What to pack for a 10-day Egypt Red Sea liveaboard

The Red Sea is one of the easier liveaboard destinations to pack for. The boats are large and modern, the water is warm enough that you can get away with a 3 mm wetsuit most months, and Hurghada and Marsa Alam are short flights from most of Europe. None of that stops people from showing up with two oversized suitcases of things they will not use.

What follows is a practical packing list for a 10-night Egypt safari, written by people who have done these trips dozens of times and seen exactly what comes off the boat unused at the end of the week.

Luggage

One soft-sided duffel bag, 70 to 90 litres. Soft-sided is critical — the cabins have shallow shelves under the bunks, and a hard suitcase will not fit. Most operators will collect your empty bag at boarding and store it for the week.

One day pack for the flight, with anything that has to stay with you: regulator, dive computer, mask, prescription medication, two days of underwear. If your dive bag is delayed, you can rent everything else on the boat.

Diving

The water is warm but the dive schedule is relentless — four dives a day for seven or eight days adds up to a lot of time wet. Pack for comfort, not minimums.

• Wetsuit. 3 mm from May through October, 5 mm from November through April, 5 mm + hooded vest if you run cold. The northern wrecks itineraries (Thistlegorm, Rosalie Moller) sit in cooler water than the southern reefs.
• Two sets of rash guards / dive skins. One on, one drying. The boat laundry is for emergencies, not for daily turns.
• Mask, snorkel, fins. Bring your own. Boat rental fins fit, but boat rental masks famously leak.
• Regulator + octopus + computer. Service it the month before. The Red Sea is a forgiving environment until something free-flows at 25 m on a wreck.
• SMB and reel. Mandatory on most Red Sea boats now. If you don't own one, buy one and practise deploying it from 5 m before the trip.
• Reef hook. Not strictly required, but useful on Daedalus and Elphinstone.
• Spare mask strap, fin strap, computer battery, o-rings, silicone grease, zip ties. The save-a-dive kit. The boat will have most of this, but not all of it.
• Dive light + backup. Required for the wreck penetration on the Thistlegorm and for any night dive.

The nitrox question

Most Red Sea operators charge €100-150 for the week for nitrox. Pay it. The reefs are deep enough and the dive schedule busy enough that nitrox meaningfully extends your bottom time and your week.

Clothes

You will spend most of the day wet, in a swimsuit, on a sundeck. The amount of dry clothing required is genuinely modest.

• 3-4 swimsuits, on rotation
• 2 pairs of board shorts or quick-dry trousers
• 4-5 t-shirts
• 1 long-sleeve shirt for the evening sundowner — Red Sea evenings are warm but breezy
• 1 light fleece or hoodie — for the surface intervals on cooler northern itineraries
• 1 pair of flip-flops (the only shoes you'll wear)
• Underwear and socks for the travel days, not for every day
• One "going to dinner in town" outfit if you have an overnight hotel either side of the boat — otherwise skip it

Sun and skin

You are on a boat in the desert. The sun is unrelenting and reflective off the water.

• Reef-safe sunscreen. SPF 50, water resistant, zinc-based. Bring more than you think — most boats sell sunscreen at a noticeable markup.
• A wide-brimmed hat with a chin cord. The cord matters. Hats blow off sundecks.
• Polarised sunglasses + a backup pair.
• A light, long-sleeved sun shirt for the days when even SPF 50 is not enough.
• Lip balm with SPF. Salt and sun cracks lips fast.
• Aftersun / aloe gel for the day you get it wrong anyway.

Medicine and toiletries

• Prescription medication for the whole trip plus three extra days, in its original packaging
• Sea-sickness tablets (cinnarizine or scopolamine patches) — even if you don't normally need them, bring some for night two when the swell picks up
• Ear drops — alcohol-based or specifically formulated for divers. Ear infections are the number one reason people miss dives
• Decongestant for the day your sinuses won't equalise
• Ibuprofen, paracetamol, antihistamines
• A small first-aid kit with plasters and antiseptic — most boats have a full kit, but reaching for your own at 2 a.m. is faster

Electronics

• Phone, charger, EU plug adapter (most boats are 220V European plugs)
• Kindle or a book — there will be a lot of surface-interval reading time
• Underwater camera if you bring one, plus spare batteries, spare SD cards, and a small dry box. Service the housing seals before leaving home
• A small powerbank — useful for charging in the cabin overnight without leaving devices on the deck outlets

The three things people always forget

1. Cash for tips, in euros. The crew tip is typically €100-150 per diver per week and is genuinely expected. Bring it in clean €10 and €20 notes. ATMs at Hurghada airport are unreliable.
2. A reusable water bottle. Most boats have water coolers and ask you not to use the single-use bottles. The bottle also doubles as your hot-water bottle for cooler dive days.
3. The dive insurance card. DAN or equivalent. Most boats now ask to see it at check-in. A printed copy is fine.

What you can leave at home

• Tactical-grade dive knives. Modern Red Sea operators have moved away from them entirely.
• Hair dryers. The boat will provide one if you ask; the cabins are too humid for them to be useful.
• Three changes of "evening wear". You will eat dinner in board shorts.
• Snacks. The galley is fully stocked and you'll be fed every 90 minutes.

Browse current Egypt Red Sea liveaboard departures when you're ready to book. We're always happy to talk through itineraries by email if you want a second opinion.