Yanbu & the Seven Reefs

Diving here runs two ways. From Yanbu itself, a local centre runs boat and shore dives, and the wide coral reefs on both sides of the natural harbour are popular dive spots. The offshore reefs are reached by liveaboard, sailing out of a private marina, with the long atoll of Abu Galawa a common overnight mooring for its shelter. Each reef is identified by the marker that signals it, so sites carry names such as Marker 42 and Marker 44, and the boat works its way south from reef to reef across the group.

The Seven Reefs are semi-surfacing coral reefs, and their outer walls fall away steeply, at Sha'ab Suflani beyond 300 m. From the main reefs wide plateaus push out into the blue, and on their edges the current, which brings in the pelagics, is easiest to meet: hammerhead, silvertip and silky sharks, with whitetip and blacktip reef sharks as well. The walls are covered with sea fans and soft corals, and clouds of barracudas and jacks are regular company on the dives.

This is diving for experienced divers at ease on a wall and in blue water, and the liveaboard route takes Advanced certification as the minimum; it is not suited to beginners. Looking for the sharks can mean depths of 35–45 m. Newer divers can learn in Yanbu itself, where the local centre teaches PADI courses from a first dive up to Divemaster. The wreck of the Louna, a few miles outside the port, closes the liveaboard route with a historic dive.