Diving in Dahab: The Ultimate Guide to Egypt’s Underwater Paradise
A Complete Guide to Diving in Dahab
If you’re looking for some incredible diving, you’ve come to the right place. The scuba diving in Dahab is some of the best in the entire world. Whether you’re a beginner open water diver or an advanced open water diver, you’ll find something to suit your taste and skill level. You could even come to Dahab as a brand new diver with no experience to take a diving course and get your PADI certification.
Dahab is a small, lesser known beach town in South Sinai Egypt located just an hour by taxi from Sharm El-Sheikh airport. The fact that it’s lesser known means that it’s a hidden gem for the diving community. You won’t find your typical tourist trap with grand resorts and crowded beaches, but rather 5 star PADI dive shops run by locals and an array of smaller accommodation such as apartments, boutique hotels, and even camping and hostels. There’s something for every budget here.
In this post I’m sharing my suggestions on how to spend 7 days diving in Dahab including where to stay, where to eat, and things to do.
Just an FYI, this post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to purchase something through the links, at no additional cost to you. It enables me to keep bringing you more free content to binge and I really appreciate it! If you would also like to to earn affiliate income from your travel suggestions, I highly recommend signing up for a Stay22 account here, it’s free! 😊 Read my Affiliate Disclosure here.
Take a Shortcut – Grab the Dahab Google Map Guide
If you’re looking for ALL of my Dahab recommendations, I’ve gone ahead and saved them for you in this downloadable Google Map Guide. The guide syncs directly in your Google Map app and includes lifetime access so anytime a new place is added, it automatically updates for you.
Tips for Visiting Dahab / FAQs About Dahab
How many days do you need in Dahab
If you’re coming to dive, I would suggest at least 4 days since you’ll need compression time before flying home. Ideally, I would suggest coming for a full week so you have enough time to dive all of the best sites because there are tons!
How to get to Dahab
Getting to Dahab Egypt is quite easy. The closest airport near Dahab Egypt is Sharm El-Sheikh. I caught a direct flight from Vienna on Wizz Air which was incredibly cheap and quite a nice for a budget airline. From the airport it’s just a 45 minute taxi ride which should cost about $35. If you need a visa, you can buy one on arrival at the kiosk in the airport. It’s only $25. Make sure you determine if you actually need a visa or not though as I believe some visitors can come visa free if only staying in the Sharm El-Sheikh region.
How to get around Dahab
The best way to get around Dahab is by bike. Find a shop and rent one for the week. It should cost you about $15 for the whole week. If you’re diving, the dive shop will drive you around to the dive sites so don’t worry about having transport for that.
Currency used in Dahab and is Cash or Card preferred
The currency used in Dahab and all throughout Egypt is the Egyptian pound and cash is certainly king in this part of the world. Make sure you have a debit card with low or no ATM fees for withdrawing cash. You can pay for diving at the shops using a card, but they will most likely charge you a 3% fee on top.
For US Travelers
For UK Travelers
Do people speak English in Dahab?
The main language spoken in Dahab is Arabic but you will find many people also speak English. I would still recommend downloading the Google Translate app so you can translate spoken and written Arabic if needed.
Best Time to Visit Dahab
Good news, anytime of the year is a great time to visit and dive in Dahab! Since Dahab is literally in the dessert, you won’t have to worry about rain or cold winters. The only thing you need to consider are the temperatures. During the summer months of July and August, the temperatures are 33 °C (91 °F) on average but can sometimes reach 45 °C (113 °F). If you want to avoid the warmest months, I’d recommend going in January or February when temperatures are around 23 °C (73 °F).
Average Temperatures in Dahab
Is Dahab Safe?
Dahab is very safe. I came here as a solo female traveller and never felt uncomfortable or scared. You can literally leave your brand new iPhone unattended on the table while you’re diving for an hour and it will still be there when you get back. Perhaps it’s the fact there are security cameras everywhere or perhaps it’s just the culture.
Dahab is also incredibly liberal compared to other parts of Egypt. Women can wear whatever they’d like and you don’t get the constant unwanted pervy attention from the men you’ll experience elsewhere. This is probably due to the fact Dahab has been a diving mecca for years and attracts a very diverse and global crowd. That said, some of the Egyptian women do still cover up but it’s understood that everyone is entitled to their own choice on how they dress and nobody will be angry or look down on you for wearing western clothes.
No matter how safe a destination is, you should ALWAYS have travel insurance. I highly recommend Safety Wing for travellers who will be traveling long term. Their essential plan not only covers medical emergencies but also travel emergencies such as lost luggage or trip cancellation.
Is Dahab a good destination for solo travellers?
Absolutely! I went to Dahab as a solo female traveller and had an incredible time. Since I went for diving, it was very easy to meet other divers on the trip and like minded people who I bonded with straight away through a shared interest. As a solo female traveller, I would definitely recommend Dahab for your next solo trip. Check out this article I’ve written on How to Make Friends While Traveling Solo if you want some tips!
How to get phone data when visiting Dahab
If your phone provider doesn’t have a great international roaming plan, then I’d recommend getting an eSIM. I normally use the Airalo app to get my eSIM to access data abroad. You can use my code WRIGHT3 to get $3 off your first eSIM with Airalo.
7 Day Itinerary for Diving in Dahab
So without further ado, let’s get into how to spend an entire week diving in Dahab including all of my personal recommendations for where to stay, eat, and dive.
Day 1
Check in and relax for a bit. I stayed in the area of Asala but Dahab is so small it doesn’t really matter where you base yourself. I’d recommend going with an Airbnb rather than a hotel as you get much more for your money. I found a 3 bedroom flat, with two balconies and a huge rooftop for only £40/night.
Just to give you a quick summary of the neighbourhoods from north to south it goes:
Asala (more local and quiet, about a 15 min bike ride to the centre)
Eel Garden (more local and quiet a bit closer to the centre)
Lighthouse (the centre of town and a famous dive spot)
Mashraba (an extension of the centre of town with loads of restaurants and shops)
El Laguna (where most of the higher end hotels are located. 5 min taxi into town)
If you’re a light sleeper, avoid staying near the mosques as you’ll be woken up early everyday by the call to prayer.
After checking in to your hotel or Airbnb, venture out and visit some of the dive shops to see which is your favourite. As mentioned previously, the best way to get around Dahab is by bike. Find a shop and rent one for the week. It should cost you about $15 for the whole week.
Day 2
Start the day with breakfast at Café Coral.
Dive during the day. At the start of the week would be the best time to check with your dive shop to see if they’re doing a boat or a camel excursion dive during the week and make sure to book on. It’s a nice change of scenery from all the normal shore diving you’ll be doing. I know there has been a lot in the news recently around shark attacks in Egypt, but sharks are very uncommon in Dahab and I never saw a single shark while diving for the week. So if you’re scared of sharks, don’t worry, they’re rarely ever spotted in Dahab.
Make sure to try plenty of fruit smoothies and Turkish coffees in between dives like the locals. I always ordered the chicken sandwich for lunch no matter where we went after our dives because it was always so delicious!
Day 3
Another day of diving of course. If you only do a few dives, make sure you include The Dahab Canyon Dive Site and The Blue Hole which were my favourite Dahab dive sites.
Try Shark restaurant for a delicious fresh seafood dinner.
Day 4
Take a rest day from diving to enjoy one of the beaches in Dahab. Grab a pastry from Ralph’s German Bakery which is a local institution and take it to the beach with you. Make sure to find a place with shade because the temps can get quite hot! There are tons of places right on the beach to choose from and many have great snorkeling if you’re missing being under the water. When it’s time for lunch, head to The View Restaurant.
In the early evening, recharge with a coffee at Everyday Café (the original one) and homemade Om Ali with ice cream on top before you explore the town of Dahab and do some souvenir shopping in Mashraba.
Day 5
Hopefully you’ve been booked onto the boat or camel excursion dive and get to see either Gabr el Bint or Ras Abu Galum dive site in Dahab.
Have dinner at a local Egyptian spot called مطعم أم محمود ( Google translates it to Om Mahmoud Restaurant).
Day 6
Call Zanooba Slow Cooking to make a booking for dinner the next day. They require reservations a day ahead as the food takes all day to slow cook in clay pots. Enjoy your last day of scuba diving in Dahab.
If you fancy something local for dinner, try King Falafel Restaurant. If you fancy a change of cuisine, I’d suggest trying the Italian spot Dai Pescatori. It’s a bit pricey for what it is, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
Day 7
On your last day I would recommend a relaxing beach day and of course having one last amazing dinner at Zanooba.
For departure day, make sure to book your transport from Dahab to Sharm El-Sheikh airport ahead of time. A cab should cost around $35 each way.
Final Thoughts on the Diving in Dahab Itinerary
As you can see there’s LOADS to see and do in Dahab especially with all of the incredible diving. This itinerary makes sure to give you some downtown in between diving days to either relax or book an excursion on land. In summary, while 4 days is definitely enough time to explore Dahab and get a few dives in, I’d highly recommend visiting for a week if you can swing it. I really hope you found this guide useful and enjoy Dahab as much as I did!
