Dahab's claim to dive fame is that you can drive 30 minutes north along the coast and dive a different site every day for two weeks. Most are shore-accessible — you walk into the water with a tank from a small parking spot, no boats required. This page is the comprehensive map: every site, every depth, every reason to pick one over another.
Quick comparison
| Site | Max Depth | Level | Access | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Blue Hole | 130m | OW (rim) / Tech (Arch) | Shore (10km north) | The iconic visit |
| The Bells | 30m+ | AOW recommended | Shore (paired with BH) | The chimney drop drift |
| The Canyon | 30m | AOW | Shore (5km north) | Drama, swim-throughs |
| Eel Garden | 15m | OW | Shore (north Dahab) | Easy beauty, macro |
| Lighthouse | 20m | OW (training) | Shore (in town) | Open Water training |
| Mashraba | 15m | OW (training) | Shore (in town) | Quick fun dives |
| The Islands | 30m | OW | Boat (10 min) | Soft corals, schooling fish |
| Three Pools | 10m | OW (snorkel-friendly) | Shore | Beginners, snorkellers |
| Moray Garden | 15m | OW | Shore | Macro photography |
| Caves | 20m | AOW | Shore (5km north) | Cavern light shows |
| Abu Helal | 30m | AOW | Shore (12km north) | Quieter alternative to BH |
| Um Sid | 30m | AOW | Shore (15km north) | Wall dive, big fish |
| Ras Abu Galum | 30m+ | OW (boat) / AOW (wall) | Boat or jeep (30km) | Remoteness, clean reef |
| Blue Lagoon | 20m | OW | Boat or jeep | Day-trip + dive combo |
| Gabr el Bint | 30m | AOW | Boat (40 min) | Pristine wall dive |
The headline sites in detail
The Blue Hole
The most famous dive site in the Red Sea and possibly in recreational diving anywhere. A 300m-wide submarine sinkhole, 130m deep, with a 26-metre underwater tunnel ("the Arch") connecting it to the open sea at 56m depth. Recreational divers dive the inner wall to 25–30m where coral and Napoleon wrasse are abundant. The Arch requires technical training and trimix gas. Full Blue Hole guide.
The Bells
200m north of the Blue Hole, a vertical chimney that drops from 7m to 30m+ into open water. Most divers do The Bells as a drift, descending the chimney and drifting south along the wall to exit at the Blue Hole entry point. The transition from confined chimney to open blue water is one of the more memorable moments in Dahab diving.
The Canyon
5km north of Dahab town. A deep crack in the reef, accessed via a sandy entry, with a sunken wreck of a small sailboat at one of the entries. The canyon proper runs 18–25m and includes several swim-throughs. The drama of the site has earned it Dahab's most-loved status.
Eel Garden
At the north end of Dahab town, walking distance from most accommodation. A sandy plain at 8–15m depth populated by hundreds of garden eels — small reef fish that protrude from the sand and retract as you approach. Easy diving, beautiful, and excellent for macro photography. Often paired with a Lighthouse-area dive as a 2-tank shore-diving day.
Lighthouse
The original Dahab dive site, named for the actual stone lighthouse offshore. Used heavily for Open Water training because of calm conditions, easy entry/exit, and gradual reef profile. Less spectacular than the named sites but always reliable.
Ras Abu Galum
30 minutes by jeep or 90 minutes by boat north of Dahab. A protected wilderness area with some of the cleanest reef in Sinai — fewer divers, no permanent infrastructure, just a Bedouin camp at the entry. The walls are steeper and the fish life more abundant than the in-town sites. AOW recommended for the deeper outer wall.
How to plan your dive day
The classic Dahab 2-tank day:
- Morning (07:30–10:00) — start with the deeper site (Canyon, Bells, Blue Hole inner wall) when you are fresh.
- Surface interval (10:00–11:30) — Bedouin breakfast at one of the cafés near the entry. Tea and bread.
- Midday (11:30–13:30) — second dive, shallower (Eel Garden, Lighthouse, Mashraba) — easier on your nitrogen budget.
- Afternoon (14:00–18:00) — town, food, surface time. Most divers do not do a 3rd dive after lunch.
Most Dahab dive centres book this as a "2-tank day" for $50–65 with gear and lunch. See our dive centre comparison for prices.
Sites by traveller type
If you are a brand new diver doing Open Water
Your training will mostly happen at Lighthouse, Mashraba and Three Pools. After certification, your first fun dives will likely be Eel Garden and Lighthouse again, working up to the Canyon by your 5th–8th dive.
If you have AOW and want the famous sites
Plan a 5-dive package: Blue Hole inner wall, Bells, Canyon, Eel Garden, Ras Abu Galum boat trip. This covers the iconic moments without overlap.
If you are a tech diver
The Arch at the Blue Hole, Gabr el Bint's deeper wall, and the offshore drop-offs at Um Sid and Ras Abu Galum all reward proper trimix planning. Train with a centre that has a real tech reputation rather than whoever is cheapest.
If you are travelling with a non-diver partner
Pick sites with strong snorkelling overlap: the Blue Hole rim, Three Pools, Eel Garden. The Bedouin cafés at the Blue Hole and Ras Abu Galum make full-day non-diver experiences in their own right.
Map of dive sites
The dive sites cluster from south to north along the coast road that runs from Dahab town to Ras Abu Galum:
- Mashraba (in town, south)
- Lighthouse (in town, central)
- Eel Garden (in town, north)
- Three Pools (just north of town)
- Moray Garden (5km)
- The Canyon (5km)
- Caves (5km)
- The Bells (10km)
- The Blue Hole (10km)
- Abu Helal (12km)
- Um Sid (15km)
- Blue Lagoon (20km, requires boat or jeep)
- Ras Abu Galum (30km, requires boat or jeep)
- Gabr el Bint (40km offshore, boat only)
- The Islands (offshore, boat only)
Most centres run twice-daily dive trips covering different combinations of these sites. You can usually request specific sites for an extra fee or with advance notice.
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