Cousteau’s favourite dive sites (2019 appointments)

Many dive sites close to Cousteau’s own heart had since become world-renowned. But which were the great explorer’s top 10 favourites?

  1. Shaab Rumi, Sudan
  2. Sipadan, Malaysia
  3. Cocos Island, Costa Rica
  4. Poor Knights Islands, New Zealand
  5. Aliwal Shoal, South Africa
  6. Vancouver Island, Canada
  7. Blue Hole, Belize
  8. Cozumel, Mexico
  9. Heron Island, Australia
  10. Richelieu Rock, Thailand

It is no surprise that Sudan’s Shaab Rumi made the list, after all, great experiences, and exciting work and discoveries connect him to this site. Marvellous diving and an Academy Award. Jacques Cousteau, also known as the father of scuba diving, not only loved diving in this region of the Red Sea, but he had made several discoveries as well.

Jacques Cousteau, or Captain Cousteau to many, was a world-famous marine explorer who dedicated his entire life to marine discoveries. His main fields of interest bore not only great significance to science, but they also raised the curiosity of the general public. He garnered absolute fame with his underwater experiments he conducted in the beginning of the 1960s. Can man live underwater for a prolonged period of time? As part of his Precontinent II experiment, he spent a month living underwater, which they documented in a film. The film, titled “World Without Sun”, was awarded the Oscar in the category of Best Documentary Feature. It says a lot that of all the seas in the world, he chose the Sudanese Red Sea for his experiment. Though to those who had been to Sudan before, this is a no-brainer. One thing is for certain – Captain Cousteau had definitely managed to place Sudan into the psyche of divers.

Anybody who had dived in Egypt before knows that the Red Sea is an amazing and excellent place for scuba diving. Yet, one cannot simply think that if they had dived in Egypt, they saw everything the Red Sea has to offer. Far from the truth, since the Sudanese Red Sea is exceptional and incomparable. While you dive in the same Red Sea in both countries, the two experiences could not be any different. In Egypt hundreds of liveaboards sail the waters, but in Sudan this number barely reaches ten. The result of which may be that during a liveaboard trip, you see no other boat in sight. Sudan hides the most gorgeous and most pristine coral reefs in the Red Sea that shelter an feed its entire marine life.

This is where you will find the Red Sea’s marine life at its most abundant. Sudan’s warm and crystal clear waters support over 400 species of corals, and over 1,500 species of fish, turtles, and sharks. Large fish live here in large numbers, many of which are rare and even endangered. Here you will always see barracudas, spotted rays, morays, and giant parrotfish, to name a few. The coastal waters of Sudan are also ranked among the top sites for shark lovers. You will encounter grey reef, silky, hammerhead, white-tip, and whale sharks in this region.

If you had a diving bucket list, what would you include? If Sudan is up there, then…

… you should know that the most ideal time for diving in Sudan is between February and May. During these months water temperatures are around 25-28C, and this is when the marine life is at its best and richest. Dive with us on one of our trips:

And now would be a good time to mention that you can visit more of Cousteau’s favourite sites with us, like Mexico (Socorro and Guadalupe).

We are happy to send you further details. Send your inquiries to: info@cassiopeiasafari.com

Sudan Liveaboard Scuba Diving Safaris

Suddenly feeling the urge to get away from it all? Get away to Sudan for some winter holiday and some of the best scuba diving to be found in the World.

Scuba diving holidayGet far enough south in the Red Sea and you won’t see other safari boats, liveaboards, or overdived reefs – just marine life, and lots of it! Sudan is known as the gem of the Red Sea and with reason! Untouched reefs, a splendour of corals in thousands of amazing colours, huge schools of fish and of course, sharks in abundance can be found here. And no wonder that Captain Cousteau built his underwater observatory here the parts of which can still be explored by scuba divers.

Shark in the sudanese Red SeaAfter visiting Angarosh, one of the most famous shark sites in the world, a really exciting wreck awaits us – the Umbria. Besides the beauties of the sea, we must also mention Suakin, the ghost town, which once was the main port in the Red Sea.

The wreck of UmbriaAs we did this year, we are returning to Sudan – with M/Y Cassiopeia and M/Y Andromeda – again in February, 2014 until June, so we look forward to seeing you and your guests again onboard for another amazing season in Sudan and we hope to see some new faces as well for an unforgettable experience.

We offer a collection of unbeatable, special offers to Sudan from February 2014 until the end of June.

Got a question or want to check availability? Please send us an enquiry!

Get more info about scuba diving liveaboard in Sudan here…

Shaab Rumi

This reef lies 48km from Port Sudan and surrounds a gorgeous lagoon which can be accessed through a narrow strait having been blasted by Cousteau himself. Outside of the lagoon, just 100m from its entrance is where in 1963, Cousteau built Precontinent II – his futuristic world. Here he conducted his underwater experiments and today the Precontinent provides an insight into the lives of those who had lived under the water in futuristic looking buildings and conducted research on marine life. The cages used for shark feedings still lie where they used to in Cousteau’s time. Sharks still come here as they did decades ago.

In focus – the grey reef shark

This week the hammerhead sharks took backstage to the grey reef sharks. And did they ever perform – they were seen at almost all reefs. The first two days were a bit windy then the seas calmed down.

Tour date: April 22-29, 2013
Itinerary: Sudan-Ultimate
Air temperatures: 35C
Water temperatures: 27C
Visibility: 30m

port sudan, harbor, sudan, liveabaords, diving, safari, cruise, boat, red seaBecause of the winds, we had to start the tour in the north where this time there were no currents, so there were no hammerheads either. BUT there were plenty of grey reef sharks and very up close. As the other boats had arrived at Shaab Rumi, we moved on to Sanganeb. There were hammerheads at Logan Reef but it was impossible to stay on the plateau for longer than 30 seconds because of the strong currents. We were hoping that we might be able to catch some at Jibna but there were no currents there either, so after one dive, we continued on to the North side of Sanganeb. Here, we got lucky. Both our groups had the chance to meet up with a school of 20 hammerheads.

scuba diving, dive, sudan, Andromeda, red sea, liveaboard, shark, CousteauBesides the usual shark dives, we must also mention that Cousteau’s Precontinent is getting more and more colourful by the year! It is amazing how the seas had accepted and made their own the used-to-be underwater research base. If you decide to take part in a Sudan safari, we strongly recommend watching Cousteau’s movie “Precontinent 2”. This way it will be even more exciting to dive at this site in person.

sudan, liveaboard, red sea, cruise, diving, safari, boat Day 1: Precontinent, Shaab Rumi, Precontinent
Day 2: Shaab Rumi, Shaab Rumi, Sanganeb South, Sanganeb South
Day 3: Sanganeb South, Shaab Jibna, Shaab Anbar North, Shaab Anbar Lagoon
Day 4: Logan Reef, Logan Reef, Shaab Anbar South, Shaab Anbar Lagoon
Day 5: Shaab Jibna, Sanganeb North, Sanganeb North, Umbria
Day 6: Umbria, Umbria

A new week, new hopes. We will be back next week again and let you know what we will have seen.

In case you have missed out on our previous reports, you can catch up by following these links:

Caught between dolphins and sharks
Scooters in action!
Sudan, the Jolly, under and above water
An Eiffel Tower in Sudan
Manta, hammerhead, barracuda!
The sharks winked back!
Angarosh, the “Mother of Sharks”
A perfect start in Sudan!
Fish parade in the month of the Pisces!