Not every dive site suits little explorers. We head to reefs that are shallow and calm, quick to reach — and full of colourful surprises. 🐠
Four things have to be right — otherwise even the most beautiful site is no use.
Reef tops between 5 and 12 metres. Children don’t dive deeper than 12 or 18 metres — so we look for sites where the most exciting spots are at exactly that depth.
Swimming against the current is tiring and uses up air. That’s why we go to sheltered sites where you can dive completely relaxed.
15 to 45 minutes by boat — so there is more time in the water, and even sensitive stomachs arrive in good shape.
Twenty minutes of nothing but sand? Boring! We go where there is something amazing to see every minute.
All sites are in the dive area off Hurghada and are reached on the Funny Divers Diving Center boat. We decide which site to choose in the morning, depending on wind and waves.
The first open water dive usually takes place here: right in front of the dive centre, no boat ride, entering from the jetty. Sandy bottom, a few coral blocks, hardly any current — and the big advantage that you can always swim a few metres back to the starting point.
A long reef north of Hurghada with a flat top that lies between 5 and 12 metres over long stretches. For children it has everything that makes a reef exciting — anemones with clownfish, parrotfish, moray eels in the crevices — without having to go deep.
Everyone just calls this site “the Aquarium” — and it really is: flat coral blocks on bright sand, with so many schools of fish in between that you are lost for words. One of the sites parents are still talking about in the evening.
A shallow reef with large sandy areas in between — rays often lie there, and scorpionfish hide in the coral blocks. Because the sand is bright and sunlight reaches the bottom, the colours here are especially vivid. A good site for the first underwater photos.
The reefs around the Giftun islands are part of the national park. Banana Reef has a flat, wide top with lots of hard corals — and you practically always dive within sight of the boat, which is reassuring especially on the third or fourth dive.
South of Hurghada, very shallow and almost always sheltered from the wind. The site we choose when it is blowing elsewhere. Seagrass meadows with a really good chance of a turtle 🐢 — the encounter children talk about for weeks.
We don’t promise you a specific dive site in advance — and that isn’t evasion, it is the reason our dives go smoothly. Whether El Fanadir or Abu Hashish is the better fit depends on the wind, and in Hurghada that likes to change overnight.
In the morning the captain decides together with the instructor. The yardstick is always the least experienced person in the group — and on a kids’ course, that is by definition the child.
What we can promise: a short ride, a shallow reef, little current. And that we turn back if conditions on site are different from what we expected.
On the Bubblemaker, the boat takes you to a shallow reef for snorkelling and diving. From the Junior Open Water Diver onwards, four dives at these sites are added, spread over two days.
