Discovery I

The M/Y Discovery I (ex-Amelia) is a 32m long wooden hull motor yacht that operates unbeatable value liveaboard diving safaris throughout the Egyptian Red Sea. The water boasts world class diving and excellent visibility all year round. What better way to spend a week than waking up at undisturbed sites to dive the world famous wrecks and marine parks of the Red Sea!

Discovery I accommodates 20 guests in 10 twin/double air-conditioned cabins, each with its own en-suite bathroom. It has a spacious saloon, which has a separate dining and lounge area with bar, offers A/C, DVD/TV/video and a music system. The food served onboard is said to be amazing!

There are 2 large sundecks, one with a bar and shaded area with table and chairs, the other with mattresses for sunbathing. There is ample room for all guests to relax and enjoy their time in the sunshine between dives.

There are 2 x 5+m Zodiacs with 40 HP outboard engines that run scuba divers out to the sites, where they can use the free enriched air nitrox supplied by the onboard membrane system to extend their time underwater and marvel at the kaleidoscope of colours that will greet you from the rich variety of fish and corals. The dive platform has freshwater showers to rinse off after each dive, and rinse tanks to soak salt-sensitive equipment once you're back onboard.

Due to its unbelievable value for money, the Red Sea is an ideal destination for all scuba divers, and the appeal of liveaboard diving here is undeniable. You can make 3-4 dives per day and reach spots that fewer other divers get to visit. With its friendly and hard working crew, and professional guiding service, the Discovery I liveaboard is one of the best in terms of value for money.

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Dive experience: Recommendation for all trips: Advanced Open Water Diver license and a minimum of 20 logged dives; except for any cruises that include the southern marine parks (Brothers, Daedalus Reef, Zabargad or Rocky) - Advanced Open Water Diver and 30 logged dives. Guests may be requested to sit out a dive if the guides assess that it is beyond their experience level.

Cruise price per person includes: Cabin accommodation with air-conditioning, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, soft drinks, drinking water, hot drinks (e.g. instant coffee, tea), roundtrip transfers from/to Hurghada and Marsa Alam airports, dives (as detailed in the trips above), 32% nitrox fills for enriched air certified divers, 2 experienced CWDS English-speaking divemasters, tanks, weights, all taxes.

Cruise price per person excludes (mandatory, unless customer provides own): Scuba equipment (US$ 186 per week), dive computer (US$ 41 per week), diving insurance, port/park/environmental fees (from US$ 119 to US$ 258, route dependent). Unless otherwise stated, all the listed items need to be paid on arrival (cash only - EUR, USD, GBP, EGP).

Optional extras: Alcoholic drinks, torch (US$ 41 per week), 15 litre tank (US$ 36 per week). Unless otherwise stated, all the listed items need to be paid on arrival. Note: prices of items purchased onboard are subject to change.

How to get there: Discovery I departs from either Hurghada (Old Sheraton Marina, Old Sheraton Street) or Port Ghalib on its Red Sea liveaboard safaris. Return transfers from Hurghada and Marsa Alam airports are provided. The transfer time between Hurghada and Port Ghalib is about 4 hours. Check in time starts at 4 pm on the first day (boat departs the next morning and late arrivals can still board until 5 am). For more details, including airlines, visit our Red Sea travel information section.
The last dive will be at 10 am on the second last day of the trip and Discovery I returns to port around 3:30 pm. Check out is at 10 am on the final day. Please wait at least 18 hours before flying after diving.

Non-diver rate: 25% discount (cannot be combined with other discounts).

Single supplement (if you do not want to share accommodation): This is optional - single travellers may choose to pay the regular price and share a cabin, or pay a supplement of 50% of the published price for their own cabin.

Dive clubs and group discounts: Pay for 10 guests and 1 additional person can join the cruise in a lower deck cabin free of charge.

Whole boat charter rate (per night): 15% discount on total price of 20 individuals.

Add-on package: We strongly recommend to our Egypt clients that they consider some of the wonderful antiquities tours which can be added to your Red Sea liveaboard diving vacation to create a trip of a lifetime.
Cairo museum's pharaohs and royal mummies, the pyramids of Giza, the Great Sphinx, a glorious cruise down the Nile to the Valley of the Kings … all the world famous attractions of ancient Egypt and more can be booked as add-on packages.

Brothers, Daedalus & Elphinstone (8 Days / 7 Nights - 17 Dives)

Trip highlights: hammerhead sharks, shark action, manta rays, schooling fish & big pelagics

Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, cage diving, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, very popular, wall diving, wreck diving

Dive sites and activities: Hurghada, Big Brother, Little Brother, Aida II wreck, Numidia wreck, Daedalus Reef, Elphinstone, Safaga, Salem Express

Day 1
The Discovery Divers staff will be at the arrival terminal of Hurghada Airport or Marsa Alam Airport to welcome you. An air-conditioned van will take you to Port Ghalib or Hurghada marina where the Amelia liveaboard yacht is moored. The journey from Hurghada to Port Ghalib takes about 4 hours. Otherwise it’s only a few minutes to Port Ghalib from Marsa Alam Airport if you have landed there, and a similar distance to Hurghada marina from Hurghada Airport. Once onboard the Amelia liveaboard you will be served a welcome cocktail and meet the boat crew and the tour leader, who will assign you to your cabin and provide a briefing on boat safety and the upcoming week of activities. Enjoy your dinner in the air-conditioned saloon before going to bed; your diving will start tomorrow.

Days 2-7
The Brother Islands are 2 small exposed promontories in the middle of the sea, with a very high concentration of marine life. The walls feature sponges, anemones and hard and soft corals, giving an astonishing variety of colour to the underwater world. It's very common to see sharks at the dive sites around the islands. Scalloped hammerheads and grey reef sharks, silvertip and whitetip reef sharks. At Big Brother there is a wreck that can be dived when the conditions are right, especially if it's not too windy. It's the Numidia that lies between 5-8m, completely covered with hard and soft corals. and gorgonians.
The reefs at Daedalus and Elphinstone are home to schools of surgeonfish, fusiliers, trevallies and colourful reef fish. Hammerheads, oceanic whitetips and thresher sharks can be seen here, as well as manta rays, usually seen during the summer months. There will also be a dive at the unforgettable wreck of the Salem Express, a 100-metre ferry boat that hosts frogfish, blue-spotted stingrays, schools of angel and butterflyfish. The ship is now covered in hard and soft corals.
3 dives a day are the norm in the Red Sea marine parks. A typical day will start with a morning dive at 7 am, breakfast at 8 am, 2nd dive at 10 am, lunch at noon, 3rd dive at 2 pm, snacks at 4 pm, night dive when permitted at 7 pm. Dinner around 8 pm. There will only 2 dives on the last day as the boat then sails back to port.
Expect 3 delicious meals of local Egyptian fare every day. Main meals are served buffet style in the dining area of the saloon. Breakfast is usually eggs, pancakes, toast, bread, fresh fruit and veggies, cereals and milk or yoghurt, cheese and sausages, hot coffee and tea. Lunch and evening meals consist of fresh vegetables, rice, noodles, chicken, beef and fish. Snacks like cookies, juice and fresh fruit are served every mid-afternoon. There is self-service tea, coffee, soft drinks, drinking water, 24/7. Most dietary needs can be covered including vegetarian and vegan. The yacht also serves beer, and a fine wines selection is available.

Day 8
Check out time is normally at 10 am after a breakfast and farewells with the crew, before being transferred either to the airport or your local hotel. Please note that these trips use Hurghada marina and Port Ghalib for embarkation and disembarkation - check above for exact port details.

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Red Sea North, Wrecks & Brothers (8 Days / 7 Nights - 19 Dives)

Trip highlights: hammerhead sharks, shark action, dolphins, manta rays, turtles, schooling fish & big pelagics

Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, cage diving, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, very popular, wall diving, wreck diving

Dive sites and activities: Hurghada, Abu Nuhas wrecks (Carnatic, Giannis D, Chrisoula, Kimon M), Strait of Gubal, Rosalie Moeller, SS Thistlegorm, Shaab Ali, Ras Mohamed, Big Brother, Little Brother, Aida II wreck, Numidia wreck, Safaga

Day 1
The Discovery Divers staff will be at the arrival terminal of Hurghada Airport to welcome you. An air-conditioned van will take you to Hurghada marina where the Amelia liveaboard yacht is moored; the journey is only a few minutes. Once onboard the Amelia liveaboard you will be served a welcome cocktail and meet the boat crew and the tour leader, who will assign you to your cabin and provide a briefing on boat safety and the upcoming week of activities. Enjoy your dinner in the air-conditioned saloon before going to bed; your diving will start tomorrow.

Days 2-7
This route visits the famous wrecks in the northern Red Sea, along with some stunning reef diving. The most famous wreck, the SS Thistlegorm, will leave you in awe: it was sunk in 1941 after being bombed by the German Luftwaffe! With its historical cargo of World War II machinery and equipment, all neatly stowed in its open holds, the wreck of the Thistlegorm would be a highlight of diving anywhere in the world. 4 wrecks will be the highlights of diving at Abu Nuhas, all offering spectacular dives and plenty of marine life. Ras Mohamed, at the southernmost tip of the Sinai, is one of the best kept national parks in Egypt. Its waters are rich in nutrients, attracting pelagics.
The Brother Islands are 2 small exposed promontories in the middle of the sea, with a very high concentration of marine life. The walls feature sponges, anemones and hard and soft corals, giving an astonishing variety of colour to the underwater world. It's very common to see sharks at the dive sites around the islands. Scalloped hammerheads and grey reef sharks, silvertip and whitetip reef sharks. At Big Brother there is a wreck that can be dived when the conditions are right, especially if it's not too windy. It's the Numidia that lies between 5-8m, completely covered with hard and soft corals. and gorgonians.
4 dives a day are the norm in the Red Sea (but only 3 dives per day when in the marine parks). A typical day will start with a morning dive at 7 am, breakfast at 8 am, 2nd dive at 10 am, lunch at noon, 3rd dive at 2 pm, snacks at 4 pm, sunset or night dive when permitted at 7 pm. Dinner around 8 pm. There will only 2 dives on the last day as the boat then sails back to port.
Expect 3 delicious meals of local Egyptian fare every day. Main meals are served buffet style in the dining area of the saloon. Breakfast is usually eggs, pancakes, toast, bread, fresh fruit and veggies, cereals and milk or yoghurt, cheese and sausages, hot coffee and tea. Lunch and evening meals consist of fresh vegetables, rice, noodles, chicken, beef and fish. Snacks like cookies, juice and fresh fruit are served every mid-afternoon. There is self-service tea, coffee, soft drinks, drinking water, 24/7. Most dietary needs can be covered including vegetarian and vegan. The yacht also serves beer, and a fine wines selection is available.

Day 8
Check out time is normally at 10 am after a breakfast and farewells with the crew, before being transferred either to the airport or your local hotel.

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Red Sea North, Wrecks & Tiran Straits (8 Days / 7 Nights - 21 Dives)

Trip highlights: turtles, schooling fish & big pelagics

Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, cage diving, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, very popular, wall diving, wreck diving

Dive sites and activities: Shaab El Erg (Dolphin House), Abu Nuhas (Carnatic, Giannis D), Shaab Mahmoud: Dunraven, Straits of Tiran: Jackson Reef, Gordon Reef, Woodhouse Reef, Thomas Reef; SS Thistlegorm, Gubal Island, Ras Mohamed: Yolanda Reef, Shark Reef

Day 1
The Discovery Divers staff will be at the arrival terminal of Hurghada Airport to welcome you. An air-conditioned van will take you to Hurghada marina where the Amelia liveaboard yacht is moored; the journey is only a few minutes. Once onboard the Amelia liveaboard you will be served a welcome cocktail and meet the boat crew and the tour leader, who will assign you to your cabin and provide a briefing on boat safety and the upcoming week of activities. Enjoy your dinner in the air-conditioned saloon before going to bed; your diving will start tomorrow.

Days 2-7
This route visits the famous wrecks in the northern Red Sea, along with some stunning reef diving. The most famous wreck, the SS Thistlegorm, will leave you in awe: it was sunk in 1941 after being bombed by the German Luftwaffe! With its historical cargo of World War II machinery and equipment, all neatly stowed in its open holds, the wreck of the Thistlegorm would be a highlight of diving anywhere in the world. Ras Mohamed, at the southernmost tip of the Sinai, is one of the best kept national parks in Egypt. Its waters are rich in nutrients, attracting pelagics. Tiran is world famous for its exceptional variety of corals and its strong southwestern currents. It’s home of a lot of big fish in the Red Sea.
4 dives a day are the norm in the Red Sea. A typical day will start with a morning dive at 7 am, breakfast at 8 am, 2nd dive at 10 am, lunch at noon, 3rd dive at 2 pm, snacks at 4 pm, sunset or night dive when permitted at 7 pm. Dinner around 8 pm. There will only 2 dives on the last day as the boat then sails back to port.
Expect 3 delicious meals of local Egyptian fare every day. Main meals are served buffet style in the dining area of the saloon. Breakfast is usually eggs, pancakes, toast, bread, fresh fruit and veggies, cereals and milk or yoghurt, cheese and sausages, hot coffee and tea. Lunch and evening meals consist of fresh vegetables, rice, noodles, chicken, beef and fish. Snacks like cookies, juice and fresh fruit are served every mid-afternoon. There is self-service tea, coffee, soft drinks, drinking water, 24/7. Most dietary needs can be covered including vegetarian and vegan. The yacht also serves beer, and a fine wines selection is available.

Day 8
Check out time is normally after a breakfast and farewells with the crew, before being transferred either to the airport or your local hotel.

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Red Sea South (8 Days / 7 Nights - 17 Dives)

Trip highlights: hammerhead sharks, shark action, dolphins, manta rays, turtles, schooling fish & big pelagics

Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, cage diving, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, very popular, wall diving, wreck diving

Dive sites and activities: Daedalus Reef, Rocky, Zabargad Island, Elphinstone

Day 1
The Discovery Divers staff will be at the arrival terminal of Hurghada Airport or Marsa Alam Airport to welcome you. An air-conditioned van will take you to Port Ghalib where the Amelia liveaboard yacht is moored. The journey from Hurghada to Port Ghalib takes about 4 hours. Otherwise it’s only a few minutes to Port Ghalib from Marsa Alam Airport if you have landed there. Once onboard the Amelia liveaboard you will be served a welcome cocktail and meet the boat crew and the tour leader, who will assign you to your cabin and provide a briefing on boat safety and the upcoming week of activities. Enjoy your dinner in the air-conditioned saloon before going to bed; your diving will start tomorrow.

Days 2-7
Daedalus Reef is a must for all experienced divers. It is home to schools of surgeonfish, fusiliers, trevallies and colourful reef fish. Hammerheads, oceanic whitetips and thresher sharks can be seen here, as well as manta rays, usually during the summer months. The currents that flow all year around the walls at Rocky Island help the growth of beautiful soft corals, as well as gorgonian fans, sponges and black coral trees. The small island is used as a shelter by reef sharks, especially grey and silvertips, and manta rays, green turtles and dolphins visit. The island of Zabargad is a fantastic dive location, with walls, drop offs or easier dives in shallower water, with a beautiful coral garden that attracts schools of snappers, bigeyes, soldierfish and wrasses.
3 dives a day are the norm in the Red Sea marine parks. A typical day will start with a morning dive at 7 am, breakfast at 8 am, 2nd dive at 10 am, lunch at noon, 3rd dive at 2 pm, snacks at 4 pm, night dive when permitted at 7 pm. Dinner around 8 pm. There will only 2 dives on the last day as the boat then sails back to port.
Expect 3 delicious meals of local Egyptian fare every day. Main meals are served buffet style in the dining area of the saloon. Breakfast is usually eggs, pancakes, toast, bread, fresh fruit and veggies, cereals and milk or yoghurt, cheese and sausages, hot coffee and tea. Lunch and evening meals consist of fresh vegetables, rice, noodles, chicken, beef and fish. Snacks like cookies, juice and fresh fruit are served every mid-afternoon. There is self-service tea, coffee, soft drinks, drinking water, 24/7. Most dietary needs can be covered including vegetarian and vegan. The yacht also serves beer, and a fine wines selection is available.

Day 8
Check out time is normally at 10 am after a breakfast and farewells with the crew, before being transferred either to the airport or your local hotel.

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Red Sea South & St. John's Reefs (8 Days / 7 Nights - 19 Dives)

Trip highlights: dolphins, dugongs/manatees, great macro life/ marine diversity

Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, cage diving, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, very popular, wall diving, wreck diving

Dive sites and activities: Zabargad, Rocky Island, St. John's: Habili Ali, Habili Gafaar, Gota Kebir, Gota Soraya; Elphinstone

Day 1
The Discovery Divers staff will be at the arrival terminal of Hurghada Airport or Marsa Alam Airport to welcome you. An air-conditioned van will take you to Port Ghalib where the Amelia liveaboard yacht is moored. The journey from Hurghada to Port Ghalib takes about 4 hours. Otherwise it’s only a few minutes to Port Ghalib from Marsa Alam Airport if you have landed there. Once onboard the Amelia liveaboard you will be served a welcome cocktail and meet the boat crew and the tour leader, who will assign you to your cabin and provide a briefing on boat safety and the upcoming week of activities. Enjoy your dinner in the air-conditioned saloon before going to bed; your diving will start tomorrow.

Days 2-7
In the deep south you will have the opportunity to dive the St. John’s reef system, the healthiest and most colourful in the Red Sea, with their fantastic drop offs, pinnacles, canyons, caves and tunnels, and amazing hard-corals. There is a lot of marine life too, such as barracuda, different types of reef shark, sometimes even dolphins and mantas.
The currents that flow all year around the walls at Rocky Island help the growth of beautiful soft corals, as well as gorgonian fans, sponges and black coral trees. The small island is used as a shelter by reef sharks, especially grey and silvertips, and manta rays, green turtles and dolphins visit. The island of Zabargad is a fantastic dive location, with walls, drop offs or easier dives in shallower water, with a beautiful coral garden that attracts schools of snappers, bigeyes, soldierfish and wrasses.
4 dives a day are the norm in the Red Sea (but only 3 when in the marine parks). A typical day will start with a morning dive at 7 am, breakfast at 8 am, 2nd dive at 10 am, lunch at noon, 3rd dive at 2 pm, snacks at 4 pm, night dive when permitted at 7 pm. Dinner around 8 pm. There will only 2 dives on the last day as the boat then sails back to port.
Expect 3 delicious meals of local Egyptian fare every day. Main meals are served buffet style in the dining area of the saloon. Breakfast is usually eggs, pancakes, toast, bread, fresh fruit and veggies, cereals and milk or yoghurt, cheese and sausages, hot coffee and tea. Lunch and evening meals consist of fresh vegetables, rice, noodles, chicken, beef and fish. Snacks like cookies, juice and fresh fruit are served every mid-afternoon. There is self-service tea, coffee, soft drinks, drinking water, 24/7. Most dietary needs can be covered including vegetarian and vegan. The yacht also serves beer, and a fine wines selection is available.

Day 8
Check out time is normally at 10 am after a breakfast and farewells with the crew, before being transferred either to the airport or your local hotel.

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St. John's Reefs (8 Days / 7 Nights - 21 Dives)

Trip highlights: dolphins, manta rays, dugongs/manatees, turtles, schooling fish & big pelagics

Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, cage diving, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, very popular, wall diving, wreck diving

Dive sites and activities: St. John's: Habili Ali, Habili Gafaar, Gota Kebir, Gota Soraya; Shaab Sharm, Wadi Gamal, Fury Shoals: Shaab Claudio, South. Abu Galawa Soraya; Elphinstone

Day 1
The Discovery Divers staff will be at the arrival terminal of Hurghada Airport or Marsa Alam Airport to welcome you. An air-conditioned van will take you to Port Ghalib where the Amelia liveaboard yacht is moored. The journey from Hurghada to Port Ghalib takes about 4 hours. Otherwise it’s only a few minutes to Port Ghalib from Marsa Alam Airport if you have landed there. Once onboard the Amelia liveaboard you will be served a welcome cocktail and meet the boat crew and the tour leader, who will assign you to your cabin and provide a briefing on boat safety and the upcoming week of activities. Enjoy your dinner in the air-conditioned saloon before going to bed; your diving will start tomorrow.

Days 2-7
In the deep south of Egypt you will have the chance to dive St. John’s Reefs, the healthiest and most colourful in the Red Sea, with their fantastic drop offs, pinnacles, canyons, caves and tunnels, and amazing hard-corals. There is a lot of marine life too, such as barracuda, different types of reef shark, sometimes even turtles, Napoleon wrasse, dolphins, dugongs and mantas.
The Fury Shoals is a vast reef system. Sha'ab Claudio is a classic dive with its famous swim-throughs and huge porites corals, Malahi with its mazes and friendly turtles, and Abu Galawa Soraya with its fantastic coral garden and a wreck of a private sailing boat smothered with glassfish. Sataya, with its resident spinner dolphin population, is a must for snorkelling between dives, as well as having some good underwater offerings.
4 dives a day are the norm in the Red Sea. A typical day will start with a morning dive at 7 am, breakfast at 8 am, 2nd dive at 10 am, lunch at noon, 3rd dive at 2 pm, snacks at 4 pm, night dive when permitted at 7 pm. Dinner around 8 pm. There will only 2 dives on the last day as the boat then sails back to port.
Expect 3 delicious meals of local Egyptian fare every day. Main meals are served buffet style in the dining area of the saloon. Breakfast is usually eggs, pancakes, toast, bread, fresh fruit and veggies, cereals and milk or yoghurt, cheese and sausages, hot coffee and tea. Lunch and evening meals consist of fresh vegetables, rice, noodles, chicken, beef and fish. Snacks like cookies, juice and fresh fruit are served every mid-afternoon. There is self-service tea, coffee, soft drinks, drinking water, 24/7. Most dietary needs can be covered including vegetarian and vegan. The yacht also serves beer, and a fine wines selection is available.

Day 8
Check out time is normally after a breakfast and farewells with the crew, before being transferred either to the airport or your local hotel.

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[Information is best estimate in ideal circumstances and subject to changes beyond our control. The itinerary is a guide only and may be adapted to best suit the weather, tides, currents, availability and other prevailing events. Price is for the cruise, not for an exact number of dives].

There are 10 cabins on Discovery I. 4 cabins are on the upper deck, 2 with double beds and 2 with twin beds. 6 cabins are the lower deck, all with twin beds. All cabins have en-suite bathrooms.

All the cabins have: No. of bathrooms / showers - 12 / 10 - hot water