Dahab Diving

Dahab’s incredible underwater landscapes attract new and experienced divers from around the world. Discover world-famous Tec dives such as the Blue Hole, a crack in the earth you can descend into and a maze of coral pinnacles.

 

Diving in Dahab

Dahab, a small, colourful, cosy and open minded town just one hour north of Sharm El Sheik on the coast of the Red Sea in Egypt in the SInai Peninsula. It is a very popular diving town where divers from all over the world come to admire not only the gorgeous corals and thriving marine life, but also the exciting technical dives which this area has to offer. The dive sites here offer such a variety of underwater experiences for new divers and for extremely advanced divers.

The one dive site which is on a lot of divers bucket lists is the Blue Hole. A large hole in the sea bed which drops down hundreds of metres and also has flourishing corals on its walls. This is not the only exciting phenomenon, there is also the unique Canyon, a large crack in the earth which can be penetrated by divers which is a thrilling experience. There is even a third dive site which is a unique and cherished dive site; the Islands. This dive site is literally a maze of coral pinnacles which is absolutely teeming with life on every centimetre of these pinnacles, a top dive site for many of the divers which visit here. There are many more dive sites here to explore which provide divers with beautiful underwater experiences, one of them being the Lighthouse, which is the top dive site for all courses due to the perfect confined areas and the brightly coloured, and full of life, reef wall.

Best time to dive

Any divers visiting the Red Sea have the added benefit that the weather conditions here are, for the large majority of the year, perfect for diving. On windy days there may be waves but the dives are still accessible and the visibility remains at above average; between 10 and 30 metres. Water temperatures stay within comfortable diving temperatures; between 20 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius, when divers come in the winter months, with February being the coldest, they manage with a 5mm full suit and hood, and in the height of summer, in August and July, without any suit at all. 

Types of diving

DIvers living and working in Dahab always claim to be so lucky and proud that all the best dive sites are located straight from the shore and no boats are necessary. This allows divers to also be able to soak up the atmosphere that Dahab has above land while being able to enjoy the underwater world. The dive centres and dive resorts really cater to every type of diving. If divers are coming to Dahab to dive for the first time, either through an intro dive or through an open water diving course, there are dive sites here which have the ideal confined areas for this while still having enough life to admire while doing their skills. Advanced tec divers? There are exhilarating dive sites here in which they can swim through caves and canyons, and down to 100 plus metres in the Blue Hole dive site. DIvers who just like to revel over flourishing marine life then there are multiple possibilities here. 
 
There are two unique and spectacular dive areas off the coast of Dahab, Gabr el Bint and Abu Gallum which are accessible by day trip boats, which also provide divers with colours, shapes, and so much life underwater. 
 
Night dives and fluro night dives are popular here as well as the underwater world here thrives at night, watch out for the large Hermit Crabs scurrying on the sea beds or the Cuttle Fish floating through the dark waters.

What to see

Dahab is not a destination which divers come to spot large species, but that doesn’t make it any less exciting. In Dahab divers can come to admire the vast variety of hard and soft corals, Anemones, Sea Fans and the micro life which resides in here. Apart from the natural coral formations, there are also some statues underwater which have created their own ecosystems, including an elephant statue, donkey statue and a chair statue. DIvers can admire Lion Fish, Nudibranchs, Seahorses, Barracuda, Octopus, Sea Turtles, Napoleon Wrasse, Blue Spotted Rays and on lucky days Eagle Rays. There is a vast amount of micro life here so a dream for underwater photographers who like the smaller subjects.

Best places to dive

Mashraba is what divers would call a quaint dive site, there is a field of seagrass which houses a few Sea Turtles, Seahorses and on a lucky day, an Eagle Ray will graciously fly by or Napoleon Qrasse swim by. When you reach Romans Rock, the large coral pinnacle you can revel over the variety of soft corals which sway with the water and the large schools of reef which sprinkle this pinnacle with vibrant colours. 
 
Lighthouse is one of the most popular spots in Dahab, above and below water, as it is in a bay and so the sea is calm here which is perfect for swimming, snorkelling and diving courses. Certified divers can explore the gorgeous coral wall.
 
Canyon, a crack in the earth and a unique dive site for this part of the world. Open water divers can admire this canyon from above as to dive inside the canyon divers need to be certified to 30 metres and deeper. It is very exhilarating to descend down into this canyon and explore the insides of the earth. There are also deeper entry points and swim-throughs for tec divers.
 
The Blue Hole is one site on many divers bucket list as floating through this dark blue abyss knowing the ground drops hundreds of metres down is a unique experience. One the walls of the Blue Hole there are covered in corals of all shapes and sizes, which is great for recreational divers but also for technical divers on their safety stops. This dive site is incredibly popular with snorkelers, freedivers and scuba divers. 
 
Islands will absolutely stun divers with the pristine coral pinnacles which have created a coral maze to dive through. There are not many dive sites which offer such healthy and thriving and corals and the amounts of fish which live here. The Anemone Fish which are always entertaining to watch, the local Sea Turtle which feeds here and the glimmers of colour created by the schools of fish. 

FAQ

Open Water Diver prices range from €180-€360. See all Open Water Diver courses in Dahab.

Advanced Open Water Diver prices range from €183-€300. See all Advanced Open Water Diver courses in Dahab.