Scuba diving in Dahab | Best diving centers, liveaboards and dive sites

Best diving centers in Dahab

As mentioned before, there are plenty of (good) diving centers located in Dahab. In order to help you choose a local diving center in Dahab, we have listed and described our recommendations below.

Diving center 1: Orca Dive Dahab

Orca Dive Dahab is a PADI diving center and is located in the center of Dahab city. They have provided their services since 1998 and are well known for their quality of services.

Orca Dive Dahab offers PADI scuba diving courses (up to the professional level of PADI Dive Master) and scuba diving trips. Besides booking a shore dive with Orca Dive Dahab, you can also book one of their camel / boat safaris day trips. These trips are highly recommended as you will enjoy a camel ride and dive in the Ras Abu Galum / Gaber El Bint protected area. You also have the possibility to book a day trip to the World War II ship wreck ‘the Thristlegorm’’ and Ras Mohamed national park.

The shore dives are including transportation and a dive guide. The day trips are including transportation, dive guide, lunch, drinks and scuba gear.

Prices

The PADI Open Water course is offered for EUR 275, including scuba gear. A shore dive is offered for EUR 33 including gear and the camel / boat day trip is offered for EUR 110.

You can check the latest prices and availability with Orca Dive Dahab here.

Diving center 2: Octopus World Dahab

Octopus World Dahab is a 5 star PADI diving center and is located in the center of Dahab. Octopus World Dahab offers various PADI diving courses and scuba diving day trips. They distinguish themselves by providing top quality services in small groups. Furthermore, they are very flexible which is perfect to experience Dahab diving at its best.

Octopus World Dahab offers shore dives (starting from 1 dive) and scuba diving day trips to the protected areas Gabr El Bint and Ras Abou Galoum. Furthermore, they also offer the day trip to the ship wreck the Thristlegorm and Ras Mohamed National Park. All services are offered including scuba gear. If you bring your own equipment, you can book the shore dives with lower rates.

Prices

The PADI Open Water course is offered for EUR 275. You can also book a package including 7 nights of accommodation and the PADI Open Water course for EUR 365.

Prices for shore dives starts from EUR 35 per dive (discount is provided when more dives are booked). The Gabr El Bint trip is offered for EUR 100.

You can check the latest prices and availability with Octopus World Dahab here.

Diving center 3: Liquid Adventures Dahab

Liquid Adventures Dahab is a PADI 5 star (IDC) dive center and is located at the Bridge Dahab Hotel in the center of Dahab.

Liquid Adventures offers various scuba diving services such as PADI courses (including PADI Pro courses), shore dives and day trips. They also offer clean-up dives, which we really encourage! With these clean-up dives, they keep the reefs clean from waste such as plastic. There is nothing better than enjoy diving while helping the marine ecosystem in Dahab!

Prices

Liquid Adventures Dahab did not publish their prices as they would like to offer tailor-made quotes. However, they offer also diving packages such as the ‘’Learn to Dive package’’, the ‘’10 dives + hotel package’’ and the ‘’Adventure package’’.

If you would like to receive a quote or want to check the availability/prices for these packages, we recommend to contact Liquid Adventures Dahab/check their website.

Diving center 4: Scuba Seekers

Scuba seekers is a 5 star PADI (IDC) diving center and is also located in the center of Dahab. They provide both recreational as technical diving services and include day diving trips to Dahab’s dive sites, PADI diving courses and technical diving courses (TDI). Scuba Seekers also offers professional diving courses such as the PADI IDC and the TDI Instructor course.

Scuba Seekers also has a filling station which can blend from 22 percent up to 100 percent oxygen. Perfect if you are in for a technical dive at the Blue Hole!

Prices

A dive with Scuba Seekers is offered for EUR 35, including scuba gear. Discounts will be provided if you book more dives. Scuba Seekers also offers the Gabr El Bint / Ras Abu Gallum (2 dives) for a supplement of EUR 50.

If you are staying longer in Dahab, you can also book a package of dives (e.g. 10/14/20 dives).

The PADI Open Water is offered for EUR 300. Scuba Seekers also offers various other (specialty) courses. We recommend to check with Scuba Seekers for availability and the latest prices.

Liveaboards Dahab

Liveaboards in Dahab are rare because the diving sites are accessible from shore. However, if you like to explore the Dahab dive site without any hassle and with all luxury facilities, we recommend to book a Dahab liveaboard. Below, we have outlined a few possibilities.

Liveaboard 1: Sea Serpent Grand

The MY Sea Serpent Grand is one of the best liveaboards available in Egypt. This vessel is 45 meter long and can house up to a maximum of 28 guests.

There are various cabin options available, varying between the lower deck double cabin to the sundeck twin cabin. The (diving) facilities of this liveaboard includes airconditioned cabins, camera station, a sun deck, free Wi-Fi and free Nitrox.

The Sea Serpent Grand offers various diving trips in Egypt. In special occasions, the Sea Serpent Grand will also visit Dahab. Just look for a ‘’North & Tiran’’ trip and check whether Dahab is included in the itinerary (and let this confirm by the booking agency).

Price: A trip with the Sea Serpent Grand starts at EUR 150 per day. The latest prices and availability can be checked here.

Liveaboard 2: Seawolf Dominator

Compared to the Sea Serpent Grand, this liveaboard has a more cozy atmosphere as this vessel is only 36 meters long and can house up to a maximum of 24 guests.

The Seawolf Dominator offers 12 cabins in different styles: the double cabin, the double cabin on the upper deck and the suite. All cabins include air conditioning, an en-suite bathroom and a minibar. The (diving) facilities include, among other things, a spacious dive deck, a sun deck (also on the front side), free Wi-Fi, an air-conditioned saloon, and Nitrox.

The Seawolf Dominator offers various trips in the Red Sea, including the Deep South/St. John’s, Daedalus & Zabargad and the North route. For the Dahab trip, look for the trip called ‘’North, Tiran & Dahab’’. Always check the itinerary with the booking agency as the Dahab trip is not offered in each itinerary.

Price: A trip with the Seawolf Dominator is offered for EUR 116 per day. The latest prices and availability can be checked here.

The best dive sites in Dahab

Below, we have outlined the best dive sites in Dahab. In general, diving in Dahab is quite comfortable as most of the dive sites can easily be reached from shore. In addition, the diving conditions (such as the weather, visibility, (no) currents) are great.

Most of the time, visibility is great at all dive sites and ranges between the 20-30 meters.

Dive site 1: The Canyon

The Canyon is one of the best dive sites in Dahab. This dive should definitely be on your bucket list!

As the name already indicates, the Canyon is a ‘’valley’’ under water (a crack in the reef). The Canyon in the shallow waters, but the Canyon only has a few entry/exit points: 17-18 meters, 30 meters and 53-55 meters.

The Canyon itself is between the 5 and 10 meters deep. Some parts of the Canyon are fully closed at the top, but most of the time there are cracks and openings. There is also a cave called ‘’The Fish Bowl’’ but it not recommended (and probably still not aloud) to go in/through as the structure can collapse.

At the Canyon, you can see garden of corals, butterfly fishes and puffer fishes. Glass fishes might be around at the Fish Bowl cave.

Dive site 2: The Blue Hole

The Blue Hole is the most famous dive site in Dahab. Many divers visit Dahab every year to explore this dive site. There are even day trips organized from Sharm El Sheikh to dive at the Blue Hole.

As the name itself suggests, the Blue Hole is a deep site with a maximum depth of 100 meters and a diameter of around 35 meters. What makes the Blue Hole special is that the diving conditions are often good (e.g. little to no currents) with possibilities for (tech) deep diving and free-diving.

From the sea side, there are two entry points: at 6 meters and 53 meters. Access from land is easy as there are two entry points, just a few steps away from the road.

For those who are qualified to make deep (technical) dives, you might want to explore ‘’the Arch’’. This is a 26 long tunnel which connects the Blue Hole with the Red Sea at a depth of 52 meters. It is also possible to dive deeper and experience this beautiful Arch from 100 meters below.

In our opinion, there is not that much interesting marine life to explore at the Blue Hole. It’s all about the experience of diving at the Blue Hole. However, due to the depths of the Blue Hole, you might see sharks swimming in the blue. For the best experience, we recommend to start your dive at the dive site ''The Bells''. This dive site is located 200 meters to the left from the Blue Hole and is a beautiful and stunning dive site. See our next section below for more information.

Tip: If you are surfacing close to the land exit points of the Blue Hole, watch out for kicking snorkelers. It’s better to surface just a few meters before the land entry/exit point of the Blue Hole in order to avoid any uncomfortable (or dangerous) situations.

Dive site 3: The Bells

As mentioned above, it is highly recommended to combine a dive to the Blue Hole with The Bells.

This dive site can be split into two parts: a crack/tunnel in the reef and a wall dive. The Bells can be entered via a small lagoon. Once there is more space to descend, you can enter the crack/tunnel. This tunnel starts in the shallow waters and goes down to around 30 meters. In our opinion, this part of the dive is one of the best. At the end of the tunnel, always keep sight into the blue. We encountered a 3-4 meter long hammerhead shark once we came out of the tunnel!

Note: Be careful when going through the tunnel/crack as there is not that much space for movements. In addition, please enter the crack one by one and keep enough distance.

Once you have reached the depth of around 30 meters, you can continue your dive in the direction of the Blue Hole (reef on the right side). The second part of the Bells is a beautiful wall dive. There are a lot of beautiful corals overhangs and many other marine life.

After about 200-250 meters, you reached the Blue Hole. At a depth of 6 meters, you can enter the Blue Hole and end your dive. Due to the depths and diving conditions, this dive site might not be suitable for Open Water divers.

Dive site 4: Ras Abu Galum National Park

Ras Abu Galum is designated as a natural park and is located north of Dahab. In Ras Abu Galum, there are two dive sites: North Ras Abu Galum and South Ras Abu Galum.

Both of the north and south reefs are situated just off the shore and can easily be accessed by walking from the beach into the water. The northern part is well-known for its coral gardens. However, the southern part of Ras Abu Galum are also covered with beautiful coral gardens. Besides these stunning coral gardens, you can also expect to see different marine animals like butterfly fish, angel fish, anthias, glassfishes , lionfish, grey eels, snapper, and batfish.

These dive sites are accessible for divers of all levels. The maximum depth of these dive sites is around 30 meters. However, the dive starts with a sandy slope which goes down smoothly. The most interesting parts of the reef are between 6 and 20 meters.

Note that Ras Abu Galem lies in a remote area. Most trips to Ras Abu Galem are offered by camel or by boat. It is possible to go by car but it’s difficult to get there by car and therefore not offered by many tour operators. The trip by camel from Dahab takes about 1.5 hours and goes along the beautiful coastline of the Red Sea. It is also possible to go camping in Bedouin huts.

Dive site 5: Abu Helal

Abu Helal can be considered a hidden gem. This dive site is less visited compared with the other (more popular) dive sites in Dahab. Note that Abu Helal can be visited if the diving conditions are acceptable. Currents might be strong so caution should be taken when diving here.

This dive site offers everything for both recreational and technical diving. You’ll see a shallow lagoon at about 10 meters depth. In this sandy lagoon, look out for stingrays hiding in the sand. On the left side at a depth of around 15 meters, you will find a big coral garden, full of marine life.

By heading out from the shore, you will eventually reach the “small canyon” at around 30 meters. Due to its depth and narrowness of both entry and exit points, it is not recommended to entry the canyon. However, you can always explore the canyon by swimming above the canyon.

Dive site 6: Eel Garden

The dive site ‘’Eel Garden’’ is well-known for its residents, small eels. Dozens of eels are living in the sandy slope of this dive site.

The dive begins with swimming through a small channel which starts from the shore. The depth of this channel is around 3-4 meters. Once you exit this channel, keep the reef on your left shoulder. You can decent to about 20 – 25 meters. After a few minutes, you will find a big sandy slope full of eels. This sandy slopes starts at 10 meters and goes down to 25 meters.

Normally, these eels are out of their shelters. However, when you approach, the eels will go into their shelter and wait until the situation is safe again.

Tip: Just wait a few minutes on the sandy slope without kicking your fins too much. Without too much movements, the eels will pop out right in front of you.

How to get to Dahab

As you might know, Dahab is located at the right site of the Sinai Peninsula. Due to its location, Dahab is not easily accessible compared with other Egypt destinations such as Hurghada. Below, we have outlined two possibilities.

Option 1: Via Sharm El Sheikh

If you would like to visit Dahab by airplane, the best and most comfortable way is took a flight to Sharm El Skeikh’s international airport. Note that Dahab has no airport Dahab. The latest availability and prices of flights to Sharm El Sheikh can be checked here.

Once arrived in Sharm El Sheikh, you can go by car to Dahab. The trip takes about 1.5 – 2 hours. We recommend to arrange transportation upfront with a local Dahab diving center or resort as a private car is the most convenient way of travelling. Taxis might not take you to Dahab as Dahab is located on a more remote location.

You also have the possibility to take public transportation from Sharm El Sheikh to Dahab.

Option 2: Via Taba, Egypt and/or Eilat, Israel

Another option, but less popular, is to go to Dahab via Taba. Taba is located on the border with Israel. From Eilat, Israel, you can cross the border to Taba, Egypt.

In addition, Taba also has a (domestic) airport. From Taba, you can take transportation to Dahab. The trip itself takes about 2 hours.

Accommodations in Dahab

Accommodation 1: Sky Rock Dahab ($)

Sky Rock Dahab is only 300-600 meters away from some of the famous dive site in the area like the Eel Garden, and all of the apartment is equipped with all entertainment and house living systems that an adventurer need.

Price: The price for two persons starts at 76 USD per night. The latest prices and availability can be checked here.

Accommodation 2: Monica Hotel ($)

Monica Hotel is only a few steps away from dive shops. It also has a shared lounge, free car parking, garden with barbecue facilities where you can enjoy and relax. It also features a shared kitchen, terrace, and pool for guests and free Wi-Fi throughout the property.

Price: The price for two persons starts at 65 USD. The latest prices and availability can be checked here.

Accommodation 3: Dar Dahab ($)

Dar Dahab is also perfectly located for your diving adventure. This accommodation features free Wi-Fi and air-conditioned rooms, a bar, and a shared lounge. Every unit is equipped with complete entertainment systems, a fully equipped kitchenette, and a private bathroom. The apartment hotel also has a BBQ. Both a bike rental service and an automobile rental service can be found at Dar Dahab.

Price: The price for two persons starts at 75 USD per night. The latest prices and availability can be checked here.

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