Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Sudan's Red Sea coast offers what Egypt and Saudi Arabia once had—pristine coral reefs untouched by mass tourism. Port Sudan, established in 1909 by the British, serves as the gateway to some of the Red Sea's most spectacular diving. Jacques Cousteau explored these waters; his wreck of the Umbria, scuttled in 1940, is one of the world's great dive sites. The coral gardens are immaculate, hammerheads school at Sha'ab Rumi, and manta rays cruise through in season. Onshore, the heat is intense but the hospitality is genuine. Current political instability requires careful planning, but for experienced divers, Sudan rewards the effort.
