Explore St Johns
St Johns is an island surrounded by a large reef system right at the southern tip of the Red Sea, in Foul Bay, by the border of Sudan, off the coast of Hamata and Berenice in Egypt. The reefs here cover an area of 290 square kilometres and due to the remote location, and also that is is an area protected by Egypt National Parks, the corals here are in extremely pristine condition. This area is currently only reached by liveaboards with the rare exception of the few day trip boats from the sparse diving centres and resorts in Hamata and Berenice, this also results in less crowded dives The reefs are made up of a collection of brightly coloured and densely covered coral tables, walls, pinnacles and plateaus for divers of all levels to enjoy.
Dive Activity
Diving in St Johns
St Johns is located offshore from Hamata and is kilometres offshore so it’s not easy to reach which means the large majority of diving here is done from liveaboards.
The dive sites themselves have a large variety of options, including shallow reef and coral garden dives, drift dives along coral walls and over coral tables and plateaus, small cave dives, overhang dives and swim throughs. This area does provide something to satisfy all divers wishes. It is an absolute mecca for underwater photographers with subjects of all shapes and sizes.
Top Wildlife Sightings in St Johns
Here, it’s like descending into an aquarium but out in the open ocean. This protected marine area is made up of multiple pristine reefs just teeming with schools of glimmering fish surrounding the diverse hard and soft corals, Sea Sponges and Anemones. In and among these coral formations divers can spot a variety of marine species including Moray Eels, Octopus, multiple species of Rays, Crocodile Fish, Scorpion Fish and lots of Nudibranchs. When divers look through the confetti of fish they can see larger species glide over top of the reef including Bumphead Parrot Fish, Napoleon Wrasse, Tuna and Barracuda. Out in the blue they spot the predators of this area including Hammerheads, White Tip Reef Sharks, Grey Reef Sharks, Whalesharks, Thresher Shark, Bottlenose Dolphin and Spinner Dolphins.
Wildlife Sightings are Based on User Generated Content
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species approx.: 200
Alamy-WaterFrame
19 Sightings
J
0
F
0
M
1
A
0
M
2
J
3
J
5
A
2
S
3
O
3
N
0
D
0
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species approx.: 600
iStock/ultramarinfoto
Wrasse
9 Sightings
J
0
F
0
M
1
A
0
M
3
J
0
J
3
A
0
S
2
O
0
N
0
D
0
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species approx.: 27
iStock-Global_Pics
Barracuda
6 Sightings
J
0
F
0
M
1
A
0
M
0
J
0
J
5
A
0
S
0
O
0
N
0
D
0
Alamy/National Geographic Image Collection
Oceanic Whitetip Shark
4 Sightings
J
0
F
0
M
1
A
0
M
0
J
0
J
3
A
0
S
0
O
0
N
0
D
0
Shutterstock-Shane Myers Photography
Green Turtle
4 Sightings
J
0
F
0
M
0
A
0
M
0
J
0
J
4
A
0
S
0
O
0
N
0
D
0
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species approx.: 130
Shutterstock_Krzysztof Odziomek
Butterfly Fish
24 Sightings
J
0
F
0
M
0
A
2
M
8
J
0
J
5
A
0
S
4
O
5
N
0
D
0
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species approx.: 100
iStock-burnsboxco
Parrotfish
24 Sightings
J
0
F
0
M
0
A
3
M
7
J
3
J
5
A
2
S
4
O
0
N
0
D
0
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species approx.: 110
iStock-Rainer von Brandis
Snapper
22 Sightings
J
0
F
0
M
0
A
0
M
7
J
0
J
7
A
0
S
4
O
4
N
0
D
0
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species approx.: 90
Shutterstock-Rich Carey
Angelfish
19 Sightings
J
0
F
0
M
0
A
0
M
8
J
0
J
4
A
0
S
4
O
3
N
0
D
0
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species approx.: 40
iStock-Hoatzinexp
Jackfish
19 Sightings
J
0
F
0
M
0
A
0
M
6
J
0
J
6
A
0
S
3
O
0
N
4
D
0
The best Months to dive at St Johns
The Red Sea is accessible year round with great diving conditions for the large majority of the year. The desert climate means warm air temperatures which results in warm water temperatures; 20 degrees Celsius in the winter months and up to 30 degrees Celsius in the midst of summer. Visibility is above average here throughout ranging between 15 and 40 metres.
For marine life, Hammerheads and Whale Sharks are most likely to be spotted in the late spring/ early summer, as they are still enjoying the cooler waters. Other reef shark species are around throughout the year with the top months being May to August.
