We continue this month with a look at other famous dive sites in and around Dahab to enjoy during your vacation in the Red Sea.

Dahab in Arabic means gold, and this Red Sea destination definitely sparkles like gold when it comes to scuba diving. You might come to Dahab and find your long-awaited underwater dream…

Lighthouse Reef: one of the most dived spots in Dahab. Easily reachable and used by many diving schools as the first playground for scuba beginners, this dive sites is accessed from the busy beach near the Lighthouse. It is sheltered from the wind, with an easy entrance and exit.

As you step in the water you will find a shallow sandy slop that drops off gently into a rather large grassy slope. Look out for seahorses and Pegasus seamoths that generally come in pairs.

Extending out of the point you’ll find large pinnacles, huge cabbage coral and coral heads reaching more than 25 meters of depth. The reef wall is scattered over numerous sandy patches with a diverse fish life. From all directions are enormous pinnacles, which disappear into the deep.

When you follow the reef wall and cruise over and between the pinnacles, you reach the saddle. Here you can always spot some scorpion and crocodile fish and, on lucky days, even a stonefish. Once over the saddle, you will reach a coral garden ending with a very large gorgonian fan coral. At the last pinnacle turn around and come back towards the reef wall where you will carefully ascend to a small sandy lagoon at around 5m.

The Lighthouse is also an excellent site for night diving.

Eel Garden: it takes its name from the countless garden eels that live on the sea floor not far from the entry point of the dive.

To access the dive, you need to swim for about 100 meters over the reef plate and enter into a 10 meter canyon which widens up into a gently sloping sandy area.

To reach the area where the eels live, you swim along the reef which lies perpendicular to the main reef. The eels literally carpet the whole area, moving in a synchronized way with the current. As soon as you approach they will hide back into the sand. To take pictures you need patience and stillness. Although the eels are fascinating, try to explore other part of this dive spots as well.

At about 20m there is a fairly flat section of reef with several table corals. At times you can spot shoals of barracudas patrolling the area.

On the way back at around 5 and 10m you will see healthy, flourishing corals with some types of antler and plate coral, but also anemones and sponges. If you are super lucky, you might be able to spot the rare ghostpipe fish during this beautiful dive.

The Caves: the name is quite misleading as it is actually only one large overhang. It is, however, a very good dive site with unusual coral and rock formations and a wide variety of sea life which includes turtles, lionfish, Napoleons and moray eels.

To enter this dive site, you need to take a giant stride from the top of the reef, exactly in front of the cave. It is not always easy, due to winds, currents and crashing waves.

The cave, although nice, should not be the only reason to dive this spot south of Dahab.

Both reefs to the north and south are also excellent, with pinnacles teeming with life and a sand bed which provides a home for garden eels.

The exit, due to the waves, is not always easy to manage, so make sure you have plenty of energy at the end of the dive!

Ras Abu Galum: undoubtedly one of the Red Sea's best and most untouched dive sites. It lays in the Abu Galum National Protectorate and is accessible either by camel from Dahab or by 4WD Jeep ride from Nuweiba. It is located to the north of Dahab and lies in a mountainous and rocky area. The camel ride into the area is spectacular. Most diving operators can organize a night stay near Bedouins. Diving is often started to the left of the reef where the reef table swings wide into a steep wall dive with pinnacles and dramatic, yet beautiful, rock formations. Keep an eye out for trevallies in the blue. Ascend a little and you will find beautiful fire corals and schools of reef fish. The northern side, locally known as the Alternatives, is famous for its coral gardens.

Technical divers will love this area as well because of its moonlike landscape at depths.

You could have a very special encounter in this area: with a manatee, better known as a sea cow. Ras Abu Galum national park is one of the parks with a steady population of these herbivores. It is a mammal the size of a seal but with a very special snout.

It is easy to enjoy a scuba diving vacation in Dahab. It is less than an hour north of Sharm el Sheikh airport, which has many flights to most major European airports. Make sure to check out our Dahab page here on GoRedSea to learn further about this exciting destination.

Enjoy.