Napoleon Reef - Dahab
Napoleon Reef, just a short boat ride from Dahab’s shore, offers a pleasant, relaxed dive. We typically find the currents mild here, which makes for easy navigation along the reef slope. Keep an eye out for the vibrant staghorn corals; they’re a dominant feature and home to plenty of smaller reef fish. You might spot a Crown of Thorns starfish too, slowly making its way across the coral. We'd suggest this site for newer divers or anyone looking for a chilled-out afternoon plunge.
- Location
- Dahab, Egypt, Red Sea & Middle East
- Coordinates
- 28.471104, 34.509964
- Type
- reef
- Maximum Depth
- 10-25m
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 Napoleon Reef
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 Napoleon Reef
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