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Dahab is a small Bedouin-village on
the peninsula of Sinai in the gulf of
Aqaba approx. 90 km north of
Sharm-el-Sheikh.
It means “gold” in Arabic.

The Mezeinah tribe was established here many years ago. A mixture of traditional Bedouins and its young visitors, give Dahab a completely different atmosphere to your usual tourist destinations. 
 
Dahab has evolved from a hippy village to a dive spot with a well functioning infrastructure. The village originally consisted of four parts but these have almost fused together today. The northernmost part, Assalah, is the former Bedouin village. 
 
Masbat is the tourist centre, where the Lighthouse dive site is located and where you’ll find restaurants, bazaars, cafés and bars on the seafront. Our hotel is located 500m south of Masbat. It is not far from the hustle and bustle of the centre, but still far enough to enjoy the peace and quiet of the Red Sea. In the south is Dahab’s town centre. This is where you’ll find the city administration, the post office, petrol stations and banks.
 

Diving - Diving was introduced to the area in the late sixties. Dahab thus developed from a destination for peace-seeking hippies to a well established diving destination. He who finds Hurghada and Sharm too hectic, Nuweiba too spartan, will enjoy the small village of Dahab. All dives are shore dives and we use our own jeeps to access the sites. The lack of anchor and landing sites has so far preserved Dahab from the mass diving tourism prevalent in the south. The kilometre-long reef along the coast of Dahab provides our guests with about 30 diving-sites for divers of all levels of experience. 
 
Snorkeling - Dahab is blessed with a wealth of sites suitable for snorkelling. Don’t forget that even at the famous diving sites of the “Blue-Hole” and the “Canyon” you can have lots of fun snorkelling. 

Meals & Drinks - we offer a large variety of national and international meals in our restaurant. A rich buffet or a three-course meal (included in our half-board rates) replenishes your energy after your days diving. We also offer meals a la Carte.
 
Prices - Dahab is a low budget destination, compared to Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh. The relatively high prices of flights can be recovered easily by the reasonably priced outlays in Dahab itself. Lunches can be purchased for just a few euros, a full menu costs about five euros. For your information, all dive centres in Sinai charge a fee of 1 US dollar per diving day to contribute to the maintenance of Sharm el Sheikh’s deco-chamber.
 

Climate - Dahab enjoys an extremely dry desert climate with summer temperatures rising to 40°C. Due to the mountains, which are close to the coast, however, the temperature occasionally drops to 15°C during the "cold winter months" of January and February. It is just as likely to get up to 27°C. 

Clothes - Bring a jacket and warm jumpers for the colder winter evenings. In the summer months bring light cotton clothes.

Best travel time - Dahab is a worthy destination all year round. High season is in the winter around Christmas and in the summer. The months of April to June and October and November are the best times for Europeans to visit because the sea is still pleasantly warm (23°C to 27°C). But we also recommend the in-between months, especially for those divers who prefer quite dive sites and lower prices. 

Diving equipment - In the winter and for those who dive a lot we recommend 5-7mm neoprene all year round. In the summer and for those who dive less at least 3, preferably 5mm. A good spare parts kit (O-rings, high and low pressure hoses as well as sealing material) can be very helpful for minor repairs. In addition, our diving centre is well equipped with spare parts. 

Next deco-chamber:

Sharm El Sheikh,
Hyperbaric Medical center,
telephone +20 (0)69 661992

Medical care - basic medical care is available in Dahab, for larger treatments a transfer to Sharm is recommendable. In front of our hotel there is a physician and a pharmacy.  

Money - There ae several banks in Dahab, and the national bank maintains branches in Dahab town centre and at the bus station. In Assala there are 2 cash machines. The machines usually work without any problems with all common cards. We recommend, however, having at least a Visa or MasterCard with you. It is no longer necessary to bring Egyptian Pounds: Euros can be changed at every bank without problem.