Nuweiba is a quiet town on the Sinai shore of the Gulf of Aqaba, where fringing reefs with coral gardens, walls and pinnacles are dived from sandy beaches. Abu Lou Lou, a house reef worked as a chain of cleaning stations, draws photographers back year after year, and the Pipeline turns two disused discharge pipes into a coral-grown reef. With only a few centres on the coast, a group rarely shares a site with another.
About diving in Nuweiba
Most diving here is shore diving. Dives start from a sandy beach and cross a gently sloping seabed to the reef, and the guided daily dives also reach reefs a short drive to the north, such as Ras Shaitan and South Cove. Little or no current on most days and easy beach entries make the coast an excellent training location as much as a destination.
Much of the coastline is fringing reef with coral gardens, walls and pinnacles. Some of the best-known dives are on man-made structures, the Pipeline and the Sinkers, both grown over with hard and soft corals. Ras Mumlah and Abu Galum are protected nature reserves. A large population of resident female green turtles lives along the coast, the biggest with a shell close to two metres long.
The coast suits new divers, underwater photographers and anyone after calm, unhurried shore dives, and macro and muck subjects are its strength. Unlike other Red Sea areas, shark and manta ray sightings are a rarity, made up for by the number of smaller species, so for divers set on big pelagics the small life, not the open-water encounter, is the main event.
Best time to dive Nuweiba
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good |
January to April brings the coolest water of the year, near 21 °C in February, and from January to May some wind makes the air feel colder between dives, so warm layers belong in the bag; dolphins and rays are frequent visitors in these winter months. May and June are the first of the two best windows. July and August have the warmest sea, around 29 °C in August and up to 31 °C at the surface, but from July to October the heat ashore is hard going for anyone who dislikes it. September to November is the second best window. In December the sea cools again and diving carries on.
Dive types & marine life
Green turtles are resident all year, a large population of females along the coast. Dolphins and rays are frequent visitors in the winter months. Sharks and manta rays are a rarity; smaller species and macro subjects are the reliable draw.
- Reef
- Wall
- Coral garden
- Sea turtles
- Dolphins
- Macro critters
Best dive sites in Nuweiba
- 1
Abu Lou Lou
Hotel house reef that works as a run of cleaning stations, a long-standing photographers' site.
- 2
Pipeline
Two desalination discharge pipes, unused for over 30 years, grown over with soft and hard corals.
- 3
The Sinkers
Submerged mooring buoy on heavy chains crusted with corals, sponges, anemones and shrimps.
- 4
Ras Mumlah North
Wall with overhangs and soft corals inside the Ras Mumlah protected area.
- 5
Ras Mumlah Coral Garden
Coral garden in the Ras Mumlah reserve, full of life and turtles.
- 6
Ras Shaitan
Fringing reef with rich coral and plenty of fish, a short drive north of Tarabin.
Site guides
Green turtles grazing the seagrass above a reef of cleaning stations
Artificial reef
Large jacks and snappers queueing at cleaning stations on the pipe ends
Reef
Enormous boulders scattered among broad table corals
Reef
Narrow valleys and deep chasms cut through the reef
Artificial reef
A sunken mooring buoy wrapped in soft corals and circled by fusiliers
How to get to Nuweiba
The closest airports are Taba, about one and a half hours away, and Sharm el Sheikh, under two hours away. Dive centres are few; one sits very near Ras Shaitan, about 70 km from both Taba and Dahab.
Photos from Nuweiba
Simon A Lewis · CC BY 2.0
Dive videos
Nuweiba - A Diver's Guide part 1.mov · CuttlefishProd on YouTube
Nuweiba - A Diver's Guide part 2.mov · CuttlefishProd on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Is Nuweiba diving from the shore or from a boat?+
Mostly from the shore. Dives start from a sandy beach over a gently sloping seabed, and reefs to the north such as Ras Shaitan and South Cove are a short drive away.
Is Nuweiba good for learning to dive?+
Yes. Little or no current on most days and easy beach entries make it an excellent training location, and with only a few centres other groups in the water are unlikely.
Which Nuweiba reefs are protected?+
Abu Galum and Ras Mumlah are protected nature reserves; the Ras Mumlah sites include a wall with overhangs and soft corals and a coral garden with turtles.
Sources
- Venus Diving Center — Venus Diving Center
- Venus Diving Center dive sites — Venus Diving Center
- Venus Diving Center | PADI — PADI
- Nuweiba – X-Ray Mag — X-Ray Mag
- Nuweiba – Wikivoyage — Wikivoyage
- Nuweiba diving – Divezone — Divezone
- Nuweiba travel – Divezone — Divezone
- Diving in Nuweiba – Ootlah — Ootlah
- Nuweiba sea temperature – SeaTemperatu.re — SeaTemperatu.re
Photo credits
- A large structure on a sandy seabed covered in hard and soft corals, with orange and red reef fish swarming around it by prilfish, CC BY 2.0, via Openverse
- A dark blue angelfish with curved white rings swims over coral heads next to a slim black-and-white striped fish in blue water by Simon A Lewis, CC BY 2.0, via Openverse
Embed
Run a dive centre, club or blog? Embed this map of 1 dive sites near Nuweiba on your own page.
Similar destinations
Red Sea & Gulf of Aden
Farasan Banks & Al Lith
Saudi Arabia
Whale sharks gather each spring on a reef almost nobody dives
Uncrowded Fury Shoals reefs, from shallow caves to Sha'ab Maksur's drop-offs
Panorama Reef's plateau drops away on every side into soft coral walls
Four ships wrecked on one reef, all between 4 m and 27 m