The Islands

Overview

The Islands is the dive that guides quietly save for themselves — a shallow maze of coral "islands" and connecting alleyways just south of Dahab town, where three big pinnacle complexes have grown together into a labyrinth of valleys, lagoons and swim-throughs. It is an easy, joyful shore dive, suitable for every certification level and a genuine treat for photographers, with coral in superb condition thanks to how little current and traffic the sheltered formation sees. A few minutes from town and dive-able most days, it is one of Dahab's most reliable feel-good dives.

The Dive

Entry is over the reef-top lagoon: you either drop in over the top of the reef or thread through one of the channels in the reef and swim out, which makes high tide the comfortable choice. Once through, the site is a network of coral mazes rising from around 15m to within 5m of the surface, opening into sandy-floored lagoons and a gentle hard-coral slope dotted with small pinnacles. The whole dive sits in easy recreational depths, so the plan is simply to wander — follow the valleys, drift through the swim-throughs, and let the topography lead. Divers with good air consumption can push out to a deeper third island, but most of the magic is in the shallow maze.

Current is typically light and the site is well sheltered, which is exactly why the coral is so healthy and why this is such a relaxed, all-levels dive. Good buoyancy keeps you and the fragile coral happy in the tighter passages.

Marine Life

The mazes teem with reef life: glassfish pack the overhangs, anemonefish, angelfish and lionfish work the pinnacles, and the structure shelters a steady cast of triggerfish, snapper and trevally. One lagoon is famous for its swirling cloud of juvenile barracuda, while the sandy patches and reef edges turn up stingrays, the occasional eagle ray, crocodilefish, Napoleon wrasse and grazing green turtles. The shallow, sun-lit coral makes it a riot of colour and a superb spot for wide-angle and macro alike.

Good to Know

Dahab dives year-round, with water from about 21°C in winter to 28°C in summer and visibility commonly 15–25m. The Islands is best at high tide, when crossing the reef-top lagoon on entry and exit is easiest, and its calm, shallow nature makes it ideal for training, snorkelling and unhurried photography dives. It sits a short drive south of Dahab and pairs naturally with other Mashraba-area sites.