Eel Garden - Dahab
Eel Garden is a Dahab classic, and for good reason. It’s an easy entry from shore, straight into a sandy slope dotted with those eponymous garden eels. We find them most active earlier in the morning, swaying in the gentle current, retracting into their burrows if you get too close. Further out, there's a healthy patch of staghorn and table corals, often home to small giant clams. It’s a comfortable dive, maxing out around 20 metres, and ideal for a relaxed afternoon with your camera, especially if you enjoy macro life and patiently observing the smaller residents.
- Location
- Dahab, Egypt, Red Sea & Middle East
- Coordinates
- 28.505348, 34.521233
- Type
- reef
Marine Protected Area: محمية نبق
Best Time to Dive in Dahab
The warmest water temperatures in Dahab occur in August, averaging 27.9°C. The coolest conditions are in March at 20.9°C.
Monthly Water Temperatures
- January: 22.0°C
- February: 21.1°C
- March: 20.9°C
- April: 21.8°C
- May: 24.0°C
- June: 25.6°C
- July: 26.5°C
- August: 27.9°C
- September: 27.3°C
- October: 26.1°C
- November: 25.4°C
- December: 23.8°C
Nearby Dive Sites in Dahab
- 3 Pools - 5-18m (shore)
- 7 Pinnacles - 15-30m (pinnacle)
- ABOUL FAWARES - 6m (wreck)
- Abu Helal - 10-25m (reef)
- Abu Talha - 30m
- ADRIANA - 20m (wreck)
- Aqua Sport
- BLUE FISH - 3m (wreck)
- Blue Hole - 100 (cenote)
- BOREALIS - 0m (wreck)
- Canyon (cave)
- Cedar Pride (wreck)
- Cedar Pride Shipwreck (wreck)
- Circle Divers Dahab House Reef (reef)
- Confined Water Training Area - 5-10m (lagoon)
Nearest Dive Centres to Eel Garden
Marine Life in Dahab
Home to 27 recorded species including 12 reef fish, 6 hard corals, 5 whales & dolphins, 1 clams & mussels, 1 sharks & rays, 1 sea snails & nudibranchs.
Notable Species
- Marbled Spinefoot (Siganus rivulatus) - Reef Fish
- Lesser valley coral (Platygyra lamellina) - Hard Corals
- Fluorescence grass coral (Galaxea fascicularis) - Hard Corals
- Grey Dolphin (Grampus griseus) - Whales & Dolphins
- Indian Ocean bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) - Whales & Dolphins
- Red lionfish (Pterois miles) - Reef Fish
- Bridled Dolphin (Stenella attenuata) - Whales & Dolphins
- Small giant clam (Tridacna maxima) - Clams & Mussels
- Staghorn coral (Acropora eurystoma) - Hard Corals
- Whale Shark (Rhincodon typus) - Sharks & Rays
- Rock Cod (Epinephelus fasciatus) - Reef Fish
- Blacktail Butterflyfish (Chaetodon austriacus) - Reef Fish
- Cowfish (Tursiops truncatus) - Whales & Dolphins
- Red Squirrelfish (Sargocentron diadema) - Reef Fish
- Snakefish (Trachinocephalus myops) - Reef Fish
- Long-beaked Dolphin (Stenella longirostris) - Whales & Dolphins
- Klunzinger's wrasse (Thalassoma rueppellii) - Reef Fish
- Starflower coral (Astreopora myriophthalma) - Hard Corals
- Humpbacked conch (Gibberulus gibberulus) - Sea Snails & Nudibranchs
- scad (Priacanthus hamrur) - Reef Fish
Recommended Packing List for Eel Garden
Based on average water temperature of 24.4°C, currents 5 cm/s.
- Shorty or Rashguard - warm 24°C water needs minimal exposure protection
- Mask - essential for every dive
- Fins
- BCD - buoyancy compensator
- Regulator - your most safety-critical piece of gear
- Dive Computer - tracks depth, time, and NDL
- Surface Marker Buoy (SMB) - essential for boat pickups
- Dive Torch - useful for crevices and colour at depth
- Underwater Camera - capture your diving memories