South Sinai dive sites

Eel Garden is located on the coast approximately 1.5 kilometres north of Dahab centre, between the Lighthouse site to the south and the Golden Blocks site to the north. Access is via a clearly marked entry point with a sandy path leading to the water. Most Dahab dive centres include transport to the entry point, or it can be reached by a short walk or bicycle ride from the main promenade.

Garden eels are notoriously shy and will retract into their burrows when divers approach too quickly. The key is an extremely slow approach, ideally from a low position hugging the sand. Experienced photographers may spend 15 to 20 minutes inching forward to achieve close-up shots. Moving too fast will cause a wave of retraction across the colony. Using a longer focal length lens allows satisfying images without disturbing the animals.

Eel Garden can be combined with adjacent sites for longer dives. Swimming south along the reef leads to the Golden Blocks area and eventually toward the Lighthouse site. Some divers enter at Eel Garden and exit at Lighthouse for a one-way drift covering multiple reef sections. Alternatively, two separate shore dives at different sites is common in Dahab due to the easy access nature of all sites along the coast.

The standard Gordon Reef dive follows the southern and eastern reef wall in moderate current. The northern approach is a more advanced drift dive along the exposed outer wall where the full force of the Tiran Strait current hits the reef. This outer wall attracts larger pelagic species including sharks and big schools of jack and barracuda. The approach requires experienced current management skills and is typically only offered by operators to advanced divers when conditions allow safe execution.

Currents at the Gordon Reef Approach can be very strong, typically two to three knots with occasional surges higher. The current direction is primarily north to south through the strait, though it can reverse. Dive briefings cover current direction, entry and exit points, and emergency procedures. Divers should carry surface marker buoys and be comfortable with negative entries in current. The strength of the current is what attracts pelagic life, so the trade-off between effort and reward is fundamental to the experience.