Dive Sites
Dahab offers 27 amazing Scuba Dive sites that suits all levels. From Beginners starting out from shore to spectacular varieties for experienced Divers, to enjoy the beautiful marine life of the area.
Daily boat trips to nearby sites North to Abu Galoum and South to Gabr ElBent, in addition to the famous Thislegorm, Tiran Island and Ras Mohamed.
Blue Hole & Bells
| Shore Dive |
A world-famous dive site that is a submarine sinkhole formed during the last Ice Age thousand of years ago and is considered one of the significant natural landmarks in the Gulf of Aqaba. A wide hole in the reef table slopes down to more than 120 meters surrounded by a vertical beautiful coral reef wall. This dive is best entered through the amazing channel the Bells, then drift to the saddle of the Blue Hole on a wall of spectacular hard coral formations with chances to see pelagic fishes such as rays and reef sharks.
The Canyon
| Shore Dive |
The huge cavern starting at 15 m with its breathtaking bubble display and dropping to 55 meters with its spectacular lights and glass-fish schools has become a destination for Rec and Tec divers alike. Dropping into The Canyon is like entering a fairytale world. Surrounded by an amazing Coral Garden, and vivid pinnacles, it also offers a drift dive along Ricks Reef which is suitable for shallow dives. This is a site not to be missed.
Eel Garden
| Shore Dive |
Populated by a large colony of Eels that lives on the white sandy slopes of this site with shallow lagoons and reef walls. This site should only be entered when a calm sea and high-tide. The best is early morning or afternoon for beautiful lighting and unexpected marine Life encounters, such as Octopus and Rays.
Lighthouse & Masbat
| Shore Dive |
Lighthouse is the house reef of Dahab’s town, located at its center and much underrated. The gradual sandy slope is perfect for scuba diving beginners and the best and safest place to start your underwater adventures. Here is the mix of coral formations, and sea grass where turtles and Seahorses reside in addition to the known underwater museum of many statues- the most famous: Dahab’s big underwater Elephant. Many juvenile fishes seek this beautiful bay for shelter and can be seen in hundreds just a few steps away from the shore.
The Islands
| Shore Dive |
Named after several pinnacles resting on a sandy bottom, the Islands are entered through a crack after crossing a reef plateau. This dive, though shallow with a max depth of 17m is quite amazing as you will hover between the underwater reef islands which are connected by labyrinths and sandy lagoons presenting a diversity of coral formations and stunning colors. There is always a good chance to sight turtles, stingrays, Wrasses, schooling barracudas, and crocodile fishes. This dive is interesting for Photographers.
The South
Golden Blocks - Moray Garden - Caves & Um Sid
| Shore Dive |
A few kilometers away by car, “The South” holds many Dive sites suitable for all Divers, it is a favorable location for groups of different levels or families to spend the day at the authentic Bedouin cafes right on the waterfront. “Golden Blocks” - usually a drift dive to Moray Garden where you can make encounters with Morays, Octopuses, squid, and Barracudas. “The caves” offer beautiful carvings inside the Reefs and “Um Sid” with its many marine gardens.
Abu Talha/Abu Helal
| Shore Dive |
Abu Talha can only be dived at high tide in good Sea conditions. Usually, a drift Dive exiting at Abu Helal, these Sites are less dived for its challenging circumstances, keeping the corals pristine and vivid. The reef encircles a shallow lagoon at about 12m then slopes into a paradise for Divers with many scattered coral tables and sightings of Triggerfishes, barracudas, and rays extending to what is known as a “little canyon”. These sites are often favored by Tec divers.
Abu Galoum
| Shore Dive |
Ras Abu Galum National Park is situated next to the Bedouin village of El-Omeyid 15 km north of Dahab, that can be approached by the dust track from the Blue Hole by foot or a Camel Safari. Also, by cars or fishermen boats from Bells. Being a far from the regular car roads and undisturbed from mass tourism, it presents still a Sinai of unspoiled nature and the ethnicity of the old Bedouin way of Life. The many Dive sites at Ras Abu Galoum offer amazing diving experiences for all levels with its pristine coral reefs and many underwater marine life sightings of Turtles, Mantas, Octopus and all the varieties of the reef fishes of the Red Sea. There are 6 dive sites, each with its own special flair, one is great for drift diving, another deep diving, others for a wonderful night dive experience.
Enjoy a unique day trip and even better - an overnight under the stars at the Bedouin huts of the village, while eating delicious local food and an unforgettable experience of camp-diving.
Gabr El Bent
| Boat Dive |
This boat diving day trip is favored by divers and snorkelers alike, enjoying the crystal-clear waters, occasional dolphin Encounters playing around the boat, and beautiful reefs south of Dahab with the view of the gigantic Sinai mountains dropping off into the Red Sea at the protected area of Gabr El Bent which means “grave of the girl” in Arabic.
The four dive sites are Gabr El Bent North/South, Shogayrat, and Shaab Said. Shogayrat is usually the first dive if the Sea allows- a drift dive from south to north and passes over a deep canyon and onto some dramatic coral formations which gives the site its name (Shogharat means ‘trees’). There is a forest of Gorgonian fans stretching far into the depth, which may be the most impressive in the entire Red Sea.
Gabr EL Bent sites are magnificent reef walls that are visited often by pelagic fish, rays, large schools of snappers, and tunas -the North site shallowing into a white sand underwater lagoon with coral gardens abundant with reef fish and schools of Milkfish.
Ras Mohammed
| Boat Dive |
Ras Mohammed National Park is the masterpiece of wall diving. Most famous are Shark & Yolanda Reef, ranked among the top ten dive sites in the world. There are also a lot of other dive sites, such as Ras Ghozlani, Jackfish Alley, Eel Garden, Shark Observatory, and Anemone City. Colorful soft corals grow from overhangs, surrounded by Anthias, which flutter around the wall like butterflies. Giant gorgonian fans spread horizontally on some of the ledges. A few areas, especially in deep crevices, are dark and comparatively devoid of life. Others are brilliantly colorful and alive with activity. Caves provide refuge for soldierfish, hatchet fish, and silver sweepers. Points and outcrops can be rainbows of brilliant colors. The perceptive diver will remember to look occasionally toward open water.
Facing the deepest waters of the Red Sea, the wall of Ras Mohammed attracts pelagic species in search of prey. Schools of jacks or tuna, or perhaps a shark or an eagle ray, may swim by. At the north end, a 25 m sand plateau is virtually covered with garden eels. To the south, underneath the Shark Observatory, the sheerest wall drops straight down well beyond diving depth.
Tiran Island
| Boat Dive |
Four coral reefs make up the dive site, which features unpredictable currents and steep drop offs, located in the straits of Tiran separating Egypt from Saudi Arabia. Good dive skills are requested, especially buoyancy control. Fish and coral life is also amazing, with turtles and sharks regularly present at some of the sites. Starting in the south and going north, the four reefs are as follows: Gordon, Woodhouse, Thomas and Jackson. They are named after 19th-century British cartographers. The four coral reefs are all visible from the surface. You can see them from a distance due to the large wreck of the Loullia. This Swedish-built freighter, originally named Antonia, ran aground on one of the reefs in September, 1981. It is now a popular landmark for visiting divers/snorkelers. There is also the smaller, less-intact wreck of the Lara on another reef, which itself has an interesting story of intrigue and fraud.
Thomas reef being the most popular and the smallest provides encounters with pelagic fish and big Gorgonia fans fences. On 32 m you can enter a canyon with its deepest point on 90 m suitable for Tec divers. Jackson Reef is the most vivid with long patches of soft corals and small fish. In the end of summer, beginning of fall, when currents are not as strong and permits diving the back side of Jackson Reef, sightings of hammerhead schools are often recorded.
SS Thistlegorm
| Boat Dive |
The Thistlegorm wreck, rediscovered In 1952 by Jacques Cousteau after following fishermen’s information, is located in the North of the Red Sea in the Strait of Gubal. It is a former 128m long British transport ship sunk in 1941 after a German air attack and is the best-known and most popular wreck dive in the Red Sea. The 125m long British army freighter sank after just 18 months of her launch in April 1940. You will be amazed by the amount of artifacts that you can see underwater. There are locomotives, tanks, Army Trucks, jeeps, Motorbikes, Boots, stacks of rifles, and various spare parts for planes and cars. It is like diving into a piece of History!
There are so many things to see that you need at least 2 dives to explore the entire shipwreck, in and out. You can also still see the ship's anti-aircraft gun. The Wreck lies now in 30m of water. The deepest point is the prop, about 32m deep and the shallowest part is only 16m deep. Current can sometimes be quite strong on this spot and can make the dive quite challenging. The visibility is often good but can be reduced by the silt in the water depending on the current and weather conditions. The marine life around the Wreck is great and you can encounter Batfishes, a resident turtle, Crocodile fishes, Barracudas, Snappers, schools of Jacks, and all the usual reef fishes of the Red Sea.
