Best Dive Sites in Dahab, Egypt

Egypt admin May 21 2024

Dahab has a huge variety of dive sites, from shallow coral gardens to deep drop-offs and canyons. It is an experience you will relish forever and likely come back to repeat. Most of these sites are also easily accessible and are just a short journey from the dive center. Almost all the coastline both north and south of Dahab has a fringing reef, so you can dive virtually anywhere, in fact, if you find somewhere easy to enter just jump in and explore. There are more than 50 different diving centers in Dahab; most of them are actually shore dives, including:

1- The Blue Hole

Dahab is popular for the Blue Hole. It is a deep hole in the Red Sea with a depth of 130 meters with a shallow hole 6 meters wide, known as the saddle; and an opening to exit from the hole or the blue well to the open sea called the arc in the form of a long tunnel with a length of 26 meters.

This area is one of the most enjoyable diving activities for divers; but it is dangerous because it contains many deadly caves, which appear less deep than they really are. This area contains corals, charming coral reefs, various types of fish, and a lot of magic and excitement, but we will warn you a lot before embarking on this adventure.

2- The Canyon

One of the most popular sites for those diving in Dahab is called The Canyon. This site is located several miles north of Assalah and can be reached by passing through a coral lagoon. You can find several different types of marine life here as well as a place called the “Fish Tank,” which is a coral area filled with small fish.

3- Eel Garden

The Eel Garden is another site that has many great things to offer the adventure-loving diver, located in the north of the city; and contains countless swarms of colorful fish covering the seafloor amidst clusters of magnificent coral reefs. You can see a great many eels on the sandy seafloor; as well as the wreck of the South African ship called the Yolanda. This ship sank more than twenty years ago and offers another exciting place for divers to examine.

4- Lighthouse

The Lighthouse is a dive site that gets its name from the actual lighthouse that sits on shore not far from the site. It is a wall dive, where you will see a variety of fish and coral. The place is also suitable for some night dives as you can see some creatures at night that you can never view in the morning. The Lighthouse area is also the perfect place for windsurfing and sailing.

5- The Southern Oasis

The Southern Oasis dive area gets its name from the gorgeous palm trees on the shore near the site. You can find a sandy reef, plenty of beautiful coral, and a host of other surprises while exploring all that this site has to offer.

6- The Laguna

There is also the Laguna, which is the only sandy beach in town. The Laguna is also a great diving spot. It has fewer hotels and dive centers, making it ideal for a more relaxing getaway.

7- The Three Pools

A collection of three sandy lagoons marks the entry and exit to this dive site. The coral gently undulates as it slopes downwards, now and then rising to isolated pinnacles. Turtles are a common sight here and if you’re very lucky a resident leopard shark. As we head back across the sandy lagoons look out for stonefish, sea moths, and seahorses.

8- Coral Gardens

Coral Gardens is located next to the Canyon with the same entry and exit. Instead of heading north as you exit the lagoon, you will go south towards this beautiful rounded wall. You will make your way south along the wall with the clear blue water to one side where you may see one of our large Napoleonfish swim by. As you swallow up you will swim through a sandy maze with hard and soft corals. This site is great for underwater photography.

9- Moray Gardens

Easy to enter even on windy days, this site is suitable for beginners upwards, a sandy bottom slopes down to the hard coral reef at 10 meters; the reef then undulates downwards until it meets the drop-off at around 30 meters. We’ll usually continue southwards gradually getting shallower and end the dive in a sheltered lagoon perfect for safety stops. This site is also popular for turtle sightings!

10- The Islands

This site is a favorite among guides and guests alike. A coral maze that truly shows the Red Sea coral at its best. Three giant pinnacles have grown together over the ages to create a playground of valleys and lagoons full of every reef fish you can imagine. One of the lagoons is home to thousands of juvenile barracuda, with trevally and large snappers always in attendance guarding their larder! An earthquake 10 years ago collapsed huge sections of the reef exposing holes and cracks that are rapidly filling up with renewed coral growth. This dive site also never disappoints and as one of the shallower dives, it is accessible to all certification levels.