The Gardens - Aqaba Marine Park
The Gardens in Aqaba offers a pleasant reef dive, easily accessible for most skill levels. You’ll find a gently sloping coral garden with plenty of reef fish darting between the formations. It’s a good spot for a relaxed second dive or for newer divers looking to build confidence. We’ve found it generally calm with decent visibility, making for an enjoyable outing.
- Location
- Aqaba Marine Park, Jordan, Red Sea & Middle East
- Coordinates
- 29.399618, 34.966125
- Type
- reef
Marine Protected Area: محمية العقبة البحرية
Best Time to Dive in Aqaba Marine Park
The warmest water temperatures in Aqaba Marine Park occur in August, averaging 27.2°C. The coolest conditions are in March at 20.5°C.
Monthly Water Temperatures
- January: 21.9°C
- February: 20.9°C
- March: 20.5°C
- April: 20.9°C
- May: 22.7°C
- June: 24.5°C
- July: 25.8°C
- August: 27.2°C
- September: 26.7°C
- October: 25.5°C
- November: 24.5°C
- December: 23.2°C
Nearby Dive Sites in Aqaba Marine Park
- Abdallah Reef - 5-20m (reef)
- Aquarium House Reef (reef)
- Black Rock
- Blue Coral (reef)
- Cazar reef (reef)
- CEDAR PRIDE - 27m (wreck)
- Cedar Pride Shipwreck (wreck)
- Eel Canyon
- First Bay - 5-15m (reef)
- First Bay North - 20m (reef)
- Gorgon 1
- Gorgone II III
- Gorgone One
- Japaneese garden - 5-20m (reef)
- Japanese Gardens Coral Reefs (reef)
Nearest Dive Centres to The Gardens
Marine Life in Aqaba Marine Park
Home to 64 recorded species including 31 reef fish, 16 hard corals, 4 whales & dolphins, 2 clams & mussels, 2 sea snails & nudibranchs, 2 seagrass & algae.
Notable Species
- Marbled Spinefoot (Siganus rivulatus) - Reef Fish
- Lesser valley coral (Platygyra lamellina) - Hard Corals
- Fluorescence grass coral (Galaxea fascicularis) - Hard Corals
- Red lionfish (Pterois miles) - Reef Fish
- Staghorn coral (Acropora eurystoma) - Hard Corals
- Small giant clam (Tridacna maxima) - Clams & Mussels
- Grey Dolphin (Grampus griseus) - Whales & Dolphins
- Rock Cod (Epinephelus fasciatus) - Reef Fish
- Snakefish (Trachinocephalus myops) - Reef Fish
- Starflower coral (Astreopora myriophthalma) - Hard Corals
- Klunzinger's wrasse (Thalassoma rueppellii) - Reef Fish
- Red Squirrelfish (Sargocentron diadema) - Reef Fish
- Staghorn coral (Acropora pharaonis) - Hard Corals
- Banded Cleaner Shrimp (Stenopus hispidus) - Crabs & Lobsters
- Spotted handfish (Brachionichthys hirsutus) - Reef Fish
- Staghorn coral (Acropora hyacinthus) - Hard Corals
- Blacktail Butterflyfish (Chaetodon austriacus) - Reef Fish
- Diagonal Butterflyfish (Chaetodon fasciatus) - Reef Fish
- Humpbacked conch (Gibberulus gibberulus) - Sea Snails & Nudibranchs
- scad (Priacanthus hamrur) - Reef Fish
Recommended Packing List for The Gardens
Based on average water temperature of 23.7°C, currents 4 cm/s.
- Wetsuit (3-5mm) - comfortable for 24°C water
- 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