Diving the Brothers, Daedalus and Elphinstone
A Red Sea Expedition Aboard Legacy
The Brothers, Daedalus and Elphinstone, known to most divers simply as the BDE route, is one of the defining itineraries in the Red Sea. Vertical walls, strong currents, historic wrecks and open water crossings where hammerheads and oceanic whitetips are a real possibility rather than a hopeful one. It’s a serious week of diving, and it rewards divers who come prepared for it.
This June, we joined the trip aboard Legacy alongside Marie, running the week for a group who’d travelled in from across Europe, Indonesia, Thailand and the US. Nobody knew each other at the start. By the second night, the group had settled into that particular liveaboard rhythm where conversations at dinner run long and nobody’s checking their phone. What follows is an honest account of the boat, the diving and who this itinerary actually suits, not just the highlights reel.
Why This Route, and Why Legacy
The BDE route only works well with the right boat and the right season. June gives some of the most settled conditions of the year on this itinerary: clear water, manageable currents (though “manageable” on the BDE still means current, not calm), and good odds on the pelagic sightings the route is known for.
Legacy suits this itinerary because of the practical things that matter offshore: a properly equipped dive deck, a crew used to handling groups in current, and enough space on board that six days living alongside the same people doesn’t start to feel cramped by day three. The cabins are comfortable rather than showy, which is the right call for a boat that spends most of its time well out from the coast.
Who This Trip Is Suitable For
This is not a first liveaboard, and it’s not a route we’d recommend without a proper conversation first. Daedalus and Elphinstone in particular involve open water descents, drift diving and currents that can build quickly. We’d want to see:
- A minimum of Advanced Open Water, ideally with logged deep and drift experience
- Comfort with negative entries and current diving, since several sites are drift-only
- A dive computer and SMB carried on every dive, non-negotiable on this route
- Appropriate dive insurance, such as DAN, given the distance from shore-based medical facilities
If you haven’t dived in the past year, or you’re newer to current diving, that doesn’t rule out the Red Sea, it just means a different itinerary is probably the better starting point. Shore-based bases like Dahab or Marsa Shagra give you the same warm water and healthy reefs at a gentler pace, and if you’re not yet certified, learning to dive in the Red Sea is a genuinely good way to start.
Talk to us before you book and we’ll be straight with you about whether BDE is the right week for where you are as a diver.
Life Aboard, Between Dives
The group dynamic on this trip was one of the better ones we’ve seen, and that owes a fair amount to Marie, who has a way of reading a group by day two and adjusting the pace of the week accordingly, more banter at breakfast if people need loosening up, quieter mornings if the current sites the day before have taken it out of everyone. The saloon and sun deck gave people room to either socialise or disappear with a book between dives, and there’s a particular pleasure in a cup of tea on the top deck as the light goes gold after the last dive of the day, watching the coastline while your ears clear.
The crew’s handling of kit and briefings kept the days running smoothly even with a full boat, which matters more than it sounds on a route where entries are often negative and timed to current. Nobody was left fumbling with a weight belt at the back of the boat while a group was already in the water.
One evening, under a full moon, the group ended up on the top deck long after the last dive briefing. Someone had brought out a speaker, a couple of the Thai divers taught the rest of us a card game, and it turned into one of those nights that happens naturally on a good week rather than something anyone plans for.
The Diving, Day by Day
Frequently Asked Questions
We’d normally want to see Advanced Open Water as a minimum, along with logged deep and drift dives. Daedalus and Elphinstone both involve open water descents and currents that can build quickly, so this isn’t the itinerary to learn drift diving on. If you’re not quite there yet, talk to us, there are Red Sea options better suited to building that experience first.
Yes. Our June trip had guests joining alone from four different countries, and the boat’s layout, with open communal spaces alongside quieter corners, works well for a group finding its feet together. Cabins are typically twin-share, so let us know if you’d prefer to be paired with another solo traveller or have a cabin to yourself.
Conditions vary through the year, but June tends to give some of the more settled water for this route, clearer visibility and currents that, while still present, are more manageable than at other times. It’s not the only viable month, but it’s a reliable one.
Yes, and we’d insist on it. This is a remote itinerary with recompression and medical facilities well away from the boat, so appropriate cover, such as DAN, isn’t optional for us in the way it might be closer to shore.
Be honest with us about it rather than hoping it’ll come back on the first dive. A refresher or a gentler shore-based trip beforehand is often the better route in, and we’d rather have that conversation now than on the boat.
Planning Your Own Trip
If this sounds like the right week for you, Legacy runs the BDE route regularly through our Red Sea liveaboard programme, one of several vessels we cover across Red Sea liveaboard diving in Egypt, part of our wider Egypt diving holidays and the liveaboard diving holidays we run beyond the Red Sea. Dates for this and other Red Sea departures are on our upcoming dive trips page.
Before you book, get in touch and talk it through with us. We’ll ask about your logged dives, your current experience and what you’re hoping to get out of the week, and we’ll tell you honestly if BDE is the right fit or if another route would suit you better. If diving isn’t the only thing on your mind and you’re weighing up how you’d rather travel, our experiences overview and full destinations guide are good places to keep browsing.