Port Sudan is Sudan's main port city (population 500,000), the capital of the Red Sea State and the country's only major maritime gateway — all of Sudan's seaborne exports (cotton, sesame, peanuts, livestock and gold) and imports pass through this city on the western shore of the Red Sea, 850 km northeast of the capital Khartoum. The city was founded by the British in 1905 to replace Suakin (the historic Ottoman port city 60 km south, whose remarkable 19th-century coral-built buildings are among the most unusual architectural ruins in the world) and was designed as a modern deep-water port able to handle steamships that the shallow Suakin harbour could not. The Red Sea coast of Sudan is one of the world's most extraordinary and least-visited diving destinations — the waters from Dungunab Bay (north) to Shaab Rumi (the 'Roman Reef', where Jacques Cousteau conducted his 1963 'Continental Shelf Station' experiment, the world's first underwater living habitat) to the Sanganeb Atoll (an offshore reef rising from 800 m depth to the surface, one of the most biodiverse reef systems in the world) have exceptional visibility (40+ m), large pelagic fish (hammerhead sharks in schools, grey reef sharks, whale sharks, manta rays, Napoleon wrasse over 2 m) and pristine coral due to the extreme isolation that has kept human fishing pressure minimal. The city itself has the Othman Digna Museum, the old Ottoman-era coral buildings, the fish market and the lively Red Sea souk — but Port Sudan is primarily a gateway city for the extraordinary underwater world offshore. Note: As of 2026, Sudan has been in a devastating civil war since April 2023; travel to Sudan including Port Sudan requires urgent assessment of current conditions before any visit.
The Port Sudan fish market at dawn — Red Sea fishermen landing their catch of kingfish (wahoo), tuna, grouper, red snapper and the extraordinary variety of reef fish from the offshore reefs; the fishermen sort and sell the catch on the harbour quay while pelicans and egrets compete for scraps; the working harbour with dhows and shipping containers is the authentic face of Port Sudan.
Suakin (60 km south by road) was the most important port on the African Red Sea coast for 700 years (Ottoman period, 1517-1885) — the entire city was built from coral blocks quarried from the reef and the magnificent Ottoman mansions, mosques, caravanserais and harbour fortifications are now roofless ruins slowly returning to the sea; one of the most extraordinary and least-visited architectural ruins in Africa.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Othman Digna Museum is named for Osman Digna, the Hadendoa Beja tribal leader who was the most successful military commander of the Mahdist forces against British expansion in the Eastern Sudan (1883-1885) — his forces defeated several British expeditions including the infamous Battle of El Teb; the museum covers Red Sea Beja tribal culture, the Mahdist revolution and Sudan's Red Sea coast history.
The Port Sudan souk (market) has the Beja people's distinctive crafts — the Beja (also called Fuzzy-Wuzzy by British soldiers for their distinctive afro hairstyles) are the indigenous people of the Red Sea Hills, a nomadic semi-pastoralist culture with Cushitic-language traditions, distinctive silver jewellery, traditional knives (kofiya) and embroidered leather goods.
Hamour (brown-spotted grouper, the favourite Red Sea fish, firm white flesh) grilled over charcoal and served with kisra (the thin fermented sorghum flatbread of Sudan, similar to Ethiopian injera), salad, tahini and lemon — the Red Sea fish restaurants on the Port Sudan waterfront have the freshest fish in Sudan and the cold Pepsi or Sprite is the go-to drink in a country without alcohol.
Sanganeb Atoll (26 km northeast of Port Sudan) is one of the most biodiverse reef systems on earth — an offshore atoll rising from 800 m depth with 300+ coral species and legendary concentrations of large pelagics; the north plateau (15-25 m) has grey reef sharks, Napoleon wrasse (2 m+), barracuda schools and hammerhead sharks in season; the south plateau has a spectacular wall from 5-800 m with soft coral fans.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideShaab Rumi ("Roman Reef", 40 km north of Port Sudan) is where Jacques Cousteau set up the world's first underwater living station (Conshelf II, 1963) — the original structure (called the 'starfish house') is still on the reef at 10 m depth, now a home for enormous sweetlips, grouper and Napoleon wrasse; the shark feeding station remains and the reef is considered Cousteau's finest dive site.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideDungonab Bay (Marsa Arakiyai, 125 km north of Port Sudan) is a UNESCO-proposed marine reserve with the largest dugong population in the Red Sea (the dugong, related to the manatee, is the basis for mermaid mythology in the Red Sea) and Hammerhead Point reef which has the most reliable hammerhead shark aggregations in Sudan; whale shark season June-September.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Port Sudan waterfront at night — the Red Sea breeze, the tea sellers (Sudanese tea is spiced with cinnamon, ginger and mint, served in small glasses), the shisha cafés and the extraordinary night sky over the Red Sea (no light pollution offshore); the warm, hospitable Sudanese culture makes the evenings memorable despite the country's economic difficulties.
The Red Sea Hills (Jebel Erba range, 30-80 km west of Port Sudan) are the most rugged and most isolated mountains in Sudan — the 4WD desert track to Arbaat village passes granite inselbergs, dry wadis with acacia trees, camels, and the Beja nomads who have lived in these hills for 3,000 years; the landscape of the Sudanese Red Sea Hills is among the most dramatic in Northeast Africa.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Hadendoa Beja (the warriors who held off the British forces at El Teb and Tamai) live in arish (palm-frond shelters) in the Red Sea Hills — a guided visit to a Hadendoa settlement shows the camel culture (camels are currency, status symbol and primary transport), the distinctive sword dance, the preparation of kisra bread and the richly ornamented traditional dress.
The older section of Port Sudan (around the harbour and the original British residential quarter) has examples of the coral house architecture that once made Suakin magnificent — the carved coral facades, the Ottoman-style mashrabiya wooden screens and the remaining 1905-era British colonial buildings create an urban texture unique on the African Red Sea coast.
The Red Sea sunset from Port Sudan's waterfront — the sun sets behind the Red Sea Hills in the west (not over the sea, which faces east toward Saudi Arabia) casting dramatic light on the harbour; a final grilled hamour or king mackerel dinner with kisra bread, fresh lime juice and the extraordinary Sudanese hospitality that has made the country's pre-war reputation among travellers one of the warmest in Africa.