Diving in Sharm el-Sheikh
About Dahab
Meet Dahab
The Bedouin town of Dahab is located on the coast of the Gulf of Aqaba in the east of Sinai Peninsula about 100 km from Sharm El Sheikh. The road from Sharm will take about an hour along the excellent highway leading finally to Eilat, Israel.
"Dahab" means "Gold" in Arabic. The name comes from the sandy beaches with thickets of date palms. There are no gold mines in Dahab.
In the old days, Dahab was a mecca for hippies and an important stopping point on their leisurely journey to Goa and Koh Samui. In those years, the colorful life of the town was aggravated by the lack of basic amenities, but it was captivating with complete freedom.
These days, Dahab continues to be a city without prejudice, but former hippies have built new hotels and snow-white yachts. The modern diving or surfing enthusiast has a choice, from the five-star Hilton and Meridian to bungalows for $10 per night for two.
The population of Dahab consists of Bedouins, adherents of esoteric practices, diving and surfing instructors of all races. In addition to these categories of citizens, you will see camels lying in the shade of fences, goats eating plastic bags, friendly dogs sleeping in the middle of the embankment and always hungry cats. The colorful and unhurried lifestyle of Dahab invariably attracts lovers of relaxed and, often, marginal leisure.
As in all of Egypt, large-scale work began in 2022 in Dahab to improve the urban environment. We would like to note the very successful and beautiful reconstruction of the Assala promenade.
Diving in Dahab
Dolphin organizes recreational and technical diving trips to Dahab regularly whenever a group of 4 divers wishes to go there.
A deep (-1829 m) part of the African Rift - a giant fault separating the African Continent and the Arabian Peninsula fringes Aqaba coast line. The steep cliffs approaching the water continue underwater, creating a dramatic landscape with canyons, faults and vertical drop-offs.
Steep walls stretching into the abyss and crystal clear blue water attract here deep diving enthusiasts. It is not surprising that Dahab has found notoriety as technical divers graveyard. Many deep diving lovers have found their last depth limit in the Blue Hole... We strongly advise you to be conservative when planning your dives.
The water here is always cooler than in Sharm by 1-2 degrees. The breeze from the Gulf of Aqaba brings coolness, and raises the waves so loved by surfers.
Departure from Sharm is around 08:00 in the morning, return at about 17:00. Travel time is about an hour and a half on a beautiful mountain road.
Dahab is essentially shore entrance diving land. Our bus or jeep will take you to the dive site. The driver will help unload equipment and tanks. Many dive sites have Bedouin tents and awnings, where it is so pleasant to relax after the dive. Bedouin tea, the strongest Turkish coffee and the invariable shisha help to pass the time between dives.
After two dives, you will have time to a walk around the city, do some shopping and dine at one numerous seaside restaurants. Ice white wine or beer with a sea food plate is a great end to a beautiful day.
Most popular Dahab dive sites
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