By Justin Carmack
For the last eight months I’ve done nothing but dive in beautiful Dahab, Egypt. I’m a full-time travel blogger, and until I arrived in Dahab, had been on the move constantly for the last four years. Dahab turned out to be one of those places that sucks you in and never lets you leave. How does it do this? It’s not the stunning desert landscape and scenery nor the laid-back and relaxed atmosphere that’s kept me here so long (even though that helps). It’s the area’s amazing diving.
The best dive sites are The Canyon and Lighthouse (my two favorites), Eel Garden, Rick’s Reef, The Islands, Three Pools, The Caves and, of course, the famous Blue Hole. Each one is unique, but they all offer an abundance of amazing flora and fauna. If you don’t have one, you’ll regret not having an underwater camera on these dives.
One of my favorite dives is The Canyon. It begins with an easy 9-minute swim towards the canyon itself, where you’re sure to see plenty of things to snap photos of, such as morays, octopus, clownfish, an occasional turtle and lionfish by the dozens.
Once at the top of the canyon at about 66 feet (20 meters) depth, you descend into the narrow opening and into the dark depths. There is a sandy bottom at 98 feet (30 meters) for advanced divers, but if you follow the whole canyon (which closes at the top and becomes more of a tunnel), it opens up into the blue at about 164 feet (50 meters).
Although I love The Canyon, Lighthouse gets just about the same amount of my attention. It’s a easy dive, not much deeper than 66 feet (20 meters), but as you follow the reef shelf, you’ll see an amazing variety of marine life. On each dive I’m surprised by something new and exciting.
The site is in a protected cove so the waves are minimal. Recently a large whale shark made an appearance as well. One of the dive centers in Dahab is also currently sponsoring and installing an underwater museum at Lighthouse, which will include some giant statues and a huge, metal elephant made from local scrap metal and car parts. It will definitely be something new and interesting to see while on an endless search for seahorses in the Red Sea of Dahab.
About the author:
Justin Carmack is a travel blogger, divemaster and over-all lover of freedom and adventure on the road. He writes about his adventures on the road at http://truenomads.com/about-me/ and in his Facebook group called Travel Photography Community, where he shares photos to inspire wanderlust in others. In 2010 he sold all his things and left home, trading his possessions for dreams of traveling the world, getting lost, and living life free and to the fullest.
