The Dive Sites in Dahab, Egypt
(All these pictures are taken in Dahab Egypt,
but not necessarily the dive site they are assigned to.)
Blue Hole - El Bells
This is without doubt the most famous dive site in Dahab and
one of the most famous in the Red Sea. The Blue Hole is some
of the most impressive diving in Egypt. It is situated 12Km
north of Dahab and you can easily get there by pickup.
The Blue Hole is a 150 meters wide and 110 meters deep tunnel
in the reef table, it is semi closed with two exits, one at
7 meters depth and the other at 52 meters. The dive site it
self is dove through a tunnel in the coral reef table also
known as the bells. The tunnel is around 1 meter in radius
and goes down for 28 meters, you can exit at almost any point,
but the most common way is to exit at the 28 meter exit. When
you exit from the bells you will find yourself floating along
the wall that goes into the abyss. From there you follow the
wall for about 250 meters of the spectacular wall dive until
you come over the saddle at 7 meters and into the blue hole
where you exit.
Many people have probably heard about the dangers of the Blue
Hole, but this is a situation created by technical divers
attempting to go through the arch. The top of the arch is
at 52 meters and it is a tunnel that goes 26 meters where
it exit. This dive is very complicated dive that should only
be attempted by well trained technical divers.
The Canyon
 This
is Dahabs second biggest attraction. The names origination
is just as hard to guess as the Blue Hole, its takes it names
from the underwater canyon. Like the Blue Hole it has both
the recreation and the technical aspect.
The normal way of diving it is that you enter from the beach
and enter a sandy lagoon that you follow for a short distance
until you get to to a small saddle. When you come over the
saddle you will reach a coral garden that is quite spectacular,
you enjoy this sight till you get to the canyon itself. The
opening of the canyon is at 18 meters depth and is easy to
enter and exit. Its normal to go down to 30 meters and look
around before returning. It is spectacular the way the light
is broken by the opening of the canyon and you can see lots
of fish inside. Before people used to exit through a second
exit by the name the fish bowl, but because of to many divers
going through on a regular basis they decided to close it
and let the fish recolonize.
Technical diver usually follow the canyon all the way through
and exits at 52 meters., but its very narrow at the end and
should not be attempted by people who are not specially trained
for this kind of dives.
The lighthouse
The Lighthouse is a spectacular place where you get a great
variety of fish life, but its also known as Dahabs training
ground for open water students. This is in the center of Dahab
and you can find most of the dive centers near by.
You enter from the beach and from here you can go pretty much
anywhere depending on what you want to see, you can go quite
deep and find the sea grass where you can find the occasional
sea horse and turtle. The most popular way of diving it is
to follow the sandy slope till you reach the pinnacles. You
will find a rich fish life here and you can enjoy it at any
level of training.
You cant get to many dives in the lighthouse because there
is always something new to see.
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Ricks Reef
Between the Canyon and Blue hole you can find Ricks Reef.
This is not a very common dive, but its a good dive. Its so
easy to dive and you can just relax all the way cause this
is a drift dive. You can find a lot of good stuff here, usually
you can find octopus and moseys eels here. The current is
usually mild and you can easily bring a camera and take some
nice pictures.
 Ras
Abu Helal
Ras Abu Helal is one of the most unrated dive sites in Dahab.
The only problem with the dive site is that it is hard to
enter. You are very dependent on the tides and on a low tide
you can forget about it. If you get to dive it you are in
for a treat because it has some spectacular coral and you
can find lots of good stuff here like turtles(occasionally),
groupers and trigger fish.
The Islands
This it a fantastic dive site and specially if you have limitations
on maximum depth by your certification level. It is composed
of 3 coral islands that you can dive over and between. You
enter through a small tunnel in the reef table and you well
straight away see the islands forming in front of you. You
can see schools of barracudas, Morey eels and lots of other
fish, but this dive is for the all of you who enjoy seeing
colorful corals.
You can easily snorkel this site since the top of the corals
are at around 3 meters depth and you can see all the fish
life from the surface if you wish to do that.
 Masbat
Not the best scenery on this dive, but you can enjoy some
rare species of fish that you don't see that much. Big areas
covered with sea grass is a good area to spot sea horses and
turtles. Lots of big coral tables and a wide specter of fish.
Its the center of Dahab witch makes it easy and fast to dive.
Lots of big coral formations helps keep this dive interesting.
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Golden Blocks
Golden Blocks is in the south that is quite a ride from the
center of Dahab. It got a wide variety of seascape and fish
life. It has the name from two coral towers of Anthias at
the start of the dive. After the coral towers you get to a
grassy field between coral gardens.
 Morey
Gardens
Between Golden Blocks and 3 pools you can find the Morey garden.
This dive site is best known a beginners site because of the
calm conditions. You start off in a sandy slope that takes
you over to some coral formations. After the coral you get
to a field of sea grass where there have been observations
of turtles.
You can take multiple routs from here, go north and you to
a reef formation in a sandy slope. Here you can find a black
coral at 30 meters dept. The site it self is quite complexed
and you should consider talking with your guide before starting
the dive what kind of dive you want here.
Eel Garden
Eel garden is a dive site that really deserve its name. Its
situated right next to Lighthouse and is famous for the hundreds
of eels that stay there. The conditions of the dive site can
make it hard to dive and some days almost impossible because
of strong current. You start of from the beach and you follow
the coral garden until you reach a big sandy area where hundreds
of small eels stick up from the sand to greet you.
Be a bit careful when you dive here so you don't make too
much noise because then the eels will hide themselves in the
sand and you will not get the full pleasure of the dive.
 Ras
Mamlakh
Extremely uncommon dive site, almost none of the dive centers
go there, but on special request they could take you there.
It is supposed to be a lot of big rays, groupers, barracudas
and napoleon fish. A bit further south of here you can find
a complex tunneling system that is said to be dangerous and
should not be attempted.
El Shugurat
This is one of the few boat dives in Dahab and it takes about
an hour to get there. The dive site is most famous for the
gorgonian fan coral and are some of the best preserved in
the red sea. The recommended way of diving it is to make your
entry at a canyon at 25 meters. Drop into the canyon and exit
at 30 meters into the blue, now you should have the fan corals
north of you.
You will find a lot of interesting fish and corals at shallow
depth so its recommended to spend a long time doing a safety
stop and enjoy the sight.
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 Ras
Abu Galum
The dive site is located north of the Blue Hole and is usually
accessed by either camel or by boat. Ras Abu Galum is a famous
and historical place that used to be and still is an important
place for trading. It has a very rich fauna and you can go
there for the day snorkeling as well if you are not a diver.
The dive site has some of the best preserved coral in Sinai
and is not that frequently visited so you can enjoy an unspoiled
dive site.
Shoe Stump
First dive site after the north checkpoint. This is not a
common dive site because it is a difficult dive in hard conditions.
The Bedouins call it Bachhacha witch means spray water. The
biggest reason for people to dive this is probably the entrance.
A narrow tunnel that goes down 7 meter and you can follow
it for 6 meters to the reefs outer wall.
 Salahs
Place
On the way to Ras Abu Galum you can find Salahs place. You
start of in a sandy lagoon that is pretty much closed of except
for a small saddle. Once you go over the saddle you can see
a big and beautiful pinnacle covered by soft and hard corals.
The Fourth Island
This is the missing brother of the Islands. To get there by
swimming or by boat. It is 250 meters from the Islands it
and its a massive underwater island that stretches for more
than 300meters. The depth is between 8 to 25 meters and there
is almost no diver in the area so the chance of seeing the
big stuff is bigger here that in the other islands.
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 The
Sinai House Reef
This is the training ground of Sinai Divers that is the dive
center for Hilton. It is very close to the hotel and there
are lots of anchors, tires and broken pots laid out to encourage
coral growth and fish life. It has a natural reef as well
15 minutes by swim from shore, but the visibility is not the
best.
Abu Talha
Abu Talha has some of the best coral and marine life in Dahab,
but its a tough dive to do. The entrance of the dive is a
long walk and its quite slippery as well. It is full of holes
in the ground when you walk out so you need to talk to your
dive center about the tides and what time its best to enter.
 Red
Tooth Trigger Bay
Red tooth trigger bay is a dive site that does not get many
visitors, but it is a good dive site with a very impressive
aquatic life. It is located north of Blue Hole and you can
only get there by camel. It is easy to enter and you can see
the coral gardens straight away. You can find big schools
of banner fish and red tooth trigger fish from where the site
took its name.
Napoleon Reef
This is best done as a boat dive, its 450 meters from the
beach and is right next to the Islands. It has a rich fish
life and some Napoleon fish. Its not used that much since
its hard to get there without a boat and you can find other
better places if you have a boat.
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 Three
Pools
Popular place for snorkelers and beginner divers. It has its
name from the three natural formed pools in the reef. All
the pools have sandy bottoms that are covered with sea grass.
After you pass the third pool you come to the open sea that
goes down in a hard coral slope.
Umm Sid
Between 3 pools and Caves yo can find Umm Sid, This dive have
a very rich fish life and you can see almost everything on
this dive depending on your luck.You start of following a
narrow and sandy slope with the reef plates starting on both
sides of it. On your right side you will see a huge coral
block covered with hard and soft corals.
 The
Caves
The Caves name can be a little bit misleading, because there
is really not that much of any caves, but there is two big
caverns that is cutting into the reef table. The caverns it
self are well worth the visit and you can find lots of fish
and coral on the dive.
Gabr El Bint
Gabr El Bint has many stories about its name witch means “Tomb
of the girl” some people have stories about romance
that ended in tragedy, but the truth is simple they just buried
a girl there and in the desert there is not that much to name
a place by.
You need to there either by boat or camel and its usually
consisting of two dives. You have the north and the south
side of a coral buttress that you can see from shore. The
first dive is the north where you can see some nice topography.
There is a wall going all the way inside the bay that goes
down to 50 meter. The second dive is south where you are inside
a beautiful sandy lagoon with random coral formations sticking
up from the sand.
Gabr El Bint is known for having many observations of small
sharks, turtles and other big creatures.
 Sha`ab
Khanzier
One hour by boat south of Dahab you can dive in Sha`ab Khanizer
a sloping reef with sand gullies parallel to shore. After
this you can drop of along a wall covered in Coral. Most dive
centers don't dive here and is just not particularity famous
for anything.
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