The Red Sea is, unquestionably, an absolute must for European divers - too close and too good to overlook, regardless of whether you’re a shore diver or a liveaboarder; a reefer or a wrecker; in search of macro magic or blue water pelagic. Many will probably associate Dahab with the Blue Hole, one of the Red Sea's most popular dive but this natural sinkhole, which is unique in the fact that it connects to the open see through a natural "arch", is not the only site worth to see.
A shallow dive with a maximum of 20m around two underwater islands connected by labyrinths and lagoons. The coral formation and diversity is stunning, the colors vibrant. Apart from the landscape, you can find Stingrays, Napoleons, Picasso Triggerfish, schooling Barracudas, Crocodile fish and sometimes Eagle Rays and Turtles. You can swim around the interesting rock pinnacles teaming with Glassfish, Anemonefish, Angelfish and Lionfish. There is a third island a little deeper and further out to sea that can be visited by those good on air. You can exit through a small crack in the reef wall. Overall, this dive is perfect dive for photographers and videographers.
This very popular and spectacular dive site is located 15 min north of H2O Divers Dahab (you'll find out about these guys later in the article). The Canyon is a big crack in a beautiful coral garden, similar to a slightly opened shell. You can enter the Canyon at a depth of 20 m (minimum AOW). The bottom of the Canyon is at 30 m at this point, but continues to get narrower and deeper towards the outside of the reef (to 54m, for Tec Divers). In the opposite direction there is the “Fishbowl”, a small grotto full of Glassfish. Due to the fact that the Fishbowl was suffering from the amount of divers in the past years, it was closed for diving at the end of 2007. Napoleons, Octopus and Stingrays are common in the coral garden surrounding the Canyon. For Tec Divers, the Canyon can be dived at different depths: 40 m (also for deep courses) but if you want to do “the full Canyon”, you need to be qualified as Extended Range diver. You exit through a small crack at 54 m and then come up along the wall outside the Canyon. This site can also be done by Open Water divers without entering the Canyon itself. To the south of the Canyon, there is a site called Coral Gardens - which lives up to its name of a garden of corals.
A solitary diving can be found just south of the Canyon. This divesite is only accessible at high tide. One of the most beautiful and colorful coral gardens in Sinai, the entrance is through a small lagoon. The site can be dived left (or as a drift to Abu Helal) or right and at any depth although the best corals are in 5-20m. It is the only shore diving site where you can find juvenile Red Tooth Triggerfish, sometimes in great numbers. For Tec divers, there is another "Little Canyon" lying at a depth of 40 with chambers dropping down to 105 meters. This dive is suitable for trimix tec divers. Abu Helal is located south of Abu Telha, the entrance is via a 10 m deep lagoon created by a crescent shaped reef that opens onto a coral wall dropping to a small Canyon at 30 m. Turtles, Stingrays and Stonefish can be found.
There are many dive centers around Dahab making it difficult to choose the right one. To ease your search, Adrex.com recommends H2O Divers, a friendly bunch of experienced divers, underwater photographers and instructors, who have been diving in Dahab and around the world for over 20 years. Located in the middle of Masbat Bay, the main pedestrian strip of Dahab, and close-by to many beautiful dive sites, the H2O is a PADI 5* Resort (soon to be 5* Instructor Development Resort – summer 2015) & TDI Training facility – they offer a range of PADI, TecRec & TDI courses & AIDA Freediving Instructor courses and have Nitrox & Trimix blending facilities on site.
tec diving
H2O month's June offer is:
To find out more about H2O and what they have to offer, visit their website or get in touch with them - they are native English, Dutch, French, Arabic and German speakers.
Photos: © H2O/Jenny Lord
Source: http://www.h2odiversdahab.com
