Diving in Dahab

Dahab is a diver's town on the Sinai coast, and its great convenience is that you walk to the reef straight from the shore — no boat, no early start, just fins on at the water's edge. The Red Sea here is warm, clear and extravagantly colourful: hard and soft corals, reef fish in absurd numbers, and visibility that regularly runs to twenty-five metres.

The range suits everyone. Beginners do their first open-water course in the sheltered, easy entries; more experienced divers head for the famous Blue Hole and the Canyon, dramatic deep sites that have made the town's name. The relaxed, low-cost, backpacker-ish atmosphere is a large part of why people come for a few days and stay a fortnight.

You can dive here year-round, though a wetsuit is welcome in winter when the water cools. Whatever your level, the reef is right there off the beach — a rarer luxury in diving than it sounds.

Shore diving at its most convenient: you walk in off the beach with fins on, no boat and no early start, straight onto warm, clear Red Sea reef. Hard and soft corals, reef fish in absurd numbers, and visibility that regularly runs to twenty-five metres.

The range suits everyone — sheltered, easy entries for first courses, and the famous deep sites, the Blue Hole and the Canyon, for the experienced. The town itself is relaxed, cheap and backpacker-ish, which is why people come for a few days and stay a fortnight.

You can dive year-round, though winter water is cool enough to want a wetsuit.

Base in Dahab on the Sinai coast and pick a dive centre — there are many, and competition keeps prices among the lowest anywhere. If you are not yet certified, this is one of the cheapest, most reliable places in the world to do your Open Water course.

Dive year-round; bring or rent a thicker wetsuit in winter when the water cools. Most sites are a short walk or taxi from town, entered straight off the shore.

The Blue Hole is for experienced divers only — treat its depth with respect and dive it within your training, not beyond it.