MV Snefro Pearl; Liveaboard diving in Egypt; 9.4 out of 10 and is rated 'Superb'; from £90, $110, €103/day. Customer Review:
“This was sea our first sea safari and we really enjoyed it. We chose a short 3 day excursion to see if we would enjoy it and have the stamina to dive every day. It was yes to both accounts. Seeing Sharks, reef & zebra., eagle mantas plus the visit to SS Thistlegorm.” Recommended for: You didn’t have to do anything other than dive & relax. The guides were excellent and the crew very helpful.
MV Red Sea Aggressor II; Liveaboard diving in Egypt; 9.3 out of 10 and is rated 'Superb'; from £113, $138, €129/day. Customer Review:
”Diving In Style. The Aggressor takes you to the best dive spots in the North of the Red Sea. The whole crew were exceptionally helpful, friendly and make you feel extremely welcome. The food on board was plentiful and delicious, the Aggressor chefs were on top form. The Dive Guides, Zoe, Adel and Wajid were fantastic in and out of the water and made my whole diving experience that extra special. Off the back of this experience it has made me want to venture on a Liveaboard once again in another destination and if the standard of the Aggressor boats match this one then I will definitely look at re-booking with Aggressor. 10/10.” Recommended for: Food, Dive Spots & The Crew.
MY Emperor Elite; Liveaboard diving in Egypt; 9.2 out of 10 and is rated 'Superb'; from £108, $132, €123/day. Customer Review:
“Better than a 5 star hotel. There were highlights for each dive, but being on scuba with a pod of 14+ dolphins around us for almost 10 minutes was incredible. Diving the Thistlegorm has been a goal ever since I started diving 18 years ago, and being able to dive it 3 times, one after the other was truly a wonderful experience. Our guides and boat went to great efforts to ensure that the sites we visited were easy to dive without there being the need to swim too far or be overwhelmed by other diving tours – Most of the time we felt like we were the nylon divers there, and the Red Sea belonged to us. We will definitely be back!” Recommended for: The crew were always friendly, helpful and willing to assist with anything and everything to do with our stay on board as well the diving experience, whether it was gearing up, gearing down for diving, or waiting for you with a warm drink after a cool night dive. We always felt welcome on-board. The dive guides were incredibly knowledgeable about each site we visited, and always acted with our best interests in mind, ensuring both our enjoyment and safety. The meals on board are just out of this world.
MY Emperor Superior; Liveaboard diving in Egypt; 9 out of 10 and is rated 'Superb'; from £99, $121, €113/day. Customer Review:
“Amazing boat and even better crew. The crew leader/dive guide, Sonia, is fantastic; so knowledgeable and experienced. She has an amazing way with people and made everyone feel comfortable and well cared for as well as bringing a great sense of humour to the trip. The second dive guide, Eric, is also very helpful and is great at balancing a laid-back attitude with an attention to safety. The rest of the crew are amazingly helpful and diligent. They are constantly cleaning and helping out all the customers.
They will help you get kitted/unkitted every dive and it’s so nice to be greeted with a warm drink every time you come out the water. The boat itself is beautiful. Comfortable rooms with A/C and hot showers. Plenty of areas to relax inside and outside the boat. The quality of the furnishings was also surprisingly good. Last but not least, the food! The most delicious 3 course meals 3 x a day as well as lovely cooked snacks during the day (I was a particular fan of the samosas). I would pay good money for this quality of food in a restaurant so to be treated to it 3 x a day every day is a real luxury.” Recommended for: Crew, Food, boat facilities.
MY Snefro Love; Liveaboard diving in Egypt; 9.4 out of 10 and is rated 'Superb'; from £98, $120, €112/day. Customer Review:
“There should be 10 stars for the dive guides and staff, 5 is not enough. Everyone was just so lovely, but also very professional. Always wanting to make everything perfect for all. Oh, and the diving is obviously great. As a side note I have about 1000+ dives, so believe me when I say how good it was. You are in safe hands to see some of the best diving in the world.” Recommended for: Staff, diving and boat (that covers all of it).
MY Sea Serpent Grand; Liveaboard diving in Egypt; 9.1 out of 10 and is rated 'Superb'; from £135, $165, €154/day. Customer Review:
“Excellent boat but dive sites not respected. A 20 min dive with 2 tiger sharks + 1 longimanus + 1 silky. AWESOME. the dive of the century!!!!!. It was supposed to be a rocky/zabargad/st John’s trip. Why going to daedalus and not rocky/zabargad???? Unthinkable…..” Recommended for: Diving time long. Food. Saloon.
Liveaboard diving the Thistlegorm means you wake up with the wreck under the liveaboard, instead of a long day at sea on a day-boat with an early start from Hurghada or Sharm El Sheikh, plus you may also night dive the Thistlegorm. The famous Thistlegorm is one of the best wrecks to dive at 20-30m.
The biggest advantage of diving the SS Thistlegorm on a liveaboard is you get there early before any of the day boats arrive.
Other advantages of choosing to dive the Thistlegorm by liveaboard include:
Dive the Thistlegorm by liveaboard means you don’t have a gruelling four-hour boat journey before your first dive.
Most liveaboards diving the Thistlegorm will try to make two dives before heading to another quieter dive site in the afternoon.
In between each dive on the Thistlegorm wreck you get to relax on a larger dive boat and enjoy liveaboard luxury.
You wakeup at the dive site (having travelled through the night whilst sleeping), to wakeup early and dive before breakfast and before the dayboats arrive, followed by a enjoying a hearty breakfast whilst discussing the dive with fellow divers during your dive interval ready for the next dive.
If conditions and currents are right and you have the necessary experience and certification, you may get to stay and night dive the SS Thistlegorm wreck too.
Diving the SS Thistlegorm from a liveaboard means you also get to do many more dives at other amazing Red Sea dive sites too.
10 Thistlegorm Dive Site Facts
The SS Thistlegorm is one of the most famous wrecks in the world and sites in 32 metres (105 feet) of water.
SS Thistlegorm was built in 1940 by J.L. Thompson and Sons in Sunderland, County Durham.
Work was completed on 24th June 1940.
SS Thistlegorm was launched on 9th April 1940.
She was sunk on 6th October 1941 in World War II by German aircraft when 9 crew died and 41 survived.
SS Thistlegorm was originally 126.5 meter (415.1 feet) long, with a 17.7 metre (58.2 feet) beam, and a 4,898 gross tonnage.
The cargo of the SS Thistlegorm included: Bedford trucks, Universal Carrier armoured vehicles, Norton 16H and BSA motorcycles, Bren guns, cases of ammunition, and 0.303 rifles, radio equipment, boots, aircraft parts, railway wagons and two steam locomotives.
Stories say she was transporting a mobile airfield with the military cargo she had onboard.
SS Thistlegorm was rediscovered and dived by Jacques Cousteau in 1956, using information from local fishermen.
Jacques Cousteau raised the ships bell, one motorcycle and the captain’s safe.
Thistlegorm Dive Requirements
Thistlegorm dive requirements include being certified to dive to at least 30 metres (100 feet), which means you need to be PADI Advanced Open Water Diver certified or equivalent, with ideally a minimum of 20 logged dives plus it would beneficial if you have completed a Wreck Diver speciality course.
Do You Need To Penetrate The Thistlegorm Wreck To Enjoy The Dive
You can dive the Thistlegorm without wreck penetration with some artefacts outside the wreck and some artefacts inside the wreck can be seen from the outside, as the hold was spilt in two when it was sunk, plus there is plenty of marine life including anthias, batfish, barracuda, turtles and sharks.
Liveaboard diving The Thistlegorm Wreck
Your first dive from a liveaboard on the Thistlegorm will usually be before breakfast at 6am, which is well before any of the day boats arrive from Sharm El Sheik.
As the Thistlegorm is rated one of the best wreck dives in the world it is an extremely popular dive site and is visited by many divers every day, so you have an advantage by diving the Thistlegorm by liveaboard as you will miss most of the crowds.
10 Thistlegorm Diving Tips
Dive the Thistlegorm wreck at least twice as there is so much to see and enjoy, one dive is not enough.
Do the night dive if it’s offered (only available on Thistlegorm liveaboards). I saw two of the largest leatherback turtles on the night dive of the Thistlegorm.
Take a dive torch or flash light if you intend to penetrate the wreck.
Dive the stern first, as this is the deepest part of the wreck.
Be respectful of the wreck as it is a war grave.
Do not take anything from the wreck as it is a protected wreck.
Take an underwater camera, as the Thistlegorm is an underwater photographer’s dream dive.
A liveaboard cruise of the Thistlegorm is the best way to see the wreck.
Get an early night so you don’t miss the early morning dive at 6 am.
Listen carefully to the dive brief so you don’t miss anything when you are diving on the Thistlegorm.
SS Thistlegorm – The Red Sea’s most legendary wreck
Table of Red Sea SS Thistlegorm Liveaboards
This list of SS Thistlegorm liveaboards is in descending customer rating order, so the liveaboards with the highest customer rating will be at the top of the list. To filter this table for the features that are important for your Red Sea SS Thistlegorm liveaboard trip, select from the list of filters below.
Note: The above “Price Per Day” was correct at the time of producing this article, as was the exchange rate used to convert the GBP cost to US Dollars and Euros. For an up-to-date cost for your chosen liveaboard, please visit the “Book” link above.
SS Thistlegorm Know Before You Go
The following are answers to “Know Before You Go” questions about the SS Thistlegorm wreck.
Can You Still Dive The Thistlegorm?
You can still dive the Thistlegorm, plus you can still penetrate the wreck and explore the artefacts of this World War II wreck. Artifacts inside the SS Thistlegorm wreck include military motorcycles, Bedford trucks, rifles, boots, ammunition, and on the outside is a World War II tank on the seabed.
How Deep Is The Thistlegorm Wreck?
The SS Thistlegorm wreck is 32 metres (105 feet) to the seabed at its deepest point, which is where its propeller lies, but the majority of the dive and when you are inside the holds is around 25 metres (82 feet) deep. The top of the wreck at its shallowest point is at around 16 metres (52 feet).
Can You Night Dive The Thistlegorm Wreck?
You can night dive on the Thistlegorm wreck, but you will only be able to night dive the Thistlegorm from a Red Sea liveaboard, as the day boats only dive the wreck during the day.
This video was filmed recently of a night dive on the Thistlegorm wreck:
SS Thistlegorm was sunk by German bomber aircraft in 1941 during World War II and sunk on 6 October 1941. The SS Thistlegorm was a British cargo steamship built in North East England in 1940 and in the Red Sea in 1941.
When Was The Thistlegorm Discovered?
The SS Thistlegorm was first rediscovered and dived by Jacques Cousteau in 1956 using information from local fishermen. When it discovered the Thistlegorm Cousteau raised the bell, a motorbike and the Captain’s safe.
Map of Red Sea with SS Thistlegorm – Image courtesy of GoogleMaps
Where Is The Wreck Of The Thistlegorm?
The SS Thistlegorm Wreck is located in the north of The Red Sea near the entrance to the Suez Gulf and about 50km (31m) from Sharm El Sheikh and over 60km (38m) from Hurghada. This means that roundtrip day-dive boats trips are 11.5 hours long depending on weather and sea state for two-tank dives.
For example:
Divers International – Departs Travco Marina in Sharm El Sheik for SS Thistlegorm Wreck at 5:00am and returns at 4:30pm and includes 2 dives.
Sharm Smile – Have dive trips from Sharm El Sheik to SS Thistlegorm that depart at 5:30am and return at 5pm, and includes 2 dives.
Is The Thistlegorm Wreck a War Grave?
The Thistlegorm is a war grave as 9 crew (5 Royal Navy gun crew and 4 merchant seamen) died when the ship was sunk by the Germans in World War II in 1941, which means the Thistlegorm wreck must be dived with respect. 41 of the Thistlegorm crew survived when it was attacked and sunk by German planes.
Will I Need a Wetsuit to Dive The SS Thistlegorm Wreck?
You will need a 3mm wetsuit in the summer months and up to a 7mm wetsuit in the winter months to dive the SS Thistlegorm wreck, as water temperatures in the Red Sea range from 20-26°C (68-78.8°F).
Can You Dive Thistlegorm From Hurghada?
You can dive the SS Thistlegorm from Hurghada, which is best done on a Red Sea liveaboard, unless you are prepared for a long day at sea and a very early departure and a 3-4 hour boat ride each way on a day-boat. There are 44 Red Sea liveaboards departing Hurghada that dive the Thistlegorm wreck.
Table of All SS Thistlegorm Liveaboards Departing Hurghada
This list of SS Thistlegorm liveaboards departing from Hurghada is in descending customer rating order, so the liveaboards with the highest customer rating will be at the top of the list.
To filter this table for the features that are important for your SS Thistlegorm liveaboard trip, select from the list of filters below.
You can dive the SS Thistlegorm from Sharm El Sheikh, which is best done from a Red Sea liveaboard, unless you are prepared for a long day at sea, an early departure and a 3-4 hour day- boat ride each way. There are 10 Red Sea liveaboards departing Sharm El Sheikh that dive the Thistlegorm wreck.
Table of All SS Thistlegorm Liveaboards Departing Sharm El Sheikh
This list of SS Thistlegorm liveaboards departing from Sharm El Sheikh is in descending customer rating order, so the liveaboards with the highest customer rating will be at the top of the list.
To filter this table for the features that are important for your SS Thistlegorm liveaboard trip, select from the list of filters below.
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There will also be many more articles about scuba diving (and snorkeling) for you to read and learn about these fabulous sports.
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