Dahab · Egypt · Coral garden · Reef · Lagoon
Coral Garden
Shared entrance with the Canyon, then a slow run south
Area photo: Tim Sheerman-Chase · CC BY 2.0
Coral Garden shares the Canyon's lagoon entrance about 20 minutes north of Dahab and is dived heading south. A shallow coral garden runs out from the beach and its outer edge drops steeply to 40 metres from around 14, but most of the dive stays on top of it, with the return made over corals and sand at 10 to 5 metres.
Where it is and how deep
28.5539° N, 34.5211° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The entry is the same shallow lagoon used for the Canyon, about 20 minutes by road north from the Swiss Inn Resort. You cross the lagoon, drop onto the coral garden and turn south — the dive direction is fixed, so this is a one-way run rather than an out-and-back from the entry, and the exit has to be agreed before you get in.
The garden itself is shallow, and its outer edge drops steeply from about 14 metres to 40. Most of the dive stays above that edge, working the coral heads and the sand between them: partner gobies with their pistol shrimps, sole and flounder on the sand, pufferfish, clownfish, octopus and often squid. The entry lagoon turns up a Red Sea walkman from time to time.
The last stretch comes shallow, at 10 to 5 metres over corals and sand, which makes the end of the dive part of the site rather than a stop hanging in open water. That shallow finish, together with the sheltered lagoon entry, is why the site is put forward as one to bring children to.
Marine life and season
- Macro critters
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Squid
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good |
Season follows Dahab: Conditions stay calm and shore-diveable year-round; visibility peaks in spring and autumn shoulder months.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Coral Garden in Dahab?+
The dive mostly runs between 5 and 14 metres, over the coral garden and the sand, with the shallow 10 to 5 metre stretch saved for the end. The outer edge of the garden drops steeply from about 14 metres to 40, so there is depth available, but the standard dive stays above it.
Sources
- Coral Garden - Dahab dive site — Scubago
More dive sites in Dahab
Reef
A school of snubnose rudderfish chasing each other in the second lagoon
Drift
A canyon from 20 to 50 metres and a forest of giant gorgonians
Wall
No road in — a 50-minute boat ride to a fan-coral drop-off
Lagoon
A cave-like canyon with swim-throughs beyond the shallow lagoon
A reef fissure opening at 18 m onto a chamber floor at 30 m
A 26-metre tunnel at 55 metres links the sinkhole to open water
Wall
A chimney through the reef onto a wall with no bottom in range
No road in — reached only by boat or by camel from Dahab
Similar dives elsewhere
Anthias clouds thick enough to lose sight of your buddy
A resting pod of 60 to 80 spinner dolphins in the lagoon.
A west side packed with hard- and soft-coral blocks
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Diverse coral between 15 and 20 m, a short boat ride out