Dahab Dive Sites

Dahab has a huge variety of dive sites, from shallow coral gardens to deep drop offs and canyons. This is what makes Dahab so special, you can explore one type of topography on your morning dive and then see something completely different in the afternoon. Most of these sites are also easily accessible and are just a short journey from the dive centre. Almost all the coastline both north and south of Dahab has fringing reef, so you can dive virtually anywhere, in fact if you find somewhere easy to enter just jump in and explore! Our dive guides are familiar with all the best spots, but there’s always something new to find.

Bells Blue Hole
One of the premier dives sites here in Dahab is the Bells, a spectacular wall dive of amazing beauty. The Bells is a large vein of rock that has eroded out leaving a deep gash in the reef that drops to 45 metres formed where a deep groove cuts into the reef top just north of the Blue Hole. The groove of the Bells breaches the reef table and a clear blue pool is formed; this is where the dive is started. As you drop through this pool, you will emerge on the reef wall at about 12 meters. The groove disappears to re-emerge deeper at 28 meters. The open water here is some of the clearest, deepest blue you will see. The wall itself descends down into the blue to over 200m which only adds to the anticipation experienced when emerging through the chimney. It is vertical and in parts overhanging, with a rich growth of black corals and sea fans.

Blue Hole
The Blue Hole is possibly the most infamous dive site in the world after claiming the lives of many divers in its deep waters. A steep slope is the first thing that meets the diver on their entry, this slope descends to almost 56m before it shows any signs of levelling off. If you swim away from the slope and descend on the vertical walls to a depth of 55M you will witness the breathtaking view of the arch and the blue water beyond. You are required to be an extended range diver before attempting to swim under the arch but if you are suitably qualified it will be a dive never to forget. The bottom of the blue hole is at 90m directly under the arch but continues on a steep slope to 120m before begging to lose its steep angle. Shore dives have been made in excess of 220M here and the slope is still going down!

Please note that the Blue Hole site is only a guided dive around the inside of the hole and not a dive through it. The Archway of the Blue Hole is off limits to recreational divers, and safe limits are enforced in Egypt.

For a description of the Blue Hole as a Technical Dive please visit the Poseidon Technical website

Canyon
The Dahab Canyon is the classic canyon, an essential dive for all fanatics of caves and cavern diving. The Canyon is itself quite a phenomenon. Up to 10 meters high and virtually closed over at the top, it snakes its way up from the depths, to emerge in a large glassfish filled coral dome, the fish bowl. It has three main openings; at about 12 meters is the fishbowl, below that is another large bowl, opening at about 20 meters and at greater depths there are a number of smaller openings down to a depth of 55m where you emerge onto the reef wall. Descend further and you come across a cave at 74m which for those suitably trained penetrate the reef horizontally to 30m. Outside the cave entrance is a large rock known as Neptune’s chair due to its appearance as you ascend up to it from deeper depths. Below this the reef slopes to 104m and then drops away on a long sandy slope into the abyss below. The Canyon dive site offers an easy entry and exit point through a shallow, sandy lagoon. This leads out to beautiful coral gardens which can only be fully explored after several visits. The Canyon itself is positioned about five minutes north-east from the exit of the lagoon.

Coral Gardens
The same entry point as the canyon, be we turn south instead of north into a labyrinth of corals known as the coral gardens. Sloping from 20m where it drops into the abyss, up to 6m we follow a winding path throughout these gardens. Plenty of corals, great scenery and very few other divers!

Eel garden
A truly spectacular site for coral, this site is very exposed and can only be dived on calm days. Entry is via a small winding lagoon that leads out onto a vast sand bank which is covered in garden eels. As we cross the sand bank the eels retreat into their holes and pop back up again behind us. As we come back along the reef edge you’ll see some of the brightest and most colourful coral in Dahab.

El Shahera
Huge Brain corals dominate this shallow coral garden. For years only accessible by camel these collection of dive sites have only recently been opened up by the arrival of boat diving in Dahab. As the boat pulls up to the dive site the beauty of these corals is clear even from the surface

Forest Island
This small reef lies about 300 metres from the islands and is best reached by boat. The reef grows up from a 25 meter sea floor nearly to the surface and is a meeting point for a lot of the local sea life. Its remote location means you’ll hardly ever see another group of divers, in fact very few dive guides even know it exists.

Gabr el Bint
Named after the ancient grave of a young girl, this dive site is well inside the Nabq National Park and there are only two ways to reach it – camel or boat. A wall covered on gorgonian fans and soft corals with abundant fish life rivals anything we’ve seen in the Red Sea. Strong currents sometimes sweep this site so luckily there is a protected lagoon we can shelter in that reminds of a Japanese Zen garden. Two resident turtles munch on the soft corals with the odd shark popping in for a quick look, this is one must see dive site in Dahab.

Further down the coast is a lesser dived site called the ‘End of the road reef’, rivalling Ras Mohammed for coral cover and colour, this site is very difficult to enter by shore due to onshore winds. By boat, its best accessed on calm days. The site is a submerged coral pinnacle rising up from deep water with an amazing variety of coral species and a canyon running down one side to 60+ metres.

Golden blocks
Named after two huge pinnacles visible at low tide, this is another dive site perfect for beginners. A sloping sandy bottom dotted with hard coral pinnacles, with several gullies disappearing into the deep. As you dive take a look out into the blue as we often see passing eagle rays or tuna. This site also boasts Dahab’s one and only wreck – a peddalo sunk by some unfortunate tourists several years ago.

Lighthouse
Lighthouse, situated at the Northern end of the bay of Dahab, is home to the confined water training area due to its large sandy slopes and gentle drop off. The Lighthouse offers a number of different dives depending on the route chosen, and the sprawling coral gardens offer an abundance of marine life and vividly colourful corals, extending far from the shore. The Lighthouse is made up of a large rocky wall that wraps around the point whilst heading north to the

Eel Garden. The wall and the sprawling coral gardens, which extend far from the shore, offer varying depth ranges down to 60M plus making it suitable for all. Larger aquatic creatures, alongside a spectacular variety of corals, make it a very popular dive site. The Lighthouse is perfect for beginners, this easy to enter site still has a fantastic range of coral and fish life and also makes an ideal first technical dive in Dahab to brush up on buoyancy and equipment configuration.

Little Canyon (Ras Abu Helal)
Ras Abu Helal translates as 'headland of the crescent moon', and is one of the most scenic technical dive sites in Dahab, and the start of the first ridge features one of the finest coral gardens in the Dahab area. Although narrowing in places that prevent a diver from entering, the canyon is over a kilometre long and descends to depths beyond 60m. Ideal conditions are necessary to make this dive due to the entry point being over the reef plate. The site also involves a fairly long surface swim to ensure that you descend into the canyon itself. Don’t let this put you off diving Little Canyon if the conditions allow as you will I’m sure agree with me that this dive site is truly awesome.

Mashraba
An ideal training site located Just 20 metres from Poseidon Divers our guides know this reef like the back of their hands. The entry is via the beach which as you descend turns into a seagrass bed – look out for seahorses! At the start of the reef is Roman’s Rock a large pinnacle which attracts plenty of life. Another pinnacle as the reef turns southwards often explodes with life at dusk. This dive site makes an excellent training ground for technical diving, reaching depths of 55 metres. The waters here offer a gentle sandy slope to depths around 60m. Don’t for one minute think that this site is not worth diving as often large eagle rays, dolphins and moray eels are seen here more than any other site in Dahab. Keep a look out in the sea grass for sea horses which although fairly rare are encountered here at certain times of the year.

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

Napoleon reef
Is now best dived from the boat. The reef here juts right out into the lagoon and catches some very strong currents, but with the currents come beautiful soft corals, the colour of which you’ll see nowhere else in Dahab. As you drop down into deeper water this is where the larger fish hang out gently swimming against the current and some perfect examples of deep water black corals. You’ll nearly always spot napoleon fish here – hence the name!

Rick's Reef
An often overlooked dive site, it makes an excellent entry point for a slow drift down to towards the Canyon just down the road. A shallow reef wall about 12 meters deep that then gently slopes down towards the drop-off. The best dive here is to stay shallow and dive very slowly observing the wildlife that has moved out of the way of the busier Canyon.

Shoestump
A ‘secret’ site for a long time marked by a shoe on a pole, this dive site has an unusual entry point – a hole in the reef table with a 20m narrow tunnel leading out onto a fantastic pinnacle on the reef. We then swim around the pinnacle and head north across valleys and troughs. There is a sea-grass bed at this dive site where you can often find seahorses.

The Caves
Really caverns instead of caves and they have actually eroded back underneath the shoreline underwater. This site makes for some fantastic photo shots and also gives you a good idea of what it feels like to be in a cave underwater without the risks. There is a fantastic red anemone on the southern side of the reef

The Islands
A coral maze which truly shows the Red Sea coral at it’s 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 snapper 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 never disappoints and is a dive guides favourite.

The Huts
This dive site was marked by some Bedouin huts that have long since disappeared; entry is via a very small lagoon which leads out to a group of beautiful brain coral pinnacles. This site can only be dived on calmer days so coral life is amongst the best in Dahab, although there are fewer fish than you’d expect at this less dived site.

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 up 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.

Umm Sid
The reef here juts out quite a way and drops down to a sandy slope covered in Garden Eels, the best dive is to enter on the right hand side of the reef and keep the reef to your left shoulder, turn around on about 100 bar and on the way back swim along the shallower section.