Marsa Alam sää — maaliskuu

March is the cool-water end of the Red Sea season and our row matches the forum almost exactly: they give an average low of 16C and a high of 26C, ours says 17.6C and 26.7C; they put the sea at 22C, ours at 22.7C. What they argue about is neoprene. Some divers manage a 2.5mm shortie, a regular here recommends a full 5mm for March, and snorkellers often get away with shorts and a rash vest - so the answer depends on what you are doing and how long you are in. On land the complaint is wind rather than cold, our row's 21.9 kph, with a cardigan or light jacket wanted for the evening. Rain is 0.3mm across no precipitation days at all. The record: humidity 47 percent, 11 hours of sun and AQI 62.

Regulars are direct that rain here is extraordinarily rare, sometimes years passing before even one day of moderate rainfall, sunny skies the expectation on nearly every single day of a trip. Our row backs that mild, genuinely dry read, 23.6C over 15.1C nights feeling 13C, with rain essentially absent and humidity down to 53 percent. Regulars are consistent an occasional heatwave can push conditions to around 30C for a few days even this early in the year, windy stretches a real feature of the month though never genuinely cold. The sea sits at a mild 21.6C, warm enough for snorkeling for most though some prefer a shorty wetsuit. The record: 10.1 hours of sun, a 21 kph wind and AQI 58.

Regulars place this month in a transition window: past the gentler spring conditions but still ahead of the most intense heat of July and August, with visibility and marine life still good enough that experienced divers keep coming through the summer regardless. Our row backs the building heat, 35.8C reading as a real 36C, over 27.3C nights, with rain effectively absent and humidity down to 36 percent - dry desert heat rather than a humid coastal swelter. The sea offers real relief at a warm 28.6C, and regulars note the trade for pushing into summer rather than waiting for autumn is thinner crowds at the dive sites. The record: 12.7 hours of sun, a 22.7 kph wind and AQI 59.

May turns hot here from the first days and regulars trade stories of 44C and 46C; our row's 33.3C is the month averaged, so read theirs as the spikes. What makes it bearable is the desert air at 38 percent humidity - the feels-like never exceeds the thermometer, which is rare in this collection. On wind they are blunt that it is unpredictable and nobody can tell you in advance, except that mornings and evenings are usually calm. The variable they say you can control is where you stay: exposed stretches blow hard while sheltered bays do not, and Marsa Egla and Abu Dabab give cover for snorkelling when it does. Our average is 22.3 kph. The record: 24.3C nights, 0.6mm of rain, 12.4 hours of sun, a 25.7C sea and AQI 62.

November in Marsa Alam is mid to high 20s with a sea at much the same temperature, and the forum's repeated point is variability rather than average: some days are still and genuinely lovely, others blow hard enough that high 20s feels cool. The wind builds from the end of October, because November is where the winter season starts here. For divers that means two things - a 5mm suit is the usual recommendation, and the wind chill on the boat after a dive matters as much as the water does. Our row has the sea at 26.3C, which regulars reckon is about what June gives you. The record: 28C days, 20.1C nights, 1 precipitation day, humidity 61 percent, 10 hours of sun and a 19 kph wind.