Location - Shaab Ishta is 45 minutes to one hour from Hurghada. It is basically two ergs, a small one to the north, a large one to the south and it is shaped a bit like a clover leaf. Ishta is Arabic for ”cream” but it’s also a term of phrase equivalent to ”cool” in English. The depth ranges from 9 to 12m and it is surrounded by areas of turtle grass.

Sea Conditions - The sea is calm more often than not and the current is always light except in the channel between the two ergs.

Dive Plan - It’s a small dive site and you can circle it twice in a figure 8 at different depths. Head out into the turtle grass beds, where you’ll find a wide variety of unfamiliar fish.

Marine Life - In the turtle grass look for packs of lionfish, bluelined emperors, southern stingrays, turtles and seahorses. In the gap between the ergs, there is a school of goatfish plus sweetlips, snappers and on the rubble slope, stone-fish, humpback scorpionfish and crocodileflsh. There is also a small cave which at night shelters a turtle. A small gully on the southern erg houses a school of hatchetflsh and finally, look out for a large malabar grouper which patrols the area.