Sudan
Best Time to Dive in Sudan
19.73°N 37.44°E
Dive it September to November for the best conditions. We have no reliable wildlife season for this site.
- Best time
- Sep–Nov
- Water
- 26–32 °C
- Visibility
- 10–25 m
- Dived from
- liveaboard
- Tidal range
- 0.1–0.1 m
Where it is
111 km across · coastline from Natural Earth 10m
Diving in Sudan — monthly breakdown
A year of scuba diving conditions at a glance. Hover a month to isolate it.
| January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conditions | Poor | Poor | Poor | Good | Excellent | Good | Moderate | Moderate | Good | Excellent | Good | Poor |
| Water temp (°C) | 26 | 26 | 26 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 32 | 31 | 30 | 28 |
| Visibility (m) | 15–25 | 15–25 | 10–20 | 10–20 | 10–20 | 10–20 | 15–25 | 10–20 | 15–25 | 15–25 | 15–25 | 15–25 |
| Marine life | No data | No data | No data | No data | No data | No data | No data | No data | No data | No data | No data | No data |
| Best time | Peak | Peak | Peak |
Excellent Good Moderate PoorPeak season Sep–Nov
Long-term averages, 2016–2025. Visibility is estimated from satellite chlorophyll-a. Water temperature is the surface mean; it is cooler at depth.
The Sudan diving season
April to June · Shoulder season
3 monthsJFMAMJJASOND
- Water temperature
- 28–30 °C
- Visibility
- 10–20 m
- Rain
- 0 days a month
Diving conditionsSeas are usually flat. It rains less. The wind eases.
July to August · Shoulder season
2 monthsJFMAMJJASOND
- Water temperature
- 31–32 °C
- Visibility
- 15–25 m
- Rain
- 0 days a month
Diving conditionsIt rains less. The sea is calmer.
September to November · Peak season
3 monthsJFMAMJJASOND
- Water temperature
- 30–32 °C
- Visibility
- 15–25 m
- Rain
- 5 days a month
Diving conditionsSeas are usually flat. It rains more. The wind eases.
December to March · Off season
4 monthsJFMAMJJASOND
- Water temperature
- 26–28 °C
- Visibility
- 15–25 m
- Rain
- 5 days a month
Diving conditionsThe sea is rougher. The wind is up.
- Water temperature is satellite sea-surface temperature, so expect it cooler below the thermocline.
- Visibility is estimated from satellite chlorophyll-a.
Sudan water temperature and weather
10 years of sea temperature
Water & weather
Sudan water temperature by month
The dashed line is the monthly average. Eight days in ten fall inside the band.
10th to 90th percentile rangemonthly mean
Rarely
rough enough to cancel
Seas top 2.5 m on under 1% of days. Enough to cancel a liveaboard crossing
1
blowy days a month
Gusts over 40 km/h, about where a day boat stays in port
3
wet days a month
0 of them bring heavy rain
| Month | Swell | Gusts over 40 km/h | Wet days | Heavy rain | Air | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1.6 m | 15% | 8 | 0 | 25 °C | 10.9 h |
| February | 1.7 m | 16% | 2 | 0 | 25 °C | 11.4 h |
| March | 1.7 m | 7% | 0 | 0 | 26 °C | 11.9 h |
| April | 1.2 m | 4% | 0 | 0 | 28 °C | 12.5 h |
| May | 1.3 m | 2% | 0 | 0 | 30 °C | 12.9 h |
| June | 0.8 m | 1% | 0 | 0 | 33 °C | 13.2 h |
| July | 0.7 m | 2% | 0 | 0 | 34 °C | 13.1 h |
| August | 0.8 m | 2% | 0 | 0 | 34 °C | 12.7 h |
| September | 1.0 m | 0% | 0 | 0 | 33 °C | 12.1 h |
| October | 0.9 m | 0% | 2 | 0 | 31 °C | 11.5 h |
| November | 1.0 m | 2% | 13 | 1 | 29 °C | 11.0 h |
| December | 1.4 m | 7% | 12 | 0 | 27 °C | 10.8 h |
Swell is the rough end of the month: nine days in ten come in under it. Sea temperature covers 10 years, waves 4.
Pick your week
48 weeks from the daily record. Darker is better, against this site's own year. Pick a month for the detail.
| Week 1 | January week 1: Poor | February week 1: Poor | March week 1: Moderate | April week 1: Moderate | May week 1: Excellent | June week 1: Good | July week 1: Good | August week 1: Poor | September week 1: Good | October week 1: Excellent | November week 1: Excellent | December week 1: Moderate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 2 | January week 2: Poor | February week 2: Poor | March week 2: Moderate | April week 2: Moderate | May week 2: Excellent | June week 2: Excellent | July week 2: Good | August week 2: Moderate | September week 2: Good | October week 2: Excellent | November week 2: Good | December week 2: Moderate |
| Week 3 | January week 3: Poor | February week 3: Poor | March week 3: Poor | April week 3: Excellent | May week 3: Excellent | June week 3: Good | July week 3: Moderate | August week 3: Good | September week 3: Good | October week 3: Excellent | November week 3: Moderate | December week 3: Poor |
| Week 4 | January week 4: Moderate | February week 4: Moderate | March week 4: Poor | April week 4: Excellent | May week 4: Good | June week 4: Good | July week 4: Poor | August week 4: Moderate | September week 4: Excellent | October week 4: Good | November week 4: Moderate | December week 4: Poor |
Excellent Good Moderate PoorBest week to go: first of October
January, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 27 °C | 1.8 m | 30 km/h | 33% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 26 °C | 1.5 m | 30 km/h | 30% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 26 °C | 1.5 m | 30 km/h | 25% |
| Week 4 | Moderate | 26 °C | 1.6 m | 32 km/h | 17% |
February, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 26 °C | 1.8 m | 33 km/h | 9% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 26 °C | 1.8 m | 33 km/h | 8% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 26 °C | 1.6 m | 32 km/h | 7% |
| Week 4 | Moderate | 26 °C | 1.5 m | 30 km/h | 3% |
March, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Moderate | 26 °C | 1.4 m | 27 km/h | 1% |
| Week 2 | Moderate | 26 °C | 1.6 m | 27 km/h | 1% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 26 °C | 1.9 m | 27 km/h | 1% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 26 °C | 1.7 m | 27 km/h | 1% |
April, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Moderate | 27 °C | 1.4 m | 26 km/h | 2% |
| Week 2 | Moderate | 27 °C | 1.4 m | 25 km/h | 2% |
| Week 3 | Excellent | 28 °C | 1.2 m | 23 km/h | 1% |
| Week 4 | Excellent | 28 °C | 0.9 m | 22 km/h | 1% |
May, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Excellent | 29 °C | 1.2 m | 22 km/h | 1% |
| Week 2 | Excellent | 29 °C | 1.3 m | 22 km/h | 0% |
| Week 3 | Excellent | 30 °C | 1.1 m | 22 km/h | 1% |
| Week 4 | Good | 30 °C | 1.1 m | 23 km/h | 0% |
June, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Good | 30 °C | 1.0 m | 23 km/h | 0% |
| Week 2 | Excellent | 30 °C | 0.8 m | 23 km/h | 0% |
| Week 3 | Good | 30 °C | 0.8 m | 24 km/h | 0% |
| Week 4 | Good | 30 °C | 0.8 m | 24 km/h | 0% |
July, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Good | 31 °C | 0.7 m | 24 km/h | 0% |
| Week 2 | Good | 31 °C | 0.7 m | 24 km/h | 0% |
| Week 3 | Moderate | 31 °C | 0.7 m | 25 km/h | 1% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 31 °C | 0.8 m | 27 km/h | 1% |
August, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 31 °C | 0.8 m | 27 km/h | 0% |
| Week 2 | Moderate | 31 °C | 0.8 m | 25 km/h | 0% |
| Week 3 | Good | 32 °C | 0.7 m | 24 km/h | 0% |
| Week 4 | Moderate | 32 °C | 0.8 m | 24 km/h | 0% |
September, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Good | 32 °C | 0.9 m | 23 km/h | 0% |
| Week 2 | Good | 32 °C | 1.0 m | 23 km/h | 0% |
| Week 3 | Good | 32 °C | 1.0 m | 22 km/h | 0% |
| Week 4 | Excellent | 31 °C | 0.9 m | 21 km/h | 0% |
October, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Excellent | 31 °C | 0.8 m | 20 km/h | 0% |
| Week 2 | Excellent | 31 °C | 0.9 m | 19 km/h | 1% |
| Week 3 | Excellent | 31 °C | 0.9 m | 20 km/h | 7% |
| Week 4 | Good | 31 °C | 0.9 m | 20 km/h | 22% |
November, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Excellent | 31 °C | 0.9 m | 19 km/h | 40% |
| Week 2 | Good | 30 °C | 0.9 m | 21 km/h | 49% |
| Week 3 | Moderate | 30 °C | 1.1 m | 25 km/h | 45% |
| Week 4 | Moderate | 29 °C | 1.1 m | 26 km/h | 43% |
December, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Moderate | 29 °C | 1.1 m | 26 km/h | 40% |
| Week 2 | Moderate | 28 °C | 1.4 m | 28 km/h | 35% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 28 °C | 1.5 m | 29 km/h | 37% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 27 °C | 1.6 m | 31 km/h | 37% |
10 years of daily records, averaged into weeks.
Gear & storms
What to wear
Off the coldest water of each month, not the average — that is what the suit has to cope with.
| January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suit | January: 3 mm | February: 3 mm | March: 3 mm | April: 3 mm | May: skin | June: skin | July: skin | August: skin | September: skin | October: skin | November: skin | December: 3 mm |
- Dec–Apr3 mm full suit
- May–Novskin or 3 mm shorty
Swell through the year
The rough end of each month — nine days in ten come in under it.
Amber is over 2.5 m.
Tides
Tropical storms
No tropical storm has come within 250 km in 30 years of records. Swell and wind set the season, not cyclones.
- NOAASea surface temperature, from OISST and MUR
- ERA5Wind, waves, rain and air temperature, via Open-Meteo
- OBISMarine species records within 60 km
- IBTrACSTropical cyclone tracks, 1996 to 2025
Sudan marine life — what you'll see diving
Only 0 records have been logged within 60 km. A thin record is not an empty reef.
No survey records within 60 km of this site.
- Observed window
- Months with records. Peak is where most of them fall.
- Reliability
- Near-guaranteed in 60% of surveyed years or more
- Likely 30% to 60%
- Hit-or-miss under 30%
- Evidence
- Years it was seen, out of the years anyone surveyed.
- Records
- OBIS sightings within 60 km.
These are sightings people logged, not a full survey of the reef. A species missing from a month may just mean nobody recorded one.
Diving Sudan — common questions
- When is the best time to dive Sudan?
- Dive it September to November for the best conditions. We have no reliable wildlife season for this site.
- When is the diving season in Sudan?
- The diving season in Sudan runs September to November.
- Is the diving in Sudan good for beginners?
- It is better with some experience. It suits Advanced Open Water divers or equivalent, so newer divers should ask the local operator which sites fit their level.
- How warm is the water in Sudan?
- Between 26 and 32 °C at the surface across the year, coldest in February and warmest in August. It runs cooler below the thermocline.
- What wetsuit do I need in Sudan?
- A 3 mm full suit covers the coldest water of the year. In the warmest months a skin or 3 mm shorty is enough.
- What is the visibility like in Sudan?
- Roughly 10 to 25 m depending on the month. That is estimated from satellite chlorophyll-a rather than measured in the water.
- Does Sudan get tropical storms?
- No. None has passed within 250 km in 30 years of records.
- Is there current in Sudan?
- The tide rises and falls 0.1 m around the full and new moon, against 0.1 m in between. How much of that becomes current depends on the shape of the channel.
- When should I avoid Sudan?
- January–February are the weakest months for conditions.
- How do you dive Sudan?
- Mostly from liveaboards. Trips run through the season, Sep–Nov.