I should like to acknowledge most gratefully the assistance of Rod Abbotson of Dive Aqaba in preparing this page. The descriptions of the reefs and many of the photos are taken from his very comprehensive website at www.diveaqaba.com where you can also see site maps of many of these dive sites. You can also see descriptions and photos of further dive sites which I do not have space to include here.

The sea in the Gulf of Aqaba is almost invariably calm with temperatures varying between 19/20 C in winter months to 26 C in summer. All diving is shore based as Aqaba offers fringing reef which commences at the shore line. There are no off-shore reefs to warrant boat diving. The soft and hard coral formations are spectacular and there are many species unique to this area.

While this list is tempting, and of course all clients are encouraged to state their preference for the dive site to be used, the divemasters nevertheless always reserve the right to the final decision, in function of the prevailing local conditions and the level of experience of the clients.

Since your future programme might affect the depth to which you can dive safely, you are strongly advised to communicate your plans to your divemaster.

POWER STATION – Located 5 Kms south of Aqaba town. Swim over fringing reef which drops down to 5m with sand and patch reef, from where reef slopes down to 20m and drops away to 200m! Swim down over the wall edge to depth of 30m and swim south. Pelagics are seen "in the deep blue". There are overhangs at 25m with excellent fan corals, with large Yellow Mouth Morays. Ascending to top of wall and travel back northwards at 15/18m with a nice pinnacle at 16m with lots of glass fish, Frog Fish, Scorpion Fish. Turtles and Napoleon Wrasse also frequent this area. Still ascending and working back to entry point at 10m depth look out for green-blue Devil Scorpion Fish, Frog Fish and Octopus. Safety stop at 5m with lots to see at edge of the fringing reef.

FIRST BAY - From try dives to technical diving - this site provides for all - Diving south from the mooring you find a cabbage coral at 18m on the corner of the reef follow the wall back to the north and follow the contour of the reef. (For tec divers continue straight out to Death Valley starting at 50m and then south to Walter's Wall and George's Gulley which drops to 80m plus). The normal dive continues to the North where you will pass over a wide expanse of coral with black coral trees and come to a sandy gulley, follow this back up to 12m and work your way back across the reefs to the mooring. You will find lots of cornet fish in the area changing in waves of colour as you watch them hunt the smaller fish, watch out here for the 8 lined wrasse, there are also many parrot fish a nice colourful dive with some deeper stuff for those who want it. Near the mooring is a permanent bottom line 30m in length at 9m depth - this is used for measured swims, navigation training and is useful for staging deco tanks on tec dives!

CAZAR REEF- Next to the Marine Reserve and also the location of Club Murjan, the Alcazar's beach club. Enter at south side of gully edging down to 18m, lots of Cornet fish and Fusiliers, a cabbage coral marks the corner of the reef. Swim northwards over some large black corals to a pinnacle at 17m covered in soft coral. Lots of Lunar Tail Grouper and nice Table Coral and cleaning stations. Head up to 10/12m and move southwards, often Barracuda are seen in the shallower water, plus Grey Morays and Lion Fish and cleaner Wrasse Stations. On sandy areas Moses Sole, Dragonets and Flounders. Turn left into the gully for safety stop at 5m where you will often see Puffer Fish and Whitebait.

EEL GARDEN – Site of the famous " pinnacle " - Named after the myriads of garden eels resident in the sand and grass areas here. One of the largest populations in the Red Sea! This provides an excellent area for photography. There is a sandy slope down to 20m (covered in garden eels - you need to stay still for them to appear) where there is a fantastic display of black corals. There are several small pinnacles on the slope. One of these has an amazing reputation for the more unusual marine life. Including Maurice the moray eel with his famous cleaner shrimp Jacques. He will give you an underwater manicure if you remain still. The pinnacle is covered in an array of soft corals, a home for many different species of Morays, rare Harlequin Shrimp and Ghost Pipe Fish. Plus lots of Glass Fish protected by a Red Toothed Grouper and Lion Fish. Head back over the Ell Grass home, to hundreds of eels, disappearing and reappearing as divers swim over, back to sandy area in the gully at 5m for safety stop.

KING ABDULLAH REEF – Approx 5 mins drive from the Club in an area known as the Tourist Camp. Enter the site through a maze of fringing reef with fantastic displays of Fire coral. Drop down to 5m and follow slope down to 12m to a large pinnacle full of a variety of marine life. Head across the sand to a large circular reef with a Gorgonia Fan coral in centre. Continue down to 24m where shoaling Pennant Fish have a "permanent" home. Ascend slowly in a circle and watch territorial displays Parrot Fish till you reach 10m. Following the reef south you encounter many Clown fish and anemones, plus occasional Ghost Pipe fish in the anemones, Scorpion Fish in the purple acropora coral. Approaching the safety stop area at the base of the fringing reef, many Burr Fish and the occasional Toad Fish.

BLACK ROCK – The northern side of Wreck Bay, adjacent to the former Tourist Camp. Entry at a gravel and shingle point, swim out and pick up the reef on the right and swim down to the planned depth, usually around 25m. Heading north there are immense coral slopes and valleys with large black coral "bushes". This are is frequented by Hawksbill turtles. Ascend slowly to 10m and swim south again back to the entry point. Shoaling Fusiliers, cruising Parrot fish are common, as well electric Torpedo Rays. At safety stop watch out for Moses Sole and flounders in the sand and gravel as well as grey morays.

THE WRECK OF THE CEDAR PRIDE

A Lebanese freighter scuttled in 1983 which now hosts a wide variety of hard and soft corals. She is intact and lies across two reefs on her port side. Divers can swim under her at 27m. She can take several dives to fully appreciate and is an excellent night dive. It is also the site for beautiful sea horses.

Entry through a narrow path through the reef to drop into 5m of water where a small pinnacle sits with a myriad of life, an excellent safety stop on the return. Follow Rainbow Reef down to the wreck, explore from bow to stern, working your way to the top of the superstructure. The mast is covered in large red soft coral, large snappers and cruising Yellow Bar Bream. Leave the wreck with air enough to explore Rainbow Reef as you make your way back to the entry point.

There is a separate plan of this dive site : see "Cedar Pride"

JAPANESE GARDENS - Also in Wreck Bay but to the southern end. Entry is through a narrow gully in the fringing reef and then descend to an eel grass bed, where you will find Snowflake Morays. The main reef is encountered at 5m then follow it down through shoals of Orange Basselets and Sergeant Majors. Keep at a 20m depth and swim along edge of reef over bushes of black coral. If sharks are to be seen (White Tip Reef sharks) this is where you will see them in the deep blue of the Gulf to your right. At 23m at the head of a gully there is a large Gorgonia Fan coral. From here start working your way into the shallows, keeping an eye out for resident turtles. At 15 there is a pinnacle with a large Yellow Mouth moray and large Cornet Fish hunting in the shoals. Continue up to 2 pinnacles at 6m filed with Lion Fish and shoaling Basselets and the occasional Barracuda.

TAIYONG Wreck - This wreck was discovered by the Dive Aqaba Tec Team in 2004. She lies on her starboard side in 50 metres of water off the dive site known as the Japanese Gardens, the maximum depth on the wreck is 57m and the top of the wreck is 35m. She was bought by the Aqaba port authority in 1974 and was used for off loading ships coming to Aqaba. An accident led to the jib of the crane dropping and damaging the hold, this was them repaired with a concrete plug. The plug kept leaking so it was deemed uneconomical to repair and scuttled in late 1999. Shoals of fusiliers now patrol this pristine red sea wreck which has now a profusion of colourful soft corals growing on her. The A frame of the crane is fantastic for photography - if your camera can go that deep! On the bow there are shoals of glass fish being hunted by many large lion fish. If you are a Tec Deep Diver you can take our distinctive Taiyong Diver specialty course.

GORGONE ONE – Approx 8 mins drive from the Club. Named after the huge Gorgonia fan coral at 16m. After a zig zag entrance thru' fringing reef you are confronted with a huge Cabbage coral, the size of a house, there is also a resident turtle. This site is known for its 3 pinnacles teeming with life, Lion Fish, golden anthias, occasional Jacks and Cornet fish, plus a resident Arabian Angel and Yellow Mouth Moray. Good easy, shallow dive. From the first pinnacle continuing at 16m due west you arrive at a massive double Gorgonia Fan coral. Continue on to a small pinnacle with a number of Morays and hanging soft coral "gardens". Move slowly up the reef to another pinnacle at 9 metres, with an overhang full of Glass fish, Coral Grouper and Stone fish. Plus lots of cleaner shrimps providing a popular cleaning station. Swim back to the large Cabbage coral marking the entry point through the coral and the exit.

GORGONE 2 – Approx 500m south from Gorgone 1. Easy entry onto a shallow grassy area, swim out a distance of 30m to where the reef starts at 2m - 3m depth, often Scorpion Fish, Stone Fish and Crocodile Fish are seen at the base of the reef. At 6 m there are 2 large pinnacles fronted by Broccoli coral and then across a solid reef of Rose coral which drops down to 20m and a large Gorgonia Fan coral. Lots of Lion Fish and eels. Continue on to ....

7 SISTERS - Here 7 pinnacles of coral vie for your attention over a solid coral reef. Luckily the depth is only 8-9m so you can enjoy the wonders each has to offer. Big Eye Emperor and shoals of Fusiliers live around these pinnacles. This area is full of marine life and worthy of a dive on its own, shallow with lots of bottom time. Superb for the photographer.

7 SISTERS TO TANK - Easy entry over grass to where reef starts at 2-3 m. Lots of interesting invertebrate life in the shallows... Swim through the pinnacles and then turn in towards the shore to another set of pinnacles "the Fairy Ring".... Continue south at 8 m where patchy coral makes way for grass and sand till you will see in 6m an M40 anti aircraft tracked vehicle ("The Tank") scuttled in September 1999 to create an artificial reef. Play around it, but not on it as corals are beginning to colonise and Seastar is recording the colonisation process. From here make your way to the safety stop and out.

OLIVER'S CANYON - A little more care is needed on entry as the terrain is rather rugged between the corals. Swimming through the fringing reef Surgeon Fish are seen here, to a small pinnacle and then continue down a gully with corals rising steeply on either side. Black coral and wire coral sprouts from the canyon sides. A max. depth on this dive is 30m, turn and follow the reef back up to the top at 12m with 2 pinnacles and a variety of Grouper and Angel fish. Closer look often reveals Frog fish, Crocodile fish and giant Scorpion fish. The reef starts at 12m and drops to 30m plus. Large squid are founding feeding in shoals around the shallow corals and octopus abound on the fringing reef. Young turtles are often seen finding their ground around the reef. Swimming up to 6m we will find The Tank, for an excellent long safety stop.

EEL CANYON – Located in what is referred to as “Big Bay” approx 10 mins drive from the Club. A spectacular canyon dropping between 2 reefs with an eel garden at the bottom. An easy entry of shingle descending to 6m to a pinnacle of covered in Fire Coral, anthias and Lion fish. Follow a coral edge at 7m dropping down to 10m with lots of Morays and Goatfish. The main reef then commences with Black corals bushes with a steep canyon off to the left. Follow the top of this reef down to 23m where there is a magnificent Table coral. Swim along the bottom to another canyon crossing at 25m, swim through and round the corner into a dozen or more Garden eels leading up the narrow canyon. Swim back up over the tops of the canyons at about 15m with shoaling Fusiliers, Jacks and Tuna. Eagle Rays and Stingrays populate this area in the mating season. On reaching again the canyon with the Table coral at the bottom, swim across the ledge to a depth of 6m for a safety stop, then travel slightly left towards the exit.

AL SHOROUK -This wreck lies deep off the Eel Canyon dive site, to the West of Kirk's Forest in 38 - 58m. The ship is lying on her starboard side across two reefs lying West to East (bow to the East) this means that depths of over 60m can easily be acheived under the wreck. She was scuttled by the Aqaba Marine Park on 18th June 2008. As she started to sink she started to drift and could have easily ended up in over 100m of water, they managed to push it back to diveable depths just before she slipped beneath the waves creating a new exciting site for technical divers. The engine room and bridge are easily accessible. There is a buoy on the bow of the wreck leading to the shallowest point at 38m. Travel to the north for decompression and and up at the famous M42 tank in 6m or travel east finishing at the Eel Canyon dive site avoiding long blue water decompression hangs. (From www.diveaqaba.com)

YELLOWSTONE REEF – Also in Big Bay, care is needed at the entrance as there is sharp rubble and urchins. Once over this you pass over a large mountain coral (Yellowstone) at 5 m a good place for a safety stop at the end of the dive.. At 10m there is an old oil drum, now home to a host of Morays and coral reef colonisation, which is why it has been left there! Swim south to a reef spur with a pinnacle at the end at 18m with lots of Red Fire sponge and 4 colour nudibranchs. Passing over a gully you reach the main reef and follow the contour down to the planned max. depth, usually 25 - 30m. Across this reef it is one of the few places to see groups of Bat fish and at 27m there is a massive Black coral bush, which marks the turn around point. Move up the reef to a depth of 12-15m. Look into the blue as there are often large Jacks and Tuna. On reaching the reef spur with the pinnacle head up across the grass to the Yellowstone coral for the safety stop, watch out for lines of squid in formation across the grass.

BLUE CORAL - A flat piece of "slab" marks the entrance of this unusual site. Care is needed on entry as the slab and flat stones can often be slippery and there are urchins lurking. Once over this area swim across the grass down to 12m where the reef starts. This a long finger of coral like a lava flow reaching into the depths fringed with blue acropora coral.. Excellent for macro shots, many unusual nudibranchs. Working your way down the south side of the reef there are some nice pinnacles with Lion fish and Grouper. At 30m the reef changes perspective and looks more like a lava flow. Swim 15m south to the next reef and start to work your way back up to 20m, where there is a narrow canyon, which offers a spectacular swim through to the top of the reef. Here you can explore the many bommies of Blue coral for morays and other marine life. Finally continue over the grass to 5m for a safety stop and a site for Seahorses and Pipefish.

KALLI'S PLACE – At the southern end of Big Bay. Named after one of Seastar's original instructors, Dr Kalli de Meyer, now head of the Coral Reef Alliance in the Caribbean. After an easy entry over shingle descend down a grassy spur to 7m and there on the right is a spectacular small reef with a mountain coral on top. Shoals of Glass fish, Lion fish hunting, cleaner stations and a wide variety of Morays. Take care for the Scorpion fish and Stone fish. 15m away another reef drops away from 15 to 20m again covered with a huge array of marine life. Beyond there is a deep gully for more experienced divers, but these 2 pinnacles offer more than you could want and is a must for any underwater photographer. Great care must be taken though as careless fins can easily and quickly reduce visibility over the sand and grass areas. Time to leave.. follow the grass spur up to 5m for the safety stop, where there is still always a lot to see.

SHIPS PLACE - Named after a ship was pushed up onto the reef but successfully towed off with little damage to the reef! An easy entry on sand and grass down a slope to 10m where a narrow canyon steeply drops to great depths. Cross the south side of the canyon through shoals of Blue Fusiliers and follow the top edge down to 30m. Unicorn fish, Humped Wrasse, Giant Grouper and the occasional reef shark! At 30m turn south and follow the top edge of a wall that drops away.. keep an eye out in the blue for deeper pelagic fish. Slowly ascend to 15m across the grass and work your way around the spur and groove reefs, eventually reaching the original canyon. Cross to the grass slope at 5m for the safety stop. Look out for Seahorses and Pipefish in the grass. Finally if the surf is up, remove fins before mask and regulator.

PARADISE - Named for all the beautiful soft red coral in the area. The dive can only be made at High Tide, wading out over the reef plateau. Fit on fins in 0.5m, we advise to sit down, but although awkward it is worth the effort. The reef drops to 6m straight away and you head out over grass with coral bommies. As you go deeper the coral gets more dense until at 30m you reach a wall. Here a promontory sticks out into the blue with a huge tree of black coral in the centre surrounded by a mass of red soft coral. A grotto full of Glass fish makes it more interesting. Be careful with your fins! Follow the reef through to a depth of 18m to a Red Soft Coral Garden with some spectacular small pinnacles. Watch out for Stingrays and Eagle rays. Return back at between 10/12m until opposite the entry point and make a safety stop. Before exiting we advise remove one fin it makes standing up easier. This site recommended for experienced divers only.

Courtesy www.diveaqaba.com

Moon Valley - Be careful that you don't go too deep here! Named after a valley in Wadi Rum this site drops of steeply but offers a nice dive in the medium depth range 10-25m. Large pelagics can be spotted here, the occasional shark. Lots of unicorn fish and some large Napoleon wrasses. The are a lot of soft corals in the area making it great for arty photos. You can explore left or right from the main valley working your way up to the shallows were you will be surrounded by large shoals of sardines and fusiliers.

Seastar's email is alcsea@alcazar.com.jo website http://www.seastar-watersports.com
Tel. +962.3.201.4131 Fax +962.3.201.4133

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