Diving info for visitors in and around Dubai

[Searcaigh]

FairyBasset,

Thanks for this information. I may (probably will) be spending a couple of months in Dubai for my work and I was looking for general information as a starting off spot. As usual, whatever you need you can find on Scubaboard!

I do have a couple of follow up questions, though. If anyone can give me specific information about dive sites, especially about the wrecks (I love wrecks!) then I would be thankful. I would be looking for information about dive profiles and suggestions regarding interresting "don't miss" wrecks that could be done as a day-trip.

Thanks in advance,

R..

There is a book by Carole Harris and Tony Schroder called UAE Underwater published by Explorer series, you can find details of the wrecks in the Persian Gulf near Dubai. Viz, if you are lucky might be over 2M

[roturner]

There is a book by Carole Harris and Tony Schroder called UAE Underwater published by Explorer series, you can find details of the wrecks in the Persian Gulf near Dubai. Viz, if you are lucky might be over 2M

I live in Holland so I'll feel right at home

Thanks again for the follow up input.

R..

[Buford of Arabia]

I live in Dubai and have been diving with Pavilion and Al Boom alternately for a few years now. I agree with a previous post that states Al Boom caters toward the entry level diver. If all you are after is some equipment and a ride to the reef then they are reasonably organized for that. If you want quality instruction or attentive divemasters then you should look elsewhere. I recently did some shallow 'tourist' type dives with an overly officious German divemaster that did his utmost to make sure nobody on the boat had fun. Pavilion, on the other hand, is a pretty class act and take diving and training pretty seriously. Unfortunately, they have a pretty limited presence on the UAE east coast so their choice of dive sites isn't great. Dubai has some great wrecks but visibility is really lousy so they aren't much fun. Pavilion does some dhow trips to the east coasts on some weekends- if they offer them you should do it. It'd be coupling the UAE's best dive sites with it's best operator as well.

[susannediver]

Atlantis dive center which opened a year ago and is located next to Atlantis hotel is the one that I would recommend. They cater towards all divers from inexperienced to very experienced.There staff are always happy and you feel that they really love their job. They dive all the wrecks and places in Dubai and also Musandam.
Go dive

[roturner]

Alas, the job didn't go ahead. I was unable to negotiate mutually acceptable terms for the assignment.

I was pretty confident that they would say yes. I even had my bags packed at one point....

I'm in "crisis management" and unfortunately for me they wanted a commitment to stay until the project was done... however the project was already slipping and there was no external driver for the deadline (like binding legislation) so promising to stay until the project was done was something I wasn't willing to do unless they would allow me to work 2 weeks on site and 2 weeks from home, which they weren't. I'm sure the guy who said "yes" to their conditions will end up regretting it if he has a family. With any luck he's a young-dog with no roots and it won't bother him.

In any case, we couldn't bridge that gap and I missed out an interesting job that I'm sure I would have really enjoyed.

It happens. I guess if I want to continue to dive in turbid waters that I'll have to do it locally then....

R..

[Sandra White]

I have dived with Al Boom a lot and agree with FairyBasset, its a fun dive centre.
Their dive centre at the Jebel Ali Hotel is super, resort atmosphere with friendly staff and ideal for diving the Dubai wrecks like Zainab, Lion City and Jasim.
They have also opened at the Golden Tulip in Dibba Musandam, with dives going into the Musandam by dhow and speedboat. Packages with transport from Dubai, dives in the Musandam and accomodation at the Golden Tulip are really reasonably priced.
I recently did the Dubai Aquarium Specialty course, which was amazing - three dives in the aquarium with underwater photography (take your own camera or use theirs) and a dive in the shark cage while the sharks were being fed!
There's a lot of information on their website, and I hear they are getting into Tec Rec and rebreather courses too. So, not just for beginners!

[Searcaigh]

It happens. I guess if I want to continue to dive in turbid waters that I'll have to do it locally then....

R..

Too bad about the job, but hey it was a magnificent 2M viz off the east coast today.

[Searcaigh]

Dived off the Atlantis Hotel on the Palm this morning on a sunken wreck of a PIA A300 Airbus that crashed at Dubai back in 2001.

Viz was initially about 5M but deteriorated to about 2M after one hour.

It sits in 10M of water and lots of fish life. Spotted a sea snake and my buddy marine biologist from the EDA found some nice nudis

[Simon-]

Al Boom have a couple of guys qualified to teach both the Tec Rec side of things and also the recreational rebreather"

The vis the last few weeks on the west coast has been superb in the main. Especially on some of the wrecks. SMB & Zainab have both had 15m+ vis last weekend. Had a very nice 50 min dive on Zainab. If you go to youtube and search for Atlantis Dive Centre Dubai, their are a couple of vids taken on Friday showing the vis we had.

I am surprised you suffered with low vis on the plane. It is usually pretty good (5-7m), well good for Dubai anyway.

I have heard that UAE Underwater is about to (or just has been) updated with a new version. The last one was published in 2006 and some of the dives that were reported as being on hold due to off shore developments, are now being dived again.

Divers Down has relocated and is no longer at Khor Fakken, they are now at the Miramar Al Aqah

[Searcaigh]

I am surprised you suffered with low vis on the plane. It is usually pretty good (5-7m), well good for Dubai anyway.

Simon the last time I dived the A300 the Viz was fine on the first dive but deteriorated on the second, I believe you were on the boat that day too (Easter Sunday)