Dahab

[Druid]

I have just returned from my first trip to the Red Sea.  I spent a week in Dahab, diving with Reef 2000, and I have to say I was very impressed, both with the diving, and with the overall atmosphere of the place.

Diving
Now I've done most of my 80 odd dives in the UK (and far too many of those in Stoney) so I had no idea what to expect, other than it would be a bit warmer than I was used to.  The diving in Dahab is all shore diving, and we started with a couple of check out dives.  Kit up on the beach, walk into water at a temp of 26C, swim to the edge of the reef and drop down.  Wow, just so many fish that you can't hope to remember them all.  Big ones and little ones, in every colour imaginable.  I guess if you've dived in the Red Sea you know what I mean, and if you haven't - do it asap.  I had a local guide dive on all my dives, and he really did know his stuff.  Over the 10 dives that I did, we saw just about everything imaginable - except for sharks.  Two giant morays on one dive, napoleons, lionfish, crocodile fish, baracuda...the list is endless.  Every dive was different, with something new to see.

Recommended dives:

The Canyon - swim down over the reef to 28m (where we saw the morays), into a crevice that goes back int the reef.  It's just wide enough to swim into, then it widens to a couple of metres.  Swim up through a hole in the roof, where a shoal of glassfish like to hang out.

The Blue Hole - entry via the Bells, a chimney in the face of the reef which drops down to 28m and exits through the "fireplace" on the wall, and a long drop into the blue.  Swim along the wall, with lots of overhangs, and enter the Blue Hole itself over a saddle at 6m.  Very little life inside the Blue Hole, just that deep blue colour below that's pretty mindblowing.

Ras Abu Gulam - pretty much unspoilt reef near a remote Bedouin village.  We went there on camels, which have to be the most uncomfortable means of transport ever devised.

Dahab
Very relaxed, friendly and laid back.  I took my wife (who dives) and my daughter and her boyfriend (who don't dive) and they were all very much taken with the town.  Living is cheap - a meal for 4 at one of the restaurants on the seafront was about £15.  The fish was excellent, as you might expect.  Beer was between 50p and £1 for 1/2litre, and tasted just fine.  

We stayed at the Bedouin Moon Hotel.  Basic clean accommodation - bed, shower, aircon, breakfast, evening meal if you didn't want to make the £1 taxi ride into Dahab itself.  Oh, and it's right next door to the dive centre, and this was the view from our room.

Downside
Air travel.  I don't have a great deal of experience of air travel, but the outward flight to Sharm was very cramped.  legroom was ok, but shoulder and elbow room was non existent.  Two hour delay on the return flight, including 1/2 hour sat on the tarmac at Sharm with the cabin temp rising all the time.  Then another 20 mins at Gatwick while they found someone to connect the ground power so we could get off.  Excelair, never again.


We enjoyed it so much, we're already planning the next trip.

[Simon TW]

<font color='#000080'>Thanks for the report, I've considerd Dahab as a place to visit as it is all shore dives and can be done independent. I get a little pissed off with DMs and their shakey things. I think that's why spear guns are banned, to protect DMs riddled with parkinsons and shakey things in their hands from divers who want to go at an easy pace, take some photo's and drink the peacefullness of the ocean.

[kinetic]

I was always puzzled by the fact that in certain countries (the UK as a specific example) the air-con is not allowed to be on when the plane is stationery.

I've only ever had that when in the UK, elsewhere it's always on when the plane is being loaded etc.

I asked the question when we flew out to KL a couple of years ago and the stewrdess told me that it was UK legislation thatd did not permit it.???

It's possible that we have airline pilots in YD (what a bummer of a job eh, flying out to varios great dive locations not to be able to dive) and maybe they can help.

Cheers.

Graham