Diving in Sudan
Sha'ab Rumi and Cousteau's Conshelf II, Sanganeb atoll, hammerheads, the Umbria wreck
Sudan — Sha’ab Rumi and Cousteau’s Conshelf II, Sanganeb atoll, hammerheads at Angarosh, the Umbria wreck. Liveaboard schedules and prices.
Why divers come here
- Sha'ab Rumi — the remains of Cousteau's Conshelf II underwater village (1963)
- Sanganeb — the Red Sea's only true atoll, a UNESCO site with a British lighthouse from 1906
- Angarosh and Abington — schooling hammerheads on exposed offshore reefs
- The Umbria — a 1940 wreck loaded with bombs, cement and Fiat cars
- Almost untouched reefs — barely visited by boats for decades
- Empty water — a whole week can pass without another vessel in sight
What you'll meet underwater
Scalloped hammerhead sharks (Angarosh, Abington, Sanganeb plateau)
Grey reef sharks
Oceanic whitetip sharks
Schooling barracuda and jacks
Bottlenose dolphins
Green and hawksbill turtles
Manta rays (seasonal)
Pristine hard and soft corals
Photos: credits and licences
- Scalloped hammerhead sharks (Angarosh, Abington, Sanganeb plateau) — Kris-Mikael Krister, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Grey reef sharks — NOAA Photo Library, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Oceanic whitetip sharks — Johan Lantz, Malmö SWEDEN, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Schooling barracuda and jacks — Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Bottlenose dolphins — NASA, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Green and hawksbill turtles — Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Manta rays (seasonal) — Shiyam ElkCloner, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Pristine hard and soft corals — Albert Kok at Dutch Wikipedia, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Practical information
- Best season
March–June and September–November (calm seas, best visibility)
hammerhead action peaks in the cooler months
- Water temperature
- 25–31 °C
- Visibility
- 20–40 m
- Wetsuit
3 mm in summer, 5 mm in winter (go warmer for four to five dives a day)
- Experience level
Advanced (strong currents, remote location, deep dives
50+ logged dives and nitrox recommended)
- Getting there
Connecting flights (usually via the Middle East) to Port Sudan (PZU), or to Khartoum (KRT) with a domestic hop to the coast.
Routes and carriers change often — confirm the current options well in advance.
- Airports
- Port Sudan (PZU), Khartoum (KRT)
- Visa
A visa is required for most nationalities and must be arranged in advance through a Sudanese embassy or consulate — there is no visa on arrival.
A passport valid for at least six months is needed.
The country is unstable, so always check the current situation and your government's travel advice before booking.
- Climate
Tropical desert, 30–42°C in summer, 25–32°C in winter, almost no rainfall
- Currency
Sudanese pound (SDG), onboard payments usually in USD or EUR
- Language
- Arabic, English in the dive industry
- Time zone
- UTC+2
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