JP Marine

JP Marine is a large 37m long Egyptian liveaboard. With its twin 610 HP engines, it cruises at 15 knots to all of the Red Sea marine parks on 1 week dive safaris. Some of the top destinations visited are Brothers and Daedalus Reef, Ras Mohamed and the Tiran Strait, and the St John’s reef system.

The yacht can accommodate 28 divers in its 14 air-conditioned cabins, each with en-suite bathrooms. There is an indoor air-conditioned lounge with a TV, music system, and self-service bar. There are 6 tables where guests can enjoy their meals, which are served on a service counter. The upper deck has a shaded open-air area, with padded benches, comfy seats, a music system and a bar where you can order evening drinks and enjoy the fresh Red Sea air. There is also a solarium on the bridge where you can work on your tan during surface intervals.

The dive deck has equipment storages crates in the kit up area, freshwater showers for freshening up after each dive, as well as a nitrox blender and 3 compressors. There are 2 zippy motorised zodiacs that run divers out to the sites. But perhaps the JP Marine’s greatest feature are the very affordable prices that they charge, making Red Sea diving safaris affordable to those on tight budgets.

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Dive experience: All routes require advanced open water diver certification, but guests can take their advanced course onboard if necessary (need to book before the trip). When not having sufficient logged dives, guests can also join the trip by hiring a private dive guide for the week (US$ 361 per dive guide).

Cruise price per person includes: Cabin accommodation with air-conditioning, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, drinking water, hot drinks, scheduled return transfers from Hurghada or Marsa Alam Airport to the boat, dives (as detailed in the trips above), 2 experienced English-speaking divemasters, tanks, weights and weightbelts, all taxes.

Cruise price per person excludes (mandatory, unless customer provides own): Scuba equipment rental (incl. dive computer and torch: US$ 227 per week), dive insurance (and standard medical insurance), port fees US$ 26 per week, environmental tax (US$ 72 per week, cash EUR only), service charge (i.e. tips: US$ 72 per week). A fuel surcharge will apply to all cruises (7 nights US$ 52, cash EUR only). Unless otherwise stated, all the listed items need to be paid on arrival (cash only - USD or EUR).

Optional extras: Soft drinks, alcoholic drinks, nitrox fills for certified enriched air divers (US$ 72 per week), 15 litre tank (US$ 36 per week). Unless otherwise stated, all the listed items need to be paid on arrival (cash only). Note: prices of items purchased onboard are subject to change.

How to get there: JP Marine liveaboard diving safaris depart from Hurghada or Port Ghalib, and return transfers are included from Hurghada hotels (main city only), and from Hurghada and Marsa Alam airports. Scheduled transfers from Hurghada to Port Ghalib run from 2-6 pm, and it takes approximately 4 hours. There is also a pick up at Marsa Alam Airport at 5 pm. Boarding takes place at 5 pm. The first and last night of each tour are spent in port/marina. Disembarkation is at 10 am, when there is a transfer service to the local airport. Transfers from Port Ghalib to Hurghada depart between 8-10 am.
The last dive of the trip will be at around 12 noon on the penultimate day. Please wait at least 18 hours before flying after diving. For more details, including airlines, visit our Red Sea travel information section.

Non-diver rate: None.

Single supplement (if you do not want to share accommodation): This is optional - single travellers may choose to share a cabin or pay a 100% supplement of the normal published price for their own cabin.

Dive clubs and group discounts: 5% off for groups of 5 and more during the summer weeks from June to August.

Whole boat charter rate (per night): On request only.

Add-on package: If you have time, we strongly recommend that you consider some of the wonderful antiquities tours in Egypt which can add a whole new dimension to your holiday. Cairo museum's royal mummies, the pyramids of Giza, the Great Sphinx, a glorious cruise down the Nile staying in a luxury cabin, The Valley of the Kings, all of these and more can be seen in packages starting at 6 nights' duration. Other activities such as 4x4 safaris and camel tours are also available as are custom-made packages to suit your needs.

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: Big Brother, Little Brother, Aida II wreck, Numidia wreck, Daedalus Reef and Elphinstone

Day 1
The JP Marine 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 dive cruise ship 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 liveaboard you will be met by 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.
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 at 8 pm. There will only 2 dives on the last day as the boat then sails back to port.
Expect 3 delicious meals every day. Main meals are buffet style. Breakfast is usually eggs cooked to your choice (omelette, fried, or scrambled), pancakes, toast, bread, fresh fruit and veggies, cereals and milk or yoghurt, cheese and sausages, hot coffee and tea. Lunch and evening meals usually consist of lots of fresh vegetables, rice, noodles, chicken, beef and fish prepared mainly with international recipes, but also some local Egyptian delicacies will be served during the trip. Snacks like cookies, juice and fresh fruit are served every mid-afternoon. There is self-service tea, coffee, snack, drinking water, 24/7.

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 details.

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Daedalus, Fury Shoals & Elphinstone (8 Days / 7 Nights - 18 Dives)

Trip highlights: hammerhead sharks, shark action, 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: Daedalus Reef, Sataya: Dolphin House; Fury Shoal: Maksur, Claudia, Malahy, Abu Galawa; and Elphinstone

Day 1
The JP Marine 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 dive cruise ship 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 liveaboard you will be met by 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 reef at Daedalus and Elphinstone are a must for all experienced divers. They 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. Curious turtles and whitetip reef sharks will be common encounters.
This Red Sea diving tour also visits Sataya, a large horseshoe-shaped reef in the Fury Shoals. It is famous for being a playground for spinner dolphins and for its pristine hard corals. Abu Galawa features a fantastic hard coral garden visited by schools of snapper, angelfish and wrasses, including giant Napoleon wrasse that like to explore the edges of reefs, channels, and reef passes.
3-4 dives a day are the norm on this safari. 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 at 8 pm. There will only 2 dives on the last day as the boat then sails back to Port Ghalib.
Expect 3 delicious meals every day. Main meals are buffet style. Breakfast is usually eggs cooked to your choice (omelette, fried, or scrambled), pancakes, toast, bread, fresh fruit and veggies, cereals and milk or yoghurt, cheese and sausages, hot coffee and tea. Lunch and evening meals usually consist of lots of fresh vegetables, rice, noodles, chicken, beef and fish prepared mainly with international recipes, but also some local Egyptian delicacies will be served during the trip. Snacks like cookies, juice and fresh fruit are served every mid-afternoon. There is self-service tea, coffee, snack, drinking water, 24/7.

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: Big Habili, Small Habili, Umm Erug, Umm Hararim; Fury Shoal: Maksur, Claudio, Malahy, Abu Galawa and Sataya

Day 1
The JP Marine 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 dive cruise ship 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 liveaboard you will be met by 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 the Red Sea 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, dugongs 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.
3-4 dives a day are the norm on this safari. 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 at 8 pm. There will only 2 dives on the last day as the boat then sails back to Port Ghalib.
Expect 3 delicious meals every day. Main meals are buffet style. Breakfast is usually eggs cooked to your choice (omelette, fried, or scrambled), pancakes, toast, bread, fresh fruit and veggies, cereals and milk or yoghurt, cheese and sausages, hot coffee and tea. Lunch and evening meals usually consist of lots of fresh vegetables, rice, noodles, chicken, beef and fish prepared mainly with international recipes, but also some local Egyptian delicacies will be served during the trip. Snacks like cookies, juice and fresh fruit are served every mid-afternoon. There is self-service tea, coffee, snack, drinking water, 24/7.

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 & 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: Daedalus Reef, Zabargad, Rocky Island, St. John's: Big Habili, Small Habili, Umm Erug, Umm Hararim; Fury Shoal: Maksur, Claudio, Malahy, Abu Galawa and Sataya

Day 1
The JP Marine 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 dive cruise ship 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 liveaboard you will be met by 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 reef at Daedalus 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.
3-4 dives a day are the norm on this safari. 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 at 8 pm. There will only 2 dives on the last day as the boat then sails back to Port Ghalib.
Expect 3 delicious meals every day. Main meals are buffet style. Breakfast is usually eggs cooked to your choice (omelette, fried, or scrambled), pancakes, toast, bread, fresh fruit and veggies, cereals and milk or yoghurt, cheese and sausages, hot coffee and tea. Lunch and evening meals usually consist of lots of fresh vegetables, rice, noodles, chicken, beef and fish prepared mainly with international recipes, but also some local Egyptian delicacies will be served during the trip. Snacks like cookies, juice and fresh fruit are served every mid-afternoon. There is self-service tea, coffee, snack, drinking water, 24/7.

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 14 twin bed cabins on board: 8 cabins on the lower deck, and 6 cabins on the upper deck. All cabins have private bathrooms. Thankfully, none of the guest cabins are next to engine room as there is a dive-guide cabin and a storage room located there.

All the cabins have: No. of bathrooms / showers - 14 / 16 - hot water

Customer reviews:

"Nice crew. Good dive sites. >230 bars of pressure every dive allowing long and deep dives. Boat is a bit aging and AC didnt work in my room (but appeared to in all the other rooms). Walkways needed to be cleaned a bit more frequently." - Joseph Pergler, Qatar, 17 October 2021 ...