Dahab

A backpacker diving town on the Red Sea and a freediving mecca at the Blue Hole, with camel rides to Ras Abu Galum and 4x4 trips through the Coloured Canyon.

Dahab lies on the western shore of the Gulf of Aqaba in Egypt’s South Sinai Governorate, about 90 km north of Sharm El Sheikh. Once a Bedouin fishing village, it is now the Red Sea’s best-known backpacker and diving town—laid-back and cheaper than Sharm. The town stretches along the coast: Assala in the north is close to dive sites such as the Garden Eels; Masbat and Mashraba in the center form a seafront promenade packed with restaurants and dive centers; and the Lagoon area in the south has resort hotels and windsurfing bases. The best season is Oct–May, with warm days and water around 22–26°C; Jun–Sep is scorching but offers excellent underwater visibility; winter nights are cool, and the north wind blows steadily year-round. Diving and freediving are the main draws: most shore dive sites, such as the Blue Hole, the Canyon and the Lighthouse Reef, are entered straight from the beach, with plenty of courses at every level. You can also ride a camel or hike into the Ras Abu Galum Protectorate, take a 4x4 to the Coloured Canyon, the White Canyon and desert oases, or join a night tour to climb Mount Sinai for sunrise (about 2.5 hours’ drive). Getting there: most visitors fly into Sharm El Sheikh Airport, then take a taxi or bus for about 1–1.5 hours; in town, walk or take taxis. Allow 4–7 days. Note: there are checkpoints along South Sinai roads, so carry your passport; Chinese passport holders can get a visa on arrival, subject to the latest rules; choose a reputable, certified dive center, and never attempt the dangerously deep Blue Hole arch; protect the coral and don’t touch marine life.

Top sights

• Blue Hole, Dahab – A deep blue sinkhole on the reef north of Dahab, over 100 meters deep, and a world-famous destination for freediving and snorkeling.
• Lighthouse Reef – A shore-dive reef at the northern end of Masbat Bay in Dahab. Easy to enter from the beach, it is the first choice for certification course…
• Masbat Promenade – The soul of Dahab: a seafront promenade lined with restaurants, cafés, dive centers and souvenir shops.
• The Canyon – A classic scuba dive site south of the Blue Hole, with a narrow rift in the reef slope where divers on the bottom can look up at shafts of…
• Eel Garden – A sandy-slope site on the shore of Asala district, where colonies of garden eels poke out of the sand and sway. Snorkelers can watch them.
• Ras Abu Galum Protectorate – A coastal protected area north of the Blue Hole, reachable only on foot, by camel or by boat, with Bedouin villages scattered between the m…
• Blue Lagoon, Dahab – A shallow lagoon north of Abu Galum, with white sandbars, turquoise water, and Bedouin camps where you can sleep under the stars.
• Dahab Lagoon (Laguna) – A calm lagoon sheltered by a sandspit south of town, with steady winds and shallow water, famous as a place to learn windsurfing and kitesu…
• The Islands – A maze-like dive site of coral mounds north of the lagoon, with well-preserved hard corals, widely regarded as one of Dahab's finest reefs.
• Three Pools – Three connected shallow reef pools on the coast south of town, calm in good weather and ideal for snorkelling and beginner shore dives.
• Wadi Gnai – A quiet Bedouin bay about 8 km south of Dahab, where a dry riverbed meets the sea, with coral reefs and simple camps.
• Coloured Canyon – A sandstone canyon near Nuweiba, with rock walls in layered bands of red, yellow and purple, where the narrowest sections must be passed si…
• White Canyon & Ain Khudra – A white sandstone canyon in the Sinai interior, where a walk down leads to a Bedouin oasis shaded by palm trees.

Where to eat

• Shark Restaurant – TripAdvisor's top-ranked seaside restaurant in Dahab, where you choose your fish to be cooked; seafood pasta and grille…
• King Chicken Restaurant – Dahab's longest-established budget Egyptian eatery, serving grilled chicken set meals with soup and rice, with a queue…
• Ralph's German Bakery (Lighthouse Branch) – Dahab's most acclaimed breakfast spot, where German bread and croissants often sell out early.

Itineraries

• South Sinai Red Sea & Mount Sinai – Go boat cruising in Sharm El Sheikh, visit the Blue Hole in Dahab, and hike Mount Sinai overnight for sunrise. Flying d…
• Sinai Crossing to Petra, Jordan – Explore Dahab and Mount Sinai, cross the Gulf of Aqaba from Nuweiba, and connect to Wadi Rum, Petra, and Amman.