Why Diving Dahab Rocks


Diving Dahab the visibility is always stellar, the colours crystal clear. Looking up through the Canyon, the sun beams a bright, bright blue – at night, you can watch a full moon rise over the Red Sea through 30 metres of luminescent water.

Diving Dahab - the nooks and crannies of Canyon.

Canyon is starkly beautiful – architecturally so.

But at Islands, ever-changing currents idle through a coral jungle; at Rick’s Reef you can drift along a pristine patch of rainbow-coloured reef; in Caves, there’s a dramatic paraglide through a swim-through; and diving Lighthouse never disappoints.

Diving Dahab - at the junkyard, by Lighthouse, angelfish and lionfish flirt around artificial reef.

At Lighthouse, we like the junkyard, just past the underwater playground where my son practises tricks.

Diving Dahab - finding Nemo at Lighthouse.

Diving Dahab - a hermit crab gets his space alien groove on.

Ever wondered how a puffer-fish swims? This is how…

Diving Dahab-6

Diving Dahab - a pufferfish swims over seagrass at Lighthouse.

And then, of course, there’s the Blue Hole, Dahab’s most famous, and most fatal dive site. The entry through El Bells is spectacular.

El Bells provides a spectacular entry into the Blue Hole, even if the coral is long gone.

But that’s not my favourite site at all, quite honestly. That’s Thistlegorm, the wreck of a WWII supply ship where giant morays make their home in ancient jeeps, where fish flirt over holds of Enfield motorbikes, where you can watch turtles at play over coral-encrusted guns, tanks and locomotives.

And when you’re done, there’s nothing quite like a cold beer, a Red Sea sunset, fresh seafood and, of course, some kittens.


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14 Responses

  1. Yvette says:

    My Nth reminder to get to Dahab- thanks.

    Normally I’d say I aim to go next spring on my spring break, but I’m currently saving my writing money to see if I can get a ticket to Bali in order for some reason. 😛

    • Theodora says:

      Hahahahaha! You are MOST firmly invited to stay at ours. Dahab is, of course, an easier flight than Bali, but it’s much less fun without us in it 😉

      • Yvette says:

        Hah it’s actually not as hard to fly to from Amsterdam as you’d think- apparently the Dutch used to hang out in Indonesia a lot. 😉

        It’s a ways off from happening if/when it does- I’ll let you know of course!

  2. Mary @ GGT says:

    Great underwater photos! I especially like the canyon photos. Thanks for sharing this lesser know dive spot.

    • Theodora says:

      Thanks, Mary! It’s less well-known than Sharm down the road, but the visibility is stunning, and Thistlegorm’s genuinely world class — routinely makes “top dives of the world” lists. And, of course, for people who are based in Europe, it’s by far the nearest coral reef diving….

  3. These pictures are absolutely gorgeous and now you’ve given me a new spot to look at visiting!! I didn’t even know about it until now.

    • Theodora says:

      Dahab’s an amazing place just to kick back for a few weeks, eating seafood, loafing around, and diving. I first went to the area in the late 90s, been coming back ever since….

  4. Lillie says:

    These photos are AWESOME. I’m terrified of diving, but might just be seduced into it by this…

    • Theodora says:

      Do a discover scuba dive: you’ll have an instructor with you the whole time, and you’ll stay shallow, but you’ll still see amazing stuff. I was scared of diving, too, so I did six discovery dives before I asked an instructor how to do something and he explained that I’d need to do a course to find that out.

  5. I’d love to visit this area, but unfortunately I doubt I ever will.

    • Theodora says:

      Hopefully, everything’s going to work out politically. I have friends living and visiting there at the moment, and apparently it’s fine: it’s also ridiculously cheap. We had a 3-bedroom house 200m from the beach for $400 a month, and you can stay much more cheaply than that.

  6. Micki says:

    Beautiful photos! I love the view through the entry through El Bells, especially!

    • Theodora says:

      Yeah, that wasn’t the best shot, unfortunately – I hadn’t made friends with white balance when I took it. So you get a sense of it, but not the whole majesty of it. Mind you, you could spend an entire dive trying to shoot El Bells, and pissing the hell out of everyone coming through there – and I’m sure people do.

  7. Chad says:

    What nice and colorful photos! Looks like fun, Theodora!