore, via the jetty on the fringing reef, or with comfortable diving boats doing daily or half-day trips. There is a wide variety of dive sites to choose from, both for novice and experienced divers. The area in general is blessed with refreshing breezes from the north both in winter and summer. These breezes often turn though into strong winds which may limit access to certain dive sites. Here are only some of the most famous dive sites in Soma Bay: - Abu Qifan: legendary for hammerhead sightings in late spring and manta rays in wintertime. This 300-meter long and narrow reef offers a plateau in both north and south tips.
- Panorama Reef: one of the largest reefs in Safaga, featuring numerous grottos and overhangs, where gorgonians and soft corals thrive with the frequent nurturing currents. Due to the size of the barrier, there are at least three different dives to be done here: the south plateau and the east and the west drop offs.
- Abu Soma: Abu Soma, a peninsula surrounded by a fringing reef, rich with top quality dive sites. The reef slopes gently to a plateau at around 25 meters and drops off with caves and overhangs rich with schooling reef fish, giant moray eels and healthy hard corals.
Check out our Diving and Snorkelling Maps to have an idea of the location, accessibility and experience level required to dive in the Soma Bay dive sites. | Soma Bay Diving Services | In Soma Bay there are several reliable and professional diving centres, with services ranging from scuba diving beginner certification courses to professional courses and technical diving, and providing guided dives to the area's outstanding reefs, introductory dives and diving packages, with one, two or more dives per day, for those who are certified. For the non-licensed diving enthusiasts, the centres offer free of charge pool intro’s, where visitors can experience the thrill of scuba diving on a one-to-one basis with a diving instructor in the hotel’s swimming pool. The Soma Bay diving centres also offer experience programmes, where the visitor can try actual dives in the sea straight away, under the strict supervision of a diving professional. Soma Bay, with its wealth of shallow coral gardens, is an ideal location of the Red Sea Riviera in Egypt to learn to dive, and most diving centres offer the full range of beginners’ courses. Even kids from 8 years on can enroll in children-dedicated scuba diving activities, such as the popular bubble-maker course, where kids learn to be familiar with water and scuba diving and have fun swimming around in a confined water area. |
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