Photo Blog: Snorkeling the Red Sea in Dahab, Egypt
In case you hadn’t noticed, we’re big fans of snorkeling and scuba diving. The beauty and peacefulness of the underwater world is unlike anything else, and certainly must be experienced first hand to truly appreciate.
It’s hard to accurately describe the brilliant natural colours and odd coral formations that look like something straight out of a Sci-Fi movie. Fortunately we have a great little underwater camera that has allowed us the opportunity share our pictures and video so that you can get an idea of what lies beneath the surface.
We often get asked, “Where is the best place to scuba dive and snorkel”? Obviously everyone has their opinion, but in our experience the clear winner is the Red Sea, specifically along the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. Though our experience was limited to Dahab, the entire region offers world class scuba dive excursions.
Below are a few of our favourite photos from several days of snorkeling in Dahab, Egypt.
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| From The Red Sea – Dahab, Egypt |
Gearing up at the Blue Hole, located just outside the beach town of Dahab
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| From The Red Sea – Dahab, Egypt |
The mysterious wall drop at the Blue Hole
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| From The Red Sea – Dahab, Egypt |
Rugged sandstone mountains at the Blue Hole just outside of Dahab
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| From The Red Sea – Dahab, Egypt |
Spectacular reef and colourful fish along the deep wall canyon at the Blue Hole
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| From The Red Sea – Dahab, Egypt |
Scuba divers bubbles rising in the backdrop
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| From The Red Sea – Dahab, Egypt |
Amazing reef formations and colourful fish at “The Islands” dive site
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| From The Red Sea – Dahab, Egypt |
Close up of the brilliant reef at “The Islands” dive spot
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| From The Red Sea – Dahab, Egypt |
Radiant purple reef at “The Islands”
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| From The Red Sea – Dahab, Egypt |
Nicole free diving at Eel Gardens
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| From The Red Sea – Dahab, Egypt |
Scuba divers at Eel Garden. The coral wall drops sharply, leading to a large section of white sand that is home to thousands of little garden eels.
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| From The Red Sea – Dahab, Egypt |
Tropical fish at the Eel Garden dive site
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| From The Red Sea – Dahab, Egypt |
Seaside resorts at Eel Garden. The landscapes and surroundings are one-of-a-kind
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| From The Red Sea – Dahab, Egypt |
Snorkeling at “Masbat”
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| From The Red Sea – Dahab, Egypt |
Lion fish – careful, don’t touch!
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| From The Red Sea – Dahab, Egypt |
Crystal clear waters of the Red Sea
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| From The Red Sea – Dahab, Egypt |
Unique reef formations at “The Islands”
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| From The Red Sea – Dahab, Egypt |
Does this interesting reef formation resemble something familiar…?
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| From The Red Sea – Dahab, Egypt |
The notorious “wall” in Dahab stretches for miles in both directions. A remarkable natural wonder
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Where are your favourite scuba dive or snorkeling spots?
Share your tips and recommendations below!
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Wow,
I love Dahab. It’s definitely my favourite place on the Red Sea so far.
I don’t do diving but thanks to these pictures I can have a look at what it looks like down there:) these shots are so good… I took some while snorkeling there but they can’t even compare to yours:)
Good job! And I can’t wait to go to Dahab again (checking out Marsa Alam at the end of the month by the way!)
Thanks! We’d love to return to Dahab one day
Egypt is a fantastic place for both diving and snorkelling. Dahab is one place I haven’t made it to yet.
The best way to enjoy the underwater world in Egypt it to try to avoid the crowds.
Put Dahab on your future list! It’s an amazing place
I loved living vicariously through your pictures! The one time I tried to scuba dive (in Aruba), I had a panic attack! It was so embarrassing. Something about being underwater…I felt like I couldn’t breath. Looking back, we’re able to joke about it now. I’d like to try diving again, but I’m worried the same thing will happen.
Anyway, beautiful photos!
I had a similar experience diving in the Cayman Islands. Freaked myself out and almost didn’t go back in the water. I’m glad I did though, after beating my panic and fear it became so peaceful and magical. It’s not uncommon so don’t feel embarrassed, we’re land dwellers… not fish!!
Hopefully you’ll give it another shot in the future…
Love the 4th photo from the top. The colourful fish of the Blue Hole. You are right, you have an excellent camera for taking underwater shots.
thanks for stopping by guys! Love the #TravelTuesday on Twitter post, great list of people 😉
We snorkelled the Red Sea on the Jordanian side…and were blown away! I haven’t experienced snorkelling like that since!
That was our original plan, then we met some other travellers who recommended Dahab. Our original plan was to stay a few days and then go to Aqaba in Jordan… 11 days later we finally left! 😉
great shots from the single best dive area I have ever been to. LOVE Dahab. In fact, you have inspired me. Going to get off my ass and post some of my pics from there this week.
Can’t wait to see them! Come back and post the link once its live, I’m sure our readers would like to see them also
Well it looks like you can check off one more from the list of 1000 Things To Do Before You Die. You two are so well traveled.Great shots too.
Thanks Leigh! You’re not doing too bad yourself 😉
That looks so gorgeous – I’m yet to do any snorkelling on this trip – we were told it was not the best time of year whilst in Nha Trang, so I’ll have to wait until we get to Thailand where I plan on doing a looooot of diving!
You’ll love the diving in Thailand. I’d recommend heading south and diving off the east coast of Malaysia, incredible!
*WOW* I’ve always heard the dives in this part of the world are spectacular. Out of curiosity, how much does a dive in Dahab run? Thx for sharing your photos!
@Tran – the diving was very cheap in Dahab. Of course it depends on where you go and how many times you committ to. We stayed for 11 days at that Seventh Heaven (i think that’s what its called?). They had good deals and great staff. Approx $25 per dive? The reef wall is a 5 minute walk from the hostel, so you can be a fish all day!
Dahab was my favorite place to dive (yet) in the world. I actually thought the Blue Hole itself was boring, but the area outside that on the reef…. fabulous.
I agree! That’s funny b/c we felt the Blue Hole was a little over-hyped. Great spot, but there are definitely better spots with less traffic. That said, I’d love to be at the Blue Hole right now! 😉
This post has my heart palpitating! I’ve always longed for Egypt, but your pictures are now pulling at my heart strings.
Thanks Tawny! The Red Sea is hands down some of the best diving and snorkeling we’ve ever experienced.
Stellar shots. Liked the video as well! What camera did you say you have that took those photos?
We used an Olympus underwater camera, don’t have it handy and can’t remember the model. It works quite well, not a cheap camera but definetly not expensive. Thanks for stopping by Andrew!
Looks amazing! With I could have made it to Dahab, but I ran out of time. Next time I’m in Egypt, I will be sure to get to Sinai!
Hey Mark – yes, it’s worth the extra effort. We planned to stay for a couple days, ended up there for 11 days! Where are you off to now?
Great photos! Didn’t realize the water was the clear in the dead sea. I was going to ask what camera you used as well but saw the comment! Great shots! I would not have imagined fish and underwater sea creatures like that in the Red Sea.
Thanks Jeremy! Yes, the Red Sea has one of the most remarkable coral reef systems on the planet. The reef is fairly close to the surface too, which makes it very colourful during mid-day.
Love the underwater pictures! Never thought of Egypt as a snorkeling destination at all. I’m a little terrified of the big deep, but your pictures make it seem extremely calm and zen.
Prior to visiting the Red Sea we didn’t view it as an underwater paradise, but having experienced it firsthand, it’s definitely a top 3!
Very cool!! Which underwater camera do you have? Some good shots in there.
Have you dove Thialand? All the divers I know just rave about the diving there… I haven’t been there myself though.
Dan
We use a portable waterproof camera made by Olympus – works great!
Yes – we have done Thailand, loved it as well, but Red Sea takes the cake! 😉
These photos are so crisp. You guys are obviously experienced snorkelers– I’m impressed you dive down for a closer look at the coral 🙂
Thanks! Yes, we try to get as close as possible to the reef… sometimes its tough to keep the camera still enough to capture a good shot. The camera has multiple underwater pre-sets, so we play around with all of them. For every good shot, there was 3 terrible shots!
Love the blog and amazing photo’s. I’m looking to head over to Dahab this October to do my Advance diving course. Planning only 6 days there. Do you think thats enough time to dive and chill? If I could spend a whole month there I would.
6 days should be enough, but obviously more time is ideal. Have fun (slightly jealous)
Even more pristine/untouched/off-the-beaten-path: Nuweiba (just up the road a bit from Dahab). Tough to find even an ATM machine – yessssss, my kind of place!
(uh-oh! Perhaps I best not spread the word…)
We spent a couple nights in Nuweiba as well. We had mixed reviews, we loved the surrounding mountain landscapes but weren’t as impressed with underwater life.
But we did enjoy its peacefulness and isolation!
Hey it’s not that red, it’s blue! 🙂
Gosh, an underwater camera is a great thing to have!
I love you photos and I’m absolutely floored at the quality of snorkeling available there in Egypt! Fantastic!
Funny how I just mentioned diving in Dahab yesterday with a friend and then run into this post today. The drop point is amazingly mysterious. I wonder what are down there. Did you see many butterflyfishes?
Amazing tips! I am heading to China. I was in Canada one month ago. You are so right that following the sun is a good idea. Thank you for sharing such an interesting info. Best regards!