Guide to diving Rocky and Zabargad Islands in Egypt

Discover dive sites, liveaboards, and top sea creatures linked to Rocky and Zabargad Islands in Egypt.

The liveaboard shown opposite is the highest customer rated Egypt liveaboard diving Rocky and Zabargad Islands. You can easily book the Aphrodite Liveaboard, scoring 9.1/10, using this link.

1 Countries

5 Dive sites

15 Liveaboards

11 Creatures

Rocky and Zabargad Islands dive guide, best time to dive, and what to expect

Rocky Island and Zabargad Island are remote southern Red Sea destinations commonly combined on the same liveaboard itineraries. Rocky is known for walls and current, while Zabargad offers reefs, bays and wreck diving.

Visits are weather-dependent, and the named dive sites selected can vary between departures.

Best time to dive: Year-round, with spring and autumn commonly offering comfortable expedition conditions.

Sea creatures found in Rocky and Zabargad Islands

Here are the main sea creatures found across dive sites in Rocky and Zabargad Islands, grouped by type so you can quickly see what marine life you may encounter.

Creature type	Sea creatures
Coral	Hard coral , Soft corals
Eels	Moray eels
Jack Mackerel Family	Jacks (Jackfish)
Other sea creatures	Grey reef sharks
Reef fish	Barracuda , Groupers , Lionfish , Reef fish
Sea turtles	Green turtles
Sharks	Oceanic whitetips

Dive sites in Rocky and Zabargad Islands

The following dive sites are found in Rocky and Zabargad Islands. Each site below shows the liveaboards that dive there.

Dive site	Liveaboards that dive this site
Khanka Wreck	JP Marine Liveaboard, Red Sea Aggressor V Liveaboard
Levanzo Wreck	Golden Dolphin IV Liveaboard, Red Sea Aggressor V Liveaboard, Royal Evolution Liveaboard
Rocky Island	Alsuraya Liveaboard, Aphrodite Liveaboard, AVO Liveaboard, Blue Seas Liveaboard, Emperor Elite Liveaboard, Golden Dolphin IV Liveaboard, Hammerhead II Liveaboard, JP Marine Liveaboard, MY Odyssey Liveaboard, Ocean Lovers Liveaboard, Red Sea Aggressor V Liveaboard, Royal Evolution Liveaboard, Sea Friend Liveaboard
Turtle Bay (Zabargad)	Red Sea Aggressor V Liveaboard
Zabargad Island	Alia Soul Liveaboard, Alsuraya Liveaboard, Aphrodite Liveaboard, AVO Liveaboard, Blue Seas Liveaboard, Emperor Asmaa Liveaboard, Emperor Elite Liveaboard, Golden Dolphin IV Liveaboard, Hammerhead II Liveaboard, JP Marine Liveaboard, MY Odyssey Liveaboard, Ocean Lovers Liveaboard, Red Sea Aggressor V Liveaboard, Royal Evolution Liveaboard, Sea Friend Liveaboard

Liveaboards, dive sites, and top sea creatures in Rocky and Zabargad Islands

Alia Soul Liveaboard

Zabargad Island top sea creatures: Grey reef sharks, Oceanic whitetips, Green turtles, Barracuda, Jacks (Jackfish), Hard coral, Soft corals

Alsuraya Liveaboard

Rocky Island top sea creatures: Grey reef sharks, Oceanic whitetips, Green turtles, Barracuda, Jacks (Jackfish), Hard coral, Soft corals

Zabargad Island top sea creatures: Grey reef sharks, Oceanic whitetips, Green turtles, Barracuda, Jacks (Jackfish), Hard coral, Soft corals

Aphrodite Liveaboard

Rocky Island top sea creatures: Grey reef sharks, Oceanic whitetips, Green turtles, Barracuda, Jacks (Jackfish), Hard coral, Soft corals

Zabargad Island top sea creatures: Grey reef sharks, Oceanic whitetips, Green turtles, Barracuda, Jacks (Jackfish), Hard coral, Soft corals

AVO Liveaboard

Rocky Island top sea creatures: Grey reef sharks, Oceanic whitetips, Green turtles, Barracuda, Jacks (Jackfish), Hard coral, Soft corals

Zabargad Island top sea creatures: Grey reef sharks, Oceanic whitetips, Green turtles, Barracuda, Jacks (Jackfish), Hard coral, Soft corals

Blue Seas Liveaboard

Rocky Island top sea creatures: Grey reef sharks, Oceanic whitetips, Green turtles, Barracuda, Jacks (Jackfish), Hard coral, Soft corals

Zabargad Island top sea creatures: Grey reef sharks, Oceanic whitetips, Green turtles, Barracuda, Jacks (Jackfish), Hard coral, Soft corals

Emperor Asmaa Liveaboard

Zabargad Island top sea creatures: Grey reef sharks, Oceanic whitetips, Green turtles, Barracuda, Jacks (Jackfish), Hard coral, Soft corals

Emperor Elite Liveaboard

Rocky Island top sea creatures: Grey reef sharks, Oceanic whitetips, Green turtles, Barracuda, Jacks (Jackfish), Hard coral, Soft corals

Zabargad Island top sea creatures: Grey reef sharks, Oceanic whitetips, Green turtles, Barracuda, Jacks (Jackfish), Hard coral, Soft corals

Golden Dolphin IV Liveaboard

Levanzo Wreck top sea creatures: Reef fish, Moray eels, Lionfish, Groupers, Barracuda, Soft corals

Rocky Island top sea creatures: Grey reef sharks, Oceanic whitetips, Green turtles, Barracuda, Jacks (Jackfish), Hard coral, Soft corals

Zabargad Island top sea creatures: Grey reef sharks, Oceanic whitetips, Green turtles, Barracuda, Jacks (Jackfish), Hard coral, Soft corals

Hammerhead II Liveaboard

Rocky Island top sea creatures: Grey reef sharks, Oceanic whitetips, Green turtles, Barracuda, Jacks (Jackfish), Hard coral, Soft corals

Zabargad Island top sea creatures: Grey reef sharks, Oceanic whitetips, Green turtles, Barracuda, Jacks (Jackfish), Hard coral, Soft corals

JP Marine Liveaboard

Khanka Wreck top sea creatures: Reef fish, Moray eels, Lionfish, Groupers, Barracuda, Soft corals

Rocky Island top sea creatures: Grey reef sharks, Oceanic whitetips, Green turtles, Barracuda, Jacks (Jackfish), Hard coral, Soft corals

Zabargad Island top sea creatures: Grey reef sharks, Oceanic whitetips, Green turtles, Barracuda, Jacks (Jackfish), Hard coral, Soft corals

MY Odyssey Liveaboard

Rocky Island top sea creatures: Grey reef sharks, Oceanic whitetips, Green turtles, Barracuda, Jacks (Jackfish), Hard coral, Soft corals

Zabargad Island top sea creatures: Grey reef sharks, Oceanic whitetips, Green turtles, Barracuda, Jacks (Jackfish), Hard coral, Soft corals

Ocean Lovers Liveaboard

Rocky Island top sea creatures: Grey reef sharks, Oceanic whitetips, Green turtles, Barracuda, Jacks (Jackfish), Hard coral, Soft corals

Zabargad Island top sea creatures: Grey reef sharks, Oceanic whitetips, Green turtles, Barracuda, Jacks (Jackfish), Hard coral, Soft corals

Red Sea Aggressor V Liveaboard

Khanka Wreck top sea creatures: Reef fish, Moray eels, Lionfish, Groupers, Barracuda, Soft corals

Levanzo Wreck top sea creatures: Reef fish, Moray eels, Lionfish, Groupers, Barracuda, Soft corals

Rocky Island top sea creatures: Grey reef sharks, Oceanic whitetips, Green turtles, Barracuda, Jacks (Jackfish), Hard coral, Soft corals

Turtle Bay (Zabargad) top sea creatures: Grey reef sharks, Oceanic whitetips, Green turtles, Barracuda, Jacks (Jackfish), Hard coral, Soft corals

Zabargad Island top sea creatures: Grey reef sharks, Oceanic whitetips, Green turtles, Barracuda, Jacks (Jackfish), Hard coral, Soft corals

Royal Evolution Liveaboard

Levanzo Wreck top sea creatures: Reef fish, Moray eels, Lionfish, Groupers, Barracuda, Soft corals

Rocky Island top sea creatures: Grey reef sharks, Oceanic whitetips, Green turtles, Barracuda, Jacks (Jackfish), Hard coral, Soft corals

Zabargad Island top sea creatures: Grey reef sharks, Oceanic whitetips, Green turtles, Barracuda, Jacks (Jackfish), Hard coral, Soft corals

Sea Friend Liveaboard

Rocky Island top sea creatures: Grey reef sharks, Oceanic whitetips, Green turtles, Barracuda, Jacks (Jackfish), Hard coral, Soft corals

Zabargad Island top sea creatures: Grey reef sharks, Oceanic whitetips, Green turtles, Barracuda, Jacks (Jackfish), Hard coral, Soft corals

Top liveaboards diving Rocky and Zabargad Islands

The following liveaboards are the highest ranked dive boats by SDE Liveaboard Rating, to help you compare the best options for diving Rocky and Zabargad Islands.

How SDE Liveaboard Rating works for the Aphrodite Liveaboard: 80%

The SDE Liveaboard Rating is Scuba Diving Earth’s own scoring system for comparing dive liveaboards at a glance. It adds together six individual category scores, each scored out of 10, covering the boat, cabins, diving, food, drinks, and non-diver companion features.

For the Aphrodite Liveaboard, those category scores combine into an overall SDE Liveaboard Rating of 80%. This helps you compare the overall onboard experience more quickly across the liveaboards shown below.

The SDE Liveaboard Rating for the Aphrodite Liveaboard works by taking the six individual SDE Liveaboard Rating scores, with each one being scored out of 10 and then adding them together. For the Aphrodite Liveaboard are ([Diving:10/10] + [Cabin:7/10] + [Boat:7/10] + [Dining:9/10] + [Drinks:0/10] + [Non-diver:6/10] = 39/60). This total is compared to the maximum possible score of 60/60 to turn it into an overall percentage – which for the Aphrodite Liveaboard is calculated as 39/60 = 80% SDE Liveaboard Rating.

This makes it easy to compare different liveaboards at a glance. See a more detailed explanation of how SDE Liveaboard Rating works together with all dive liveaboards ranked by SDE Liveaboard Rating .