On June 24, 2017, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi ratified the agreement ceding the islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia. Yet, the site maps published by the Sharm el-Sheikh centers still list the reefs of the Tiran Strait.
Our old page talked about diving “around the island.” That was vague. The four reefs everyone mentions—Jackson, Woodhouse, Thomas, and Gordon—line up in the middle of the strait, between the Sinai coast and the island.
We revised the text, repositioned a misplaced wreck, removed unverifiable figures, and added a grid for level, current, season, supervision, and fallback plan. It helps to ask the right questions before booking your boat day.
Where are Jackson, Woodhouse, Thomas, and Gordon located?
The four reefs line up from north to south in the middle of the Tiran Strait, about 14 km northeast of Sharm el-Sheikh according to site guides published online, roughly an hour and a half by boat as a guideline. Jackson is the northernmost. Gordon closes the line to the south, with Woodhouse and Thomas in between.
The island remains in the background.
Each reef has its signature. On Gordon, the wreck of the cargo ship Loullia, stranded in 1981, rests on the top of the reef and is visible from the boat. On Jackson, the remains of the Lara, a cargo ship lost in the early 1980s, are described beyond 40 m, thus outside the scope of typical recreational diving. But our mistake concerned the Kormoran. We placed it at 12 m on Jackson, whereas this German cargo ship wreck, sunk in 1984, lies against the outer wall of Laguna Reef, a neighboring reef.
These landmarks come from public descriptions, not from a visit on our part. The daily briefing remains the reference, as the same reef changes with tide and wind.
If you compare several regions of the country, our guide for discovering the Egyptian Red Sea reefs offers a broader view.
What level is required to dive each reef in the Tiran Strait?
No page can say from a distance if a reef suits you. Public operator descriptions classify Gordon as the most accessible of the four, Jackson and Woodhouse as dives for intermediate to advanced levels due to currents, and reserve Thomas canyon for technical diving.
| Reef | Level (public descriptions) | Current | Season | Supervision | Fallback Plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gordon | the most accessible of the four, shallow plateau | can sweep the plateau, to be confirmed at briefing | impossible to decide from here, recent report to be requested | anchoring on the plateau, guide per group to be confirmed | stay on the sheltered plateau |
| Jackson | advanced, deep wall | strong, especially at the southwest corner | hammerhead sharks more often cited from July to September, no guarantee | briefing on entry and exit points | sheltered south side, or another reef |
| Woodhouse | intermediate to advanced | drift mandatory, no fixed anchoring | to be checked with the center | boat pickup, safety sausage recommended | Gordon or sheltered coastal site |
| Thomas (wall) | intermediate depending on current | frequent and often strong | to be checked with the center | guided drift, no fixed point | cancel entry if current strengthens |
| Thomas (canyon) | technical diving only | variable, impossible to decide from here | not applicable for recreational diving | training and appropriate gases | stay on the wall |
The current decides more than the photo.
Thomas clearly shows the trap. Its wall descends to a ledge that guides place around 25 m. The canyon arches start around 35 m, then the fault extends down to 90 m, a depth requiring appropriate training and gas mixes, as explained in our page on trimix diving. Woodhouse has no fixed anchoring, so you enter and exit it by drift, then the boat picks you up at the surface. Without a safety sausage, the boat has difficulty spotting you.
Yet, our old page claimed no minimum level applied to Tiran. Each center sets its requirements site by site, so ask for them in writing along with the guide-to-diver ratio.
Which season to choose and what conditions to expect in Tiran?
Impossible to decide from here with reliable figures. Our previous version announced water temperatures between 24 and 29 °C from April to November and “excellent” visibility all year round, without source or date. We have removed these figures. The right question concerns the temperature recorded the week before your departure.
Site guides describe a frequent and often strong current in the strait. This makes sense. The strait serves as a bottleneck between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba, and all the water entering or leaving the gulf passes through this narrow opening. The same guides mention scalloped hammerhead sharks more frequently from July to September at Jackson. However, no source guarantees an encounter, and we removed the “more than ten hammerhead sharks” school from our previous page, due to lack of verifiable evidence.
Clear water says nothing about the current or the exit.
Thus, the northern Red Sea interests researchers because its corals tolerate high temperatures. We have reviewed the resilience of Red Sea corals to warming, with its limits.
Does Tiran Island still belong to Egypt?
On paper, Egypt ceded Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia. The agreement, announced in April 2016, was approved by Parliament in June 2017, ratified on June 24, 2017, then validated by the Supreme Constitutional Court on March 3, 2018 (Al Jazeera, March 3, 2018). On the ground, implementation has lagged.
In July 2022, Joe Biden announced the departure of observers from the Multinational Force (MFO) present on Tiran, replaced by cameras (Al Jazeera, July 21, 2022). In December 2022, Axios reported that Egypt was blocking implementation by raising technical questions about these cameras. The Washington Arab Center still spoke of a deadlock in March 2023. In September 2025, the NGO DAWN published satellite images showing Saudi installations on both islands. Despite our research, we found no official dated announcement, from either the Egyptian or Saudi side, closing the case.
The exact status in October 2026 is therefore impossible to determine from here.
And for you, the practical question is simple. The four reefs are dived from boats departing from Sharm el-Sheikh, and if a program mentions a stopover on land at Tiran, ask in writing on what authorization it is based. The opposite coast has its own logic, detailed in our guide to diving in Saudi Arabia.
Ras Mohammed and Tiran: what protection rules apply?
Egypt classified Ras Mohammed as a marine reserve in 1983, at the southern tip of Sinai, and Tiran and Sanafir were part of this protected area before the cession. The exact regime currently applied to each reef in the strait remains to be verified with your center, including park fees.
Basic practices do not change with status. You do not touch coral or wildlife. You adjust your buoyancy before approaching the drop-off, especially when drifting, when the current pushes you toward the wall. You do not feed the fish. Fire corals, common on these reefs, burn the skin on the slightest contact, which also protects your own dive.
We detailed why you should never touch marine life, including cases where contact injures the diver themselves.
However, a protected status says nothing about the current of the day.
Ask if park fees are added to the price of the trip, and to whom they are paid. The answer will tell you in passing if the operator knows the rules of the site they are selling.
What visa to dive in Tiran from Sharm el-Sheikh?
With a French passport, a visa is mandatory. According to France Diplomatie, in its fact sheet updated on September 21, 2026, it can be obtained at the airport for 30 USD in cash for a single entry. Arriving directly in Sharm el-Sheikh, you can request a special Sinai visa if you stay within the governorate.
The rest comes down to a few rules. The passport must remain valid for at least six months after the return date to France, and the national identity card is also accepted, with the same validity and two ID photos for the visa. If you plan to go to Cairo or Luxor, the Sinai visa is no longer sufficient and you need the Egypt visa. Check the sheet just before leaving. On the security side, the same source places Sharm el-Sheikh under heightened alert and advises, on the South Sinai coast, to favor secured hotels.
Keep some cash in dollars or euros for the counter.
But the visa does not cover diving insurance nor the choice of the center. To compare Sharm el-Sheikh with other bases, our file on diving holidays in Egypt helps to place Tiran in a complete stay. A day towards the strait is mainly paid in margin: a long journey, drifts without anchoring, and a fallback plan to consider if the current strengthens. Would you book it like that?
FAQ
Is a minimum level required to dive at Tiran?
Yes, in practice, because each center sets its requirements site by site. Public descriptions present Gordon as the most accessible and Jackson or Woodhouse as current dives. Request in writing the required level for each reef in the program.
Where is the wreck of the Kormoran?
It rests against the outer drop-off of Laguna Reef, a reef neighboring the four major reefs of the strait. Our old page mistakenly placed it on Jackson. On Jackson, the cited wreck is that of the Lara, described beyond 40 m.
Is the Sinai visa sufficient to dive in the Tiran strait?
According to France Diplomatie (updated September 21, 2026), the special Sinai visa is valid if you arrive directly at Sharm el-Sheikh and stay within the governorate. To leave the governorate, you need the Egypt visa.
Is Tiran Island Saudi?
Egypt ratified its cession on June 24, 2017, and the Supreme Constitutional Court validated it on March 3, 2018. Implementation was blocked at the end of 2022 according to Axios. The exact status in October 2026 remains impossible to decide from here.
Sources
- Egypt – Entry / stay (France Diplomatie, updated September 21, 2026)
- Geopolitics of Small Islands: The Stalemate of Tiran and Sanafir’s Transfer Impacts Egypt-Saudi Relations (Arab Center Washington DC, Khalil Al-Anani, 2023)
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