Anything else
Shisha
Try egypts favorite pastime, smoking a shisha water pipe with flavored tobacco whilst watching the world go by.
Climbing
Is also an option in the sinai, although the brutal climate takes its toll and this isn't particularly suitable for beginners. deep in the desert, mt. sinai st. catherine has incredible tradclimbing and world-class bouldering absolutely no bolting in st catherine please. the main area near to dahab, including sportsclimbing bolted routes, is wadi gnai:
Vast amounts of perfect bouldering on granite boulders in shaded, sand-floored valleys
Single and multi-pitch equipped sport routes for all levels of climbers in Waterfalls and Fake Connection
Almost endless possibilities for trad climbing lines on bomber granite
Plus new routing possibilities for sport climbs in many easily accessible areas.
Desert Safaris
Are organized by loads of small safari shops all along dahab's masbat bay. in addition to day tours see get out, you can arrange to get deep into the desert with the bedouin, who'll take you for up to 2 weeks! recommend 'king travel' tours on the beach front, they have a one day camel safari which includes a trip to white canyon - expensive, but a great day out.
Yoga
Whether ashtanga, hatha or kundalini, yoga is increasingly popular in dahab. yoga on nearby mount sinai is a regular draw, as are full-moon retreats into the nearby wadis desert, taking advantage of the silence and space of the sinai desert. more and more people are coming to dahab on holiday and yoga for christmas has become a top travel destination.
Wind surfing
Dahab has about 270 days a year of wind, so wind surfing here is becoming as popular as diving. there are a few wind surfing schools around laguna area offering all levels of courses. there are one or two options at the beach, and although the conditions are not so favourable, it is cheaper than at the laguna. in mashraba, prices are approximately €10 per hour rental, add an additional €10 for lesson inclusion.
Kite surfing
Also becoming popular in dahab but can only be done around the lagoona area. beside this lagoon you can kite on several local kitespots.
Kayaking
A great way to explore the reef. sea kayaks are avalible for hire from sheikh salem house (http://www.sheikhsalemhou...) from 50 egp per hour, or try a guided night kayak - great for hot summer nights.
Quad-bikes trips
Into the desert.
Enjoying sun, sea and juices in the restaurants with plank beds, which you can use free of charge.
Diving
Bedouin Divers
(http://www.bedouin-lodge-...). familiar dive center directly at the coast of the red sea in the mashraba area of dahab. bedouin divers is in the bedouin lodge hotel, which acts individual and can arrange for you everything: daily diving, padi courses, camel dive safaris and boat dives
Big Blue Dahab
+20 069 3640 045, (http://www.bigbluedahab.com) is a fully equipped 5 star gold palm padi resort only meters from the reef, a relaxed and welcoming environment ideal for both snorkeling and diving. emphasis on safety and fun with an environmental awareness. small dive groups with highly qualified instructors and divemasters to enjoy a full range of padi courses and guided dives at affordable prices.
Desert Divers
(http://www.desert-divers.com). the owner, said, became dahab's first bedouin to learn to dive some 15 years ago. the place is right on the beach in the main bay masbat bay, between the bridge & lighthouse reef. excellent for diving padi 5 star gold palm resortalso camel diving safaris, from 1-5 days with the sinai's most experienced guides. diving is fine but equipment rather run down
Nesima Diving Center
Tel. 069 3640320, (http://www.nesima-resort.com). french-run diving center generally judged to be the best in town. they charge a premium pricewise though, as two dives will cost you €47 plus €20/day for gear rental. package discounts available. a 5-day padi open water course here is €302.
Poseidon Divers
(http://www.poseidondivers.com). get into technical diving or simply do fun dive or courses in a safe and professional way. it is the only padi career development centre (http://www.padi.com/engli...) in town as well as a psa and tdi instructor facility the only one in egypt, you will get no shortage of divers if you do your padi divemaster or instructor course here which is a definite plus for the quality of your course.
Sea Dancer Dive Center
(http://www.seadancerdivec...). small professionally run outfit located on the sea front. offers the full range of courses as well as guided dives. staff are knowledgeable, experienced, enthusiastic and friendly, the equipment is a good standard and well maintained.
Marine Garden Divers
(http://www.marinegarden.nl). friendly and clean divecenter and bedouin camp under dutch management. just 75 meters north from the light house reef and masbath bay. all rooms with fans and some with own shower and toilet, few have seaview. prices from 3 to €10 a night for the room. offers all diving activities and organize desert- and shoresafari's off-the-beaten-track. offers airport transfers.
Blue Realm
Tel. +20 69 364 1413; mobile +20 12 744 4873; e-mail [email protected]; (http://www.bluerealmdiving.com). great native-run diving center english, dutch, german, french and arabic available: the owner's wife is actually dutch. they charge for two dives €45 plus extra for gear rental. package discounts are available. a 5-day padi open water course here is €260, incl. equipment
Reef 2000 Diving Center
(http://www.dahab-info.com...), by bedouin moon hotel, is a padi 5* gold palm resort and an iantd technical facility. it offers a wide range of courses, from beginner- to technical diving courses.
Dive Pro Dahab
(http://www.diveprodahab.com) is a company established by divers for divers to help them get the best out of their dive vacation. located all over the red sea enables it to supply divers with services wherever they go.
Dive The Gap
(http://www.divethegap.com) is a gap year and career development scuba diving company that operates out of a padi 5-star instructor development resort and national geographic centre in dahab. dive the gap is a uk company that mainly operates in dahab, and has a range of scuba diving programmes to suit everyones tastes and budgets. almost every padi course is available from open water to instructor and padi master scuba diver trainer with a full range of padi specialities, diving safaris and recreational diving. also packages are offered and a team located on site. call 020 8133 4481 +44 20 8133 4481 and you will be put through to the team in egypt at no extra charge!
Divers Down Under (DDU)
(http://http://www.7heaven...), located in the heart of dahab, ddu claims to be the biggest, the busiest, the cheapest, and one of the most professional-oriented dive centers in town. attached to a 70-rooms hotel and hostel lodge, it offers a wide range of entry-level padi courses in different languages, divemaster internships, speciality courses, as well as technical diving experiences intd and padi-dsat.
Mirage Divers - Diving center
(http://www.miragedivers.com). owned and run by a very professional bedouins and they always do their best to offer a real social diving holidays which combine both safety and fun whilst experiencing a whole different culture in a truly unique atmosphere. their groups are always small and there is a very high personal attention to all the divers, [email protected] , tel&fax +20693641476
Dahab Divers
(http://www.dahabdivers.com). padi 5 star golden palm resort and diving school in the heart of the bay lighthouse in masbat, +20 69 3640381, +20 10 1113481 mobile, email [email protected]. friendly staff, nice atmosphere, good equipment, good prices.
Diving is extremely popular in Dahab and the reefs here are still in relatively good shape. Known dive sites include Abu Helal, Blue Hole, The Bells, Canyon, Coral Garden, Eel Garden, Lighthouse, Moray Garden, Islands, Three Pools, Gabr El Bint, Ras Abu Gallum.
WARNING: Dahab's most infamous dive site is the Blue Hole, 107 meters deep with an arch opening onto the reef face at 58 meters. This site is considered to be the most dangerous scuba diving site on earth, regularly killing inexperienced and experienced divers foolish enough to risk it. A high number of instructors and divemasters have met their fate in the Blue Hole, as well, including many who had successfully passed the arch dozens of times. Should you be interested in attempting this dive you MUST go through technical dive training and visit the Blue Hole on the correct gases. Diving this site on air alone is near suicidal, so even if a very experienced person offers to take you through, do not at any price do this unless you have technical training and are using it.
You can dive the Blue Hole normally - it is one of the top ten diving spots in the world. Bells / Blue Hole is extremely popular and beautiful. But be aware that it's crowded because lots of buses from Sharm come here. A normal dive in the Bells, some kind of chimney which goes down to 30 metres perpendicular very exciting experience!, needs you to possess an advanced open water certificate. Otherwise you are not allowed to go to 30 metres! Free-diving is the new kid on the block in Dahab thanks to the very convenient Blue Hole site and an ever increasing range of world top freedivers coming for training such as Lotta Ericson, Natalia Molchanova, Sebastien Murat, Sam Still, Andreas Guldner...
Red Sea Relax PADI 5 Star National Geographic Instructor Development Resort
+20 069 3641 308, (http://www.red-sea-relax.com). new british run diving operation enjoying a prime beach side location in central dahab, meters from the teeming reefs but also convenient for dahab's center and modern amenities. as a padi 5 star instructor development diving resort, on site accommodation is available with a choice of either discounted en-suite rooms, or a bed in the dormitory complex- offered totally free for divers! professional instructors offer a host of diving activities. padi diving courses range from beginner through to professional open water instructor, or for those already qualified daily diving takes place to any of the 20 spectacular local reefs. for those more adventurous boat excursions and camel dive safaris are easily arranged.
World of freediving - International AIDA freediving School
(http://www.worldoffreediv...), world of freediving is a freediving school located in dahab,south sinai, egypt. they offer a wide range of freediving courses and training options for every level of ability. all the courses are aida courses and the staff are all experienced aida trained instructors.
Sea Pioneer Dive Club
(http://seapioneer.org). our dive centre is directly opposite the central lighthouse diving area in dahab. we are less than a minute's walk to the beach for confined and open water dives. in addition to intro dives, the padi courses we conduct include open water, advanced, rescue, dive master and many specialities. we can also arrange accommodation and airport transfers on request.
BLUE IMMERSION FREEDIVING SCHOOL
(http://www.blue-immersion...) immersion is a school of freediving apnea located in dahab, egypt. join the adventure and the exploration of the depths of the water world through freediving. blue immersion adapts each course to each student's limits and demands by listening and monitoring each student in order to provide the best satisfaction, maximum freedom and performance.
Freedive Dahab
(http://www.freedivedahab.com). founded by lotta ericson, swedish champion and former world record. in 2006 linda paganelli, italian champion and national record holder, joined and together they built up dahabs only freediving shop. you can order monofins or elios suits and buy a wide range of freediving articles like masks, noseclips, weightbelts and neoprene glue. linda, lotta and her team can provide aida freediving courses from beginner to instructor courses. they offer equipment for rent and organize your personal training experience. freedive dahab also organizes national and world record attempts and competitions like the triple depth (http://www.tripledepth.com/) competition.
BlueSkunk Freedivers
(http://www.blueskunk.net). offers a very complete and progressive range of course: beginner, intermediate, advanced, deep, ... it is not the goal of the course to push towards a new personal best as they emphasize technique development and depth adaptation before increasing depth! safety first