Red Sea & Gulf of Aden · Egypt
Dahab
The Blue Hole's infamous Arch passage drops to roughly 55 metres just offshore.
Photo: Tim Sheerman-Chase · CC BY 2.0
Dahab is a shore-diving town on the Gulf of Aqaba where divers walk straight off the beach into fringing reef, with tanks delivered dockside rather than by boat. The Blue Hole, a deep reef sinkhole opening onto the sea through a shallow saddle, and a narrow swim-through crevasse known as the Canyon are the area's signature formations, while Eel Garden and the Islands offer easier sloping-wall diving nearby. The Blue Hole's deep 'Arch' passage at around 55 metres has a well-documented history of technical-diving fatalities among divers who exceed recreational limits.
About diving in Dahab
A day here is organised around a pickup truck rather than a boat. Tanks are loaded at the centre, driven up or down the coast road, and unloaded at the entry point, where divers kit up on mats beside a Bedouin camp and walk in across the reef flat. Two dives with a long break between them is the standard shape, and lunch is eaten at the same camp. Because the water is a few steps from the vehicle, plans change late: when the afternoon wind gets up the group moves site rather than cancels.
The coast is a narrow fringing reef, lagoon then reef flat then a wall dropping away within swimming distance of the beach, so most dives are an out-and-back or a slow traverse at a chosen depth. What changes from site to site is the break in the reef: a sinkhole in the top, a fissure whose entrance sits near 20 m and whose floor runs past recreational limits, a sand slope with garden eels, a sheltered lagoon of coral heads. The in-town entries, Lighthouse above all, are shallow and forgiving, so they carry most of the courses.
The signature dive is the route around the deep passage rather than through it. Divers enter at a break in the reef north of the sinkhole called the Bells, drop through a chimney that opens onto the wall near 28 m, fin south along the wall and cross into the Blue Hole over a saddle around 6 m deep. Dived that way it stays inside recreational limits, though most centres want some deep-dive experience for the drop. The memorial plaques on the rock above are generally read as a warning about the other way of diving it, and not all of them mark deaths at this site.
Dahab suits divers who want volume rather than logistics: unlimited shore-diving packages, long bottom times and easy repeat visits to one site to work on skills or photographs. The town also carries a large freediving scene alongside the technical one, so a single car park can hold three sports at once. Macro shooters do well on the sand and the reef tops, and night dives are simple when the entry is metres from the road. Anyone after wrecks, big-boat comfort or reliable pelagic action should look elsewhere on the Egyptian coast.
Best time to dive Dahab
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good |
| Sea surface | 23°C73°F | 22°C72°F | 22°C72°F | 23°C73°F | 24°C75°F | 26°C79°F | 27°C81°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 27°C81°F | 26°C79°F | 24°C75°F |
| Daytime high | 26°C79°F | 28°C82°F | 32°C90°F | 36°C97°F | 40°C104°F | 42°C108°F | 42°C108°F | 42°C108°F | 41°C106°F | 37°C99°F | 31°C88°F | 27°C81°F |
| Rain | 4 mm0.2 in | 3 mm0.1 in | 5 mm0.2 in | 1 mm0.0 in | 0 mm0.0 in | 0 mm0.0 in | 0 mm0.0 in | 0 mm0.0 in | 0 mm0.0 in | 2 mm0.1 in | 4 mm0.2 in | 4 mm0.2 in |
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good |
| Sea surface | |||||
| 23°C73°F | 22°C72°F | 22°C72°F | 23°C73°F | 24°C75°F | 26°C79°F |
| Daytime high | |||||
| 26°C79°F | 28°C82°F | 32°C90°F | 36°C97°F | 40°C104°F | 42°C108°F |
| Rain | |||||
| 4 mm0.2 in | 3 mm0.1 in | 5 mm0.2 in | 1 mm0.0 in | 0 mm0.0 in | 0 mm0.0 in |
| Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good |
| Sea surface | |||||
| 27°C81°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 27°C81°F | 26°C79°F | 24°C75°F |
| Daytime high | |||||
| 42°C108°F | 42°C108°F | 41°C106°F | 37°C99°F | 31°C88°F | 27°C81°F |
| Rain | |||||
| 0 mm0.0 in | 0 mm0.0 in | 0 mm0.0 in | 2 mm0.1 in | 4 mm0.2 in | 4 mm0.2 in |
2011–2025 averages. Sea surface: NOAA Coral Reef Watch, measured at the surface, so deeper water can run colder. Daytime high and rain: NASA POWER.
January to March: the coolest stretch, with the sea near 21 °C in February and mild days ashore; every shore site stays open, because the reef is a few steps from the road rather than a boat ride away. April and May: one of the two best windows, with the water warming and the air still comfortable. June to August: the warmest water of the year, around 28 °C from July to September, but very hot days ashore make the long surface intervals on the beach tiring, which is why these months rate good rather than prime. September and October: the second best window, with the water still warm and the heat easing. November and December: the water cools again, and diving stays good.
Best months: April, May, September, October
Dahab water temperature and weather by month
The sea surface runs from 22 °C (72 °F) in February to 28 °C (82 °F) in August. It is 24 °C (75 °F) or warmer from May to December. Rain is scarce: about 20 mm (0.8 in) falls in a typical year. Daytime highs reach 42 °C (108 °F) in July and drop to 26 °C (79 °F) in January. The coldest water here is about 21 °C (70 °F), so pack a 5 mm suit.
Dive types & marine life
This is small-animal diving. Turtles turn up over the reef flat, octopus and cuttlefish work the shallows, and nudibranchs and other macro subjects hold on the sand year-round, with frogfish a speciality rather than a given. Barracuda and reef-fish schools gather along the wall and napoleon wrasse patrol deeper sections. The flat April-May and September-October prime months photograph best.
- Reef
- Wall
- Cave & cavern
- Muck & macro
- Night
- Sea turtles
- Napoleon wrasse
- Nudibranchs
- Frogfish
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Reef fish swarms
- Macro critters
- Pristine corals
- Barracuda
Best dive sites in Dahab
- 1
Blue Hole
Sinkhole over 100 m deep, dived from the Bells over a 6 m saddle; the 55 m Arch is for technical divers.
- 2
The Canyon
Reef fissure opening at 18 m onto a chamber floor at 30 m; an overhead dive for advanced divers.
- 3
The Bells
Chimney through the reef onto a deep wall; the classic entry for the swim into the Blue Hole.
- 4
Eel Garden
Garden eels carpet the sand at 18 to 20 m past a reef channel, 500 m north of town.
- 5
Lighthouse
The in-town house reef, a sandy slope with statues; the usual course and night-dive site.
- 6
The Islands
Shallow coral maze mostly 7 to 10 m deep, within reach of every certification level.
- 7
Gabr el Bint
Fan-coral drop-off 15 km south with no road in, about 50 minutes out by boat.
- 8
Ras Abu Galum
Pinnacles at 20 to 30 m inside the Abu Galum protected area, reached by boat or camel.
Site guides
Lagoon
A cave-like canyon with swim-throughs beyond the shallow lagoon
A small reef filled to the brim with schooling bannerfish
A 26-metre tunnel at 55 metres links the sinkhole to open water
Coral garden
Shared entrance with the Canyon, then a slow run south
Garden eels standing in the sand a few fin-kicks from the entry
Sand slope
A single large block at 14 metres, loaded with small life
Drift
A canyon from 20 to 50 metres and a forest of giant gorgonians
Reef
A town house reef: seagrass, then coral blocks to 22 metres
Wall
No road in — a 50-minute boat ride to a fan-coral drop-off
Reef
A coral block packed with glassfish and bannerfish
Freediving lines to 40 m and a scrap-metal elephant on the sand
Reef
A gentle 6-metre shelf that slopes on down to 30
No road in — reached only by boat or by camel from Dahab
Reef
A school of snubnose rudderfish chasing each other in the second lagoon
Wall
A chimney through the reef onto a wall with no bottom in range
A reef fissure opening at 18 m onto a chamber floor at 30 m
A lagoon packed with thousands of juvenile barracuda
Reef
A large gorgonian at 35 metres with longnose hawkfish in it
How to get to Dahab
Most divers fly into Sharm El Sheikh and transfer north by road, roughly two hours; some arrive overland through Taba. Nearly everyone stays in Assalah, along the Masbat and Mashraba waterfront, where the centres sit on the promenade. Diving is shore-based, with pickups running tanks along the coast road; boat trips are the exception.
Photos from Dahab
prilfish (Vienna, Austria) · CC BY 2.0
ajott · CC BY 4.0
Grand Parc (Bordeaux, France) · CC BY 2.0
Alan Slater · Public domain
Petar Milošević · CC BY-SA 4.0
Tim Sheerman-Chase · CC BY 2.0
Dive videos
Diving Egypt's Blue Hole & Canyon | Scuba Diving in Red Sea Dahab · Pursue The Adventure on YouTube
🫧🤿 Relaxing Diving: 12 Min of Dahab Serenity | Blue Hole, Tiger Reef + White Canyon | Ambient Music · Dariusz Bartoszewski on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Do I need Advanced Open Water to dive the Blue Hole?+
Yes, in practice: dive centres ask for an advanced certification for the Blue Hole and the Canyon. The standard route drops through the Bells to about 27 m and crosses into the hole over a 6 m saddle. The Arch at 55 m is beyond recreational limits and needs technical training.
Is Dahab good for beginner divers?+
Yes. Lighthouse, the in-town house reef, carries most courses and night dives, and the Islands stay mostly between 7 and 10 m, a coral maze within reach of every certification level. Almost every dive starts from the beach, with no boat to manage.
What is the water temperature in Dahab?+
The sea runs from about 21 °C in February to about 28 °C from July to September. Winter is the cool end of the year, and in summer the water is at its warmest while the days ashore are very hot.
How do I get to Dahab?+
Fly into Sharm el-Sheikh, 85 km to the south, and transfer by road: buses take just under two hours and a taxi about an hour and a quarter. Some travellers arrive overland from Taba to the north or by bus from Cairo, about nine hours.
Is diving in Dahab from the shore or by boat?+
Mostly from the shore. Tanks go by pickup to the entry points along the coast road. Boats are for the reefs with no road in: Gabr el Bint, about 50 minutes to the south, and Ras Abu Galum to the north, which can also be reached by camel.
Sources
- Blue Hole (Red Sea) — Wikipedia
- Dahab — Wikivoyage
- Scuba diving in Dahab — SSI
- Best diving sites in Dahab — Divezone
- The Canyon — Sea Dancer Dive Center
- Islands — PADI
- Gabr el Bint — Scubago
Photo credits
- A school of twobar seabream over the coral reef at Lighthouse by Tim Sheerman-Chase, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A goby fish perched on an orange whip coral on a Red Sea reef by prilfish (Vienna, Austria), CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- An adhesive anemone on a reef in Egypt's Red Sea by ajott, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Coastal view of the Blue Hole dive site near Dahab with dive trucks along the shore by Grand Parc (Bordeaux, France), CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A camouflaged crocodilefish resting on coral at Rick's Reef near Dahab by Alan Slater, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Aerial view of the Blue Hole reef sinkhole and turquoise bay near Dahab, Egypt by Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A diver swims beside a school of barracuda at The Islands dive site in Dahab, Egypt by Tim Sheerman-Chase, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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