The Red Sea is on every scuba diver’s bucket list, ranking way up there in Travel + Leisure’s list of World’s Greatest Diving Spots alongside the Great Barrier Reef and the cenotes in Mexico. Even though I was close to as exhausted as I’ve ever been in my life following 10 hectic days absorbing every ounce of every temple, pyramid and Biblical mountain I could find in Egypt, it didn’t matter.
I just had to go scuba diving in Dahab!
The Red Sea was the perfect spot to try out the underwater housing for my Canon G12. I retired my Olympus Stylus Tough because it just didn’t take very clear underwater photos, and I bought the housing for about $200. Best money I’ve spent on an electronic upgrade in a while — check out the photos!
My first dive was a bit of a disaster, as my rental mask fogged up almost immediately and I couldn’t get it to clear while I was under. I was about 75% blind during my trip to Dahab’s famous Canyon dive site.
The Canyon is a crack in a coral garden with a depth of 30 meters – my deepest dive to date. Not a great place to be blind. I snapped pictures randomly hoping I could later see what I hadn’t been able to make out through the fog.
I can’t say I enjoyed the first dive, and I nearly talked myself out of the second one, but I sucked it up and went for it — with a new mask. Glad I did.
I would’ve missed out on so much had I given up.
Clam at about 12 meters
How cool is this little fishy?
Getting to and from Dahab for a dive vacation isn’t necessarily the easiest proposition in the world, but it’s certainly possible. We took an 18-hour bus ride from Luxor which I wouldn’t recommend, but you can bus from much closer destinations like Sharm El Sheikh or Cairo. If you want to spend even more time in the Middle East (and you should, you came all this way!) you can find direct flights to Dubai and Amman from both airports.
Thank you, Canon G12!
The Red Sea was perfectly warm — a crucial element for my dive enjoyment. (Diving in Santorini, Greece helped me to realize that real quick!) The visibility was pretty good – not as crisp as The Bahamas, but to date no other place has compared on a visibility level.
It was really rewarding to see so much colorful, vibrant sea life while diving in Dahab, and so many species I’m not used to seeing in the Caribbean! My only complaint is that there were no sharks or other big critters – but I hear I was just in the wrong place for those sort of sightings.
My favorite fish of the day
Ultimately I only did the two dives in Dahab. I was a bit too wiped out for more extensive adventures after the Mt. Sinai hike and the coral reef/lemon juice snorkeling incident a few days before. My leg burned with every underwater kick, so after two rounds under the Red Sea, I called it a day.
I came, I saw… and I’ll be back.
Wonderful shots!
Thank you! They were fun to take!
My word Angie, I bet you’re glad you started this blog, you’re one busy woman, and I enjoy reading your “on-line diary”, how else would you keep track of everything you have done, I honestly don’t know where you find the energy. Seems to me in the short time I’ve been reading your blog you’ve already lived 10 lifetimes, most people can only dream of the experiences you have had.
Tip: smear a little liquid soap inside your half mask to stop it from fogging up, or even a little spit, I know it’s yucky but it works.
The spit thing is gross, but totally works in a pinch!
My other fav defog is a little travel size toothpaste, rub some on the lenses and it’s clear views!
I tried spit & soap and neither worked this time… I think something was just wrong with the mask! The next one I used was perfectly fine. So weird, right?
The energy isn’t always so easy to come by, but remember, I only write about the highlights… and leave out the parts about sleeping and resting, haha. Thank you so much for reading =)
Gorgeous photos! I’ve never gone diving, but I have snorkeled plenty! Even on the Great Barrier reef back in 2008, I bought disposable cameras with water housing and I thought I was so cool… then someone swam by me with an underwater digital camera…. this was when they were just new and still expensive, so angry hahaha
I would love to go diving in Iceland sometime, you would be amazed at how clear the water is there, its the clearest in the world!
I might make an exception on my cold diving rule to try out Iceland – how amazing would that be? It’s time to get certified, Ms. Cailin!
i always imagined scuba diving as both exciting and frightening. You got some really nice photos, and it must have been amazing being so close to all of the exotic fish. I hope someday i’ll be able to go on some of these crazy adventures too.
Diving is surprisingly relaxing! I thought it would be much scarier than it is, but even when I’ve been in the water with sharks, it’s been pretty peaceful.
Okay I have been drooling over your camera for sometime. When I get back from the Bahamas I am selling my reefmaster and buying it. Heck if I look at those pictures a few more times I may order it this weekend. Don’t worry I will definately go through your lnk…………..Jo
Buy it! You won’t be sorry!
Beautiful photos, Angie! I can definitely understand why it’s such a popular spot for diving.
I’ve never been scuba diving myself, but I do love snorkeling!
There’s fantastic snorkeling here, too, right off the coast!
Okay. So many comments.
1. This is on my bucket list! One of many dive destinations around the world I can’t wait to get to.
2. I’ve been thinking of upgrading to the G12. $200 is great for the underwater housing! Was that on amazon?
3. You seem like you dive enough that it’s time to invest in your own mask. It doesn’t take up too much space and it makes SUCH a difference in the quality of your dives. Add in a simple snorkel and you never need to rent snorkel gear on the beach again!
Yes – I seem to buy everything on Amazon! And the housing was too cheap to resist. Honestly, it cost less than my Olympus which I quickly found out can’t dive deep enough to even be worthwhile.
I HAD my own mask, a really nice one, but after about 5 dives it imploded while I was descending. The glass just popped out and I had to pop back up to the surface to borrow one from the boat. A little unnerving! May be time to get a new one though, you’re right!
That’s crazy about your mask! I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that happening before… bizarre! Better luck with the next one
Well done – you got a few gooders! We have the G10, love it. Great camera. We use an Olympus Underwater camera for snorkeling but it can’t get deep enough for diving.
*Sigh* you’re making me miss Egypt!
I don’t know if the G10 and the G12 can use the same housing, but if so, GET IT! That Olympus is useless when it comes to diving… I left mine at home this last trip. It is good for white water rafting and shore activities, but other than that it just took up space in my bag.
I miss Egypt, too, now that I’m writing about my adventures. Might be time for another trip in the next year…
Great shots, Angie! I’ve been dying to get to Egypt for a few years now, and diving the Red Sea looks like a must for a water lover like me. Out of curiosity, what sort of underwater camera did you use? The lighting looks good for 30 foot depths…
I use a Canon G12 with the underwater housing. Best money I spent on electronics all year. I’ve used it up to 90 feet with lovely results.
Super jealous of this adventure!
Impressive underwater photography!
Amazing pics!! I’m finishing my certification this weekend in Key Largo for Scuba. Are those pictures edited at all? Did you use any filters?
I cropped almost all of them – we were drifting pretty fast so I was just snapping away as we went along. I didn’t add any filters, but I adjusted the colors to take out excess blue or green where it made sense. I just use iPhoto – nothing too fancy.
Thank you for reading and congrats on getting certified! WOO!
Hey Angie, did you use an external flash when shooting? It’s the pics that brought me to this article, so nice!
I didn’t – just used the underwater preset that comes on the Canon G12. Easy as pie!
I’m so jealous you are able to dive. I have this fear of going into small spaces under the ocean floor, so I’ll probably never be able to get to do it – ever. Which is such a shame because I miss out on all the beauty under water, just like in your photos. The Red Sea dive sounds like a wonderful experience for you.
That’s ok – I’ll keep the pictures coming, then you can live vicariously through them =)
Great photos! I #1 really, really want to visit Egypt and #2 wanted to be a marine biologist because I absolutely love marine life. Diving in Dahab would be a dream come true. Snorkeling at Aqaba gave me a small taste. The Red Sea is just stunning!