North Big South – Sudan

Arrival at Port Sudan's International Airport.
25 min bus ride to go to the marina.
Welcome briefing.
Cabin attribution.
Document checking (diving card, logbook, insurance etc.)
Payment of marine taxes and visa.
Installation of your diving equipment.
Small briefing about life on board and safety instructions.

The ship will depart from the marina early in the morning to reach the first dive site of the week. Wake-up call at about 8:00am. Hot drinks and biscuits will be at your disposal. Your guide will introduce the crew. Then you will have your first briefing for the “check” dive on a site called Sha'ab Swedi. The guides will tell you everything you need to know about the diving safety instructions and environmental protection. After the dive, a breakfast will be served and you will sail for 3 hours to the second dive site of the day, Merlo Reef where you will do your second and last dive of the day. After the second dive, the boat will sail towards Sha'ab Baher, a site where you will spend a quiet and peaceful night, moored behind a big reef. Before dinner, the guides will give you a presentation on the sharks of the Red Sea.

At the break of dawn, we will head towards the most northern Sudanese dive sites for three dives. These sites do not see many divers which enables a pristine nature. The fauna and colourful reefs offer a highly emotional show. We will choose the most comfortable site for the night.

3 different dives in north Sudanese waters will be on the menu. After the third dive we will head towards Sha'ab Baher to spend the night there

Three dives are on the menu with very short sailing times between the sites. Wake up call at 6:00 am for the first dive on a site called Angarosh. After a good breakfast and a quick nap, your guide will give you a briefing for the second dive on the dive site of Albington. The third dive will take place at about 3:00pm on Merlo's reef. Then we will go back to Sha'ab Baher for another comfortable night.

The advantage of this itinerary is that we will have the opportunity to dive again on the three dive sites of the previous day. We will witness how the presence of the fauna evolves according to the moment of the day. We will encounter many pelagic fishes such as hammerhead sharks, grey reef sharks and silvertip sharks. We sometimes encounter a manta ray on these sites.

On that day we will start going down to the very famous dive site of Sha'ab Rumi. After a first dive chosen by your guides, the boat will sail for 1h30 to Quita El Banna and its steep drop-offs. It will then sail for another 4h30 to reach Sha'ab Rumi and moor there. The last dive of the day will take place among the vestiges of Cousteau's Pre-Continent 2 expedition.

The first two dives will be on Sha'ab Rumi's southern plateau where you will encounter all the species the Sudanese waters are famous for. A night dive on Pre-Continent 2 will be proposed.

It is not uncommon to do the first dive of the day on Sha'ab Rumi's southern plateau Then the Nemo will leave the site and sail for 1h30 to reach Sanganeb Marine Park and dive on the northern part of the reef. The last dive of the day will take place on the southern plateau.

During the night, the Nemo will navigate for three hours to reach Jumna. Two dives on this site where you can sometimes see a 50+ strong school of hammerhead sharks. We will then go to Sha'ab Ambar, one hour away from Jumna. Night in the lagoon.

At the break of dawn, we will head towards Protector. It takes two hours to get there. After two dives on this plateau that teems with life, we will go to Nahalat (the palm-tree). Then back to Sha'ab Ambar after one hour of navigation. Another night in the lagoon.

Three dives in the Suakin area will be proposed. Last night in Sha'ab Ambar's lagoon.

After one hour of navigation, the first two dives will take place on Jumna's reef. After the second dive, the Nemo will sail to Sanganeb Marine Park for about three hours. Upon arrival, you will have the opportunity to visit the 50m-high lighthouse and admire the panoramic view. The last dive of the day will take place on Sanganeb's southern plateau. You will then sail one last time towards Windgate Reef where you will spend the night.

For this last day at sea, two dives on the famous shipwreck of the Umbria will be on the menu. After the last dive, you will rinse your diving equipment and go back to the marina.

A visit of Port-Sudan in a traditional tuk-tuk (typical motor taxi) will be proposed (no obligation) : 30€/tuk-tuk (3 passengers). Divers who do not wish to take the tour can stay on board but will have to vacate their cabin for the cleaning of the boat. Bus transfer to the airport.