Diving along the Red Sea is an unforgetable experience.   With the dramatic backdrop of the desert all around you; and the Saudi coastline only a few miles away across the water, a diver can both have an amazing diving experience as well as a great relaxing break.  

The places that are reknowned for their beauty is "The Blue Hole" a 102 meter hole filled with a large assortment of fish and known for its dramatic archway exiting into the open ocean.    Inexperienced divers or those who haven't taken a guide can find themselves in danger if not careful *** People have died here ***   The Blue Hole is the most famous of Dahab dive sites, considered by  Europeans as a top notch world class dive site.   It is literally a hole in the reef that is a round 5 meters wide with a  max depth of 102 meters. The most important feature of the Blue Hole is the stunning  Archway, which is located at 54 meters and exits into the bottomless open ocean.   The Archway is a very advanced dive and is only dived by professionals and master scuba divers with more than three hundred dives. Dives conducted within the Blue Hole are wall dives to 30 meters max with a traverse across the center giving a free floating blue water experience where no walls or bottom can be seen.

The "Eel Garden" is a large sandy bank with hundreds of eels sticking their heads up out of their protective burrrows to feed on microscopic food particles.   The divers sit on the knees and just watch the fascinating spectacle.
Equally famous is the Canyon, a deep wide ravine cut into the ocean floor. Starting at the fish bowl (an enclosed circular cavern with three entrance/exit points full of small goldfish or glass fish) at 12 meters then sloping downwards to two more exits/entrances one at 20 meters the other at 52 meters.   Most dives are conducted from the 30 meters entrance then upward to the fish bowl or in the opposite direction.  Only professionals or master scuba divers  exit at the deeper depth and neither cavern nor overhead environment certification is required.
 

    The Bells

In Dahab, a year-round `town' has sprung up over the last 10 years or so.   Next to the true town of Dahab, is the `bedouin' tourist village.   It is no more than one sandy road with hostels and restaurants on either side.    Arab gigalos/cum waiters hussle any tourist forced to pass them to carry on up or down the road.    Don't look for culture here; here only money; sex; and the pursuit of happiness talks.   The hostels range from ultra basic (at present around 5 Egyptian pounds for a matress in a tiny room) to full air-con (essential in the August heatwave) and inside shower and loo (which could be as high as 100 E.pds).   There are many restaurants which stretch all the way along the seashore set in the Arab style of sitting on the floor covered with cushions.    But if you're looking for great diving; then many dive clubs can be found here.   You can also ride quite well-feed and looked-after horses; and camels.   Don't believe the boys about riding to the Oasis, its 50 kms away and only reached by jeep not the horses.   Relaxing, eating and socializing in Dahab is the only thing to do outside all the water sports like snorkeling; diving; swimming and a speedbike rented out for an hour.    An all pervasive hippy lifestyle can be found here including drugs, sex, and rock`n'rol.

But if you're slightly older than 20; looking for a little more class and less of a hippy encampment; then you must go down to Sharm el Sheik (or Sharm for short).    If you prefer a $150 + room in a fine hotel; food that is more cuisine rather than cheap and staple.   And which has constant electricity (which Dahab doesn't at the moment - because the town is growing faster than it can supply basic utilities).    There are again tons of water sports; but the diving clubs are probably posher than either Dahab or Nuweiba.

There are many diving sites all the way down the Sinai coastline.   So you shouldn't have any problems finding great places to dive.

How do I get to Dahab; Sharm el Sheik; Newaba; Hurgardia; and Mt. Sinai?

There are three routes into the Sinai.   From Israel, you go to Eilat and down to the Taba border.   The other route that many people take is the coach from Cairo.   An eight-hour ride, taken in the day can be a beautiful memory of stark desert rock formations stretching out into the distance.   Be warned - during the summer days, the temperatures can rise to over 45 Celsius.   Locals keep water by them ALL the time.