Dahab

Dahab is on the east coast of Sinai, about 80 km north of Sharm El Sheikh, and it has kept a character the bigger resorts lost decades ago. It grew out of a Bedouin fishing village into a backpacker and diving town, and the seafront is still low buildings, cushions on the floor and restaurants where you eat looking at Saudi Arabia across the gulf.

The diving is world-famous and largely shore-based — you walk in. The Blue Hole, a submerged sinkhole around 130 meters deep, is the best known site and also the most misunderstood: the rim and the neighbouring Bells site make superb recreational dives, while the Arch at 55 meters is a technical dive that has killed a significant number of people who attempted it without the training. We dive the first and not the second.

Behind the town, the mountain desert offers quad riding, canyon walks and Bedouin camps, and Petra in Jordan is reachable as a long day trip by boat from Taba.

What we run from Dahab

Blue Hole diving for certified divers, quad biking in the desert, and the full-day Petra crossing to Jordan.

Practical notes

• Dahab is on the Sinai Peninsula. From Hurghada it is a long journey by road or a flight to Sharm followed by a transfer.
• The pace here is slow and the dress code relaxed but still modest — it is a Bedouin town, not a resort strip.
• For Petra you need your passport, and entry requirements depend on your nationality. Check before booking.