Snorkelling and Diving
in Aqaba


 Clown fish

When the peace treaty was signed between Jordan and Israel in 1994, one of the clauses concerned the preservation of the environment of the Red Sea and its ecology. One of the immediate results of the treaty was the establishment of the Red Sea Marine Peace Park (see their English website at 130.94.155.6/page2.html), which has resulted in some of the finest diving and snorkelling in the world. The great advantage here is the almost untouched condition of the coral, which is unmatched elsewhere in the Gulf of Aqaba. There might be more and more spectacular fish further south, but the Marine Park shelters the finest coral to be found, and it stands comparison with anywhere in the world.

Much of the Gulf of Aqaba is deep (more than 1,800 meters in depth), but the northern sector near Aqaba and Eilat has a relatively shallow shelf. Although sediment is a problem, these shallow waters encouraged the growth of coral.

The beaches of the north coasts are home to many ancient coral reef formations while patches of living coral reefs (as many as 140 stony coral species) fringe parts of the north's steep-sided edge. The Gulf has more than 300 individual sub-species of coral, a remarkably high number in comparison to other tropical reefs. The coral gardens lining the coastlines host more than 1,000 species of fish. Most of these coral and fish species are unique to the region.

Jordan came late to the "tourist diving industry", and approached it slowly with all regard for the preservation of marine life. This does mean that some rules are being enforced which are highly unpopular with local boatman, but the results are paying off as far as the coral reefs are concerned : anchors are seldom dropped directly over them nowadays and the deliberate breaking off of coral pieces for future sale to tourists is also much lessened - the penalties for being caught doing this are ferocious, I warn you, if you yourself should be tempted!

Professional fishermen's rights are guaranteed, however, they mostly go further out to deeper water and do not affect the Marine Park.

Snorkelling in Aqaba


Emperor angelfish

There is no snorkelling worth mentioning anywhere near to the town. The reefs were destroyed a long time ago, many of them deliberately in order to provide access to the port. There is some coral inside the town harbour where the glass bottomed boats will take you if you ask for a short ride, but it is dead and is nothing like as spectacular as that further away.

For any worthwhile snorkelling, you have to go towards the south where the reefs are close to the shore (see main dive sites of Aqaba), and where a couple of places (the Royal Diving Club and the Club Murjan, described on the page about Aqaba) offer ready access to these reefs via specially constructed jetties, so that you can drop into the water without wading out from the shore and disturbing the sand or the marine life. Please be careful always to avoid walking on the coral (with or without fins!). If you are only planning a day or so snorkelling you will probably wish to rent the equipment; there is no problem with this, but I do advise you to apply to a reputable centre, and not go automatically to the cheapest. You can also join in organised excursions which show you the principal reefs, the price (usually about 10JD) includes the hire of your gear. You are of course welcome to bring your own.

By far the best way of snorkelling is to go with one of the dive centres. Although not all of them visit around the different dive sites (RDC stays almost exclusively "at home"), those that do are usually willing to allow snorkellers to accompany the divers to the reefs, and make only a small charge for transport. If you want a change from their "home reef" (the Cazar Reef), Seastar would ask for around 2 or 3JD from people who are already using the Club Murjan. In fact, if there is enough room in the bus being used for divers, it is quite possible that you could go with them to the different reefs for free. The final choice of the reef to be used is made by the divemaster only.

You might like to note that a divemaster invariably remains on the beach in case of trouble, and in any case the driver is always there.

See also below the details given on Dive Aqaba. This diving centre uses boats a good deal, and non-divers are welcome to come along. There is a charge of 25JD per day on the boat for non divers which includes snorkelling kit as required, lunch and drinks all day. This is actually a pretty good deal.

This is far better than hiring a taxi to take you out towards the reefs, more rewarding and almost certainly cheaper in the end (see below for typical taxi fares). The taxi driver might or might know the best spots, and is most unlikely to be able to direct you to the best entrance to the site. You would probably end up by having to walk over the reef - this is a Bad Thing, as I have said above, and I don't think I need to explain why!

The glass bottomed boats frequently offer "snorkelling excursions", but as explained below in the diving section, there are no off shore reefs, a boat has to come right into the shore to access the reef system, and unfortunately the same applies to the boatmen as to the taxi drivers concerning knowledge of the reefs and entrance points. At the moment there is some question in any case of limiting the operation of these boats to the area to the north of the port of Aqaba. In too many cases the boatmen have damaged the coral by unthinking practices such as anchoring immediately above the reef (or above divers!), nets have been abandoned, coral is still being regularly broken off by some incorrigible parties, and the authorities are in the process of deciding that this must stop.

For both drivers and boatmen, the question should also be asked about the availability of help in case of any trouble (which heaven forbid, but it does happen) : very few of them carry any sort of first aid equipment and obviously have no training in using it. Don't let's even think about insurance!

Some typical taxi fares from the town towards diving/snorkelling and other useful destinations :

Diving in Aqaba


Masked butterfly fish

There are over thirty main diving sites in Aqaba, most of them suitable for all levels of competence. The most popular are fully described on the following page on the reefs and principal sites. It is not necessary to hire a boat to get there, all of these sites are accessible from the shore. The reefs stretch for a distance of over 25kms or right down to the Saudi border. Aqaba is all fringing reef, there are no off-shore reefs. The reef starts literally at the water's edge and extends like the fingers of your hands into canyons leading to pinnacles and drop offs. At most sites, when you are only 100m from the shore you are already descending to 50m or more, so any boat has to come right into the shore to access the reef system. When shore diving, the dive starts as soon as you enter the water and continues until the last few cms. Even safety stops (5m) are among the reefs and not hanging on a shot/anchor line in mid water.

The beaches are all easily accessible and the transport used can drive right up to the edge of the water - a big advantage. There is no problem for getting into your gear on the beach, and no clambering over rocks. One operator in Aqaba (Aquamarina) only uses boats for access to the dive sites. It might sound more attractive, but in fact this means that they only use the nearer reefs, since by water it takes too long to reach the more distant ones. By road, the furthest reef (the "Saudi Border" reef) is about 25 minutes from the town of Aqaba.

Underwater photographers will be pleased to hear that Nitrox is available in Aqaba.

If you bring your own diving suit, then in the winter months a 5-6mm suit is OK, in summer a 3mm shorty is fine, but it is always better to be warmer when in the water, especially if you are good on air or an avid underwater photographer so scarcely moving from one pinnacle.

Diving goes on all the year round, with different species to be seen in the different seasons. In June /July there are whale sharks, in February one can often see Mantas. A northerly wind blows down Wadi Araba all the year, which in the summer is a cooling breeze, but in winter it can be a bit chilly, especially when you have just come out of the water.

Even if you are alone, you are likely to make contacts and friends easily in the diving community in Aqaba. Dives are accompanied, so straight away you have the divemaster who will show you the ropes so to speak. There is absolutely no problem for women diving, in fact many Jordanian women regularly do so.

Most centres offer courses in several languages, some have more choice of language than others!

Night diving or snorkelling excursions can be arranged on request, for the same day if required, but for administrative reasons, it is preferable to have at least four people in the party. There is a surcharge of 10JD per person over the daytime diving. It is also possible to have a barbecue organised after the dive - a lovely evening!

If you are travelling with non-divers, all the dive centres are happy to welcome them. They may be asked to pay a transport charge if they want to accompany you out to the dive sites. If they are snorkellers, then of course there is no problem at all, nearly all of the sites are entirely suitable for snorkellers.

Several places organise excursions by boat to Pharaoh's Island, a noted snorkelling site, just off the Egyptian coast south of Taba. This is a tiny islet, originally fortified by Saladin, and still holding the castle, which has been much restored. There are always a great many small boats around it, I am told that diving there is not so easy to do and quite frankly not up to much, "as overuse from trips out of Eilat has somewhat trashed the reefs there" but that it is OK for snorkelling. These trips have to be booked a couple of days in advance and your passport handed to the organisers to arrange a visa with the Egyptian Consulate. The price of a trip with Seastar is 28JD/person, which includes a barbecue lunch and the visa. (But even with the visa you are not allowed to land on the Egyptian mainland here).

The younger set : or "What to do with the children ?"

There is no crèche arrangement in Aqaba. If the children are very young, then the best thing to do is to use one of the clubs (RDC or Murjan) and take it in turns diving from the "house reef". The staff at the Clubs are happy to keep an eye out, but cannot accept full responsibilty for looking after young children.

For slightly older children most centres offer PADI's Bubblemaker: children over 8 can learn to use scuba gear in the swimming pool. Children 10 years old can already start the PADI Junior Scuba Diver or the Open Water Course. You may be starting a lifetime's passion here!

Suitable sized gear is available.

The prices of these courses :

Emergencies : or "Let's hope not!"

There is a good 6 man decompression chamber in Aqaba so it is a maximum of 25 minutes drive from the furthest dive site. It is manned 24 hrs a day. In case of an accident or necessary medical treatment, Jordan has an extremely high level of medical care; all doctors are proficient in English, many have trained in Europe or North America. Most medicines are obtainable "over the counter" at the pharmacies, but some medicines are available only on prescription, e.g. valium and analgesics like codeine, etc. Antibiotics are readily available and are very reasonably priced.

It is always advisable to bring a Certificate "Fit to Dive" with you, especially if you do have some health problems or are taking medication. Centres will typically have a diver Registration form with a short medical questionnaire that all divers must complete. PADI divers should be familiar with this as it is a shorter version of the Medical Questionnaire on Student Record Files.

All divers should carry diving insurance, since recompression chambers can be VERY expensive. Seastar strongly recommends DAN insurance cover. They have found DAN to be extremely responsive, and cannot praise them highly enough.

The prices charged for diving: I have these prices from Rod Abbotson, the Director of Dive Aqaba in March 2006. Dive Aqaba, incidentally, although a fairly recent establishment, is rapidly acquiring a reputation for professionalism and reliability. They cooperate closely with the Royal Marine Conservation Society on environmental issues and the beach and sea clean up programmes.

A baptism ("tryout, see how you like it") dive : 40JD (this is the Discover Scuba Diving program; PADI have changed this and there is only one program now). It all depends on how much the customer wants to do the price is the same, and it counts towards the Open Water Course.

A certificate course lasting 4/5 days : 245JD (if student has their own manual) 295JD with manual.  This includes certification online

Simple diving : 15JD per dive tank & weights or 25JD per dive full equipment. Discounts are given on a package of 10 dives.

Dive Aqaba uses boats a lot, and there is a 7JD per head charge for lunch and drinks on the boat all day. They would charge 25JD per day on the boat for non divers which includes snorkelling kit as required, lunch and drinks all day. They have several boats which are moored at the Royal Yacht Club. They also offer shore diving for the more distant reefs.

Their email is diveaqaba@diveaqaba.com Tel/Fax. 00962 3 2034849
website http://www.diveaqaba.com

I believe the prices charged by the other diving centres in Aqaba to be much the same.

The principal diving centres in Aqaba are :

Aqaba Adventure Divers, Aqaba -Jordan. Tel: +962 3 2019060, Mobile: +962 79 5843724.  email talal_abumahfouz@hotmail.com. Website: www.aqaba-divers.com . This is a new centre located in Aqaba at the south beach 12 km south of the town in a small tourist village, with 8 rooms, Bedouin tent coffee shop, seafood restaurant and the dive center

AQABA INTERNATIONAL DIVE CENTRE, King Hussein Street, Aqaba. Tel/Fax +962.3.203.1213
email is diveaqaba@yahoo.com, website http://www.scubadivingplanet.com/company.asp?id=10344

THE AQUAMARINA GROUP, PO Box 96 Aqaba 77110 Jordan. Fax: +962 3 203 2630
E-mail: Aquama@go.com.jo website http://www.aquamarina-group.com/Diving.html

DIVE AQABA,  email diveaqaba@diveaqaba.com, in the Al Khedrah Building, opposite to the Golden Tulip Hotel near Pizza Hut and close to the big hotels. Tel/Fax. 00962.796.600.701
website http://www.diveaqaba.com. Dive Aqaba offers PADI 6 courses, and technical diving courses through to instructor level - they are the only centre in Aqaba offering this.

RED SEA DIVING CENTRE, between King Hussein and An Nahda Streets. Tel. +962.3.201.2323 Fax +962.3.202.8969 email rsdiving@go.com.jo

THE ROYAL DIVING CLUB, PO Box 21, Aqaba Tel +962.3.201.2323 Fax +962.3.201.8969 email royaldiving@yahoo.com The RDC has its own beach/swimming pool close to the reefs (see Aqaba) and has a pier stretching out over their home reef.

SEASTAR DIVING CENTRE, Alcazar Hotel, Aqaba Tel. +962.3.201.4131 Fax +962.3.201.4133
Email is alcsea@alcazar.com website http://www.seastar-watersports.com
Seastar usually work from the Club Murjan south of the port (see Aqaba) and also close to the reefs. Like the RDC you can also find a swimming pool with full facilities and a pier over the reef.

For full details of the main dive sites in Aqaba please see following page : the reefs and main diving sites of Aqaba

I have these photos courtesy of http://perso.wanadoo.fr/pnoel/index_US.html to whom I owe many thanks

"JORDANJUBILEE" is now available as a book, which is much more convenient for reference if you are travelling around. You can buy it online if you wish by clicking on our securized site, or it is on sale in a number of places in Jordan

Sites of Jordan page 5 : Aqaba - Plan of the Wreck of the Cedar Pride

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Revised December 2004