Recommend dive OP in Dubai or abu dhabi

[time2fly]

Can anyone tell me the better location to dive of the two and also to recommend a good dive op in that location?

Cheers
TF

 

[Oldbear]

I have not dived in the Abu Dhabi region, but I have dived in Dubai. For me the best dive was the Aquarium. I found the diving much better in Eastern UAE.

I tried several operators and my and my favorite was Divers Down. I felt welcomed there while others it seemed more that I was an intrusion to their busy schedules. Diver Down even arranged transportation to pick me up at my Dubai Hotel in the morning and bring me back each night.

Divers Down, Dubai & Fujairah, UAE | Dive Center Dubai

 

[time2fly]

Awesome thanks for the info. I might also check out the Aquarium as I was looking at that also.

Thanks again

 

[Searcaigh]

The Aquarium has awesome viz

I also recommend Divers Down at the east coast, and if you are tech inclined then Coastal Technical Divers at Fujairah are also excellent

 

[RooCeleste]

I have not dived in the Abu Dhabi region, but I have dived in Dubai. For me the best dive was the Aquarium. I found the diving much better in Eastern UAE.

I tried several operators and my and my favorite was Divers Down. I felt welcomed there while others it seemed more that I was an intrusion to their busy schedules. Diver Down even arranged transportation to pick me up at my Dubai Hotel in the morning and bring me back each night.

Divers Down, Dubai & Fujairah, UAE | Dive Center Dubai

I got the EXACT same feeling from the dive operators in Dubai...so I ended up just doing the Dubai Mall Aquarium dive with Al Boom, which was great!

 

[ZombieZombie]

I am regular visitor to the area- next trip at the end of November (but I will start a new thread for that).

Diving off the cost of Dubai itself is usually a pea soup dive and not worth the trouble for recreational purposes.
I have dived the aquarium twice and it is excellent. It sounds hokey for those who haven't done it, but rarely will you ever get that close to so many large sharks. The aquarium seems sincere about their conservation mission, so perhaps captivity isn't entirely negative. (I am against marine zoos for sea mammals and generally not keen on them for large pelagics)

Anyway- the nearest decent diving to Dubai is in Mussandam- Khasab in particular. It is basically a straight road out of Dubai all the way up and over the Oman border. (You will need cash- UAE or Omani for a visitor visa at the border). Extra Divers in Khasab are very good. It takes almost an hour on fast boats from Khasab to the dive sites but the coastal scenery is amazing and the Iranian smuggler boats are quite entertaining.

In the sheltered coves on the northern tip of the peninsula, the diving is quite good but if you are a Red Sea veteran, it will not rock your world. Decent larger animal density. Plenty to see.

 

[FTD 83]

The aquarium seems sincere about their conservation mission, so perhaps captivity isn't entirely negative.

Atlantis captured a fully grown whale shark and kept it in captivity until it's death. While their dive with dolphins experience involves people hanging off dorsal fins every 20 mins. I could go on but won't, I do refuse to set foot anywhere near these days. Dubai Mall, aren't much better. Sure they don't have the dolphin rides but they have a fully grown croc that's never going to see daylight ever again.

Dubai - thedivecentre dot ae is a diver owned centre known by most in the region. True, there are only wreck dives in Dubai and 8-10m viz is a decent day out but get lucky and you can have a great day out without having to travel up the coast.

 

[Komi]

Atlantis captured a fully grown whale shark and kept it in captivity until it's death.

Are you saying the newspaper reports of the shark's release and subsequent satellite tracking were all b/s?

 

[FTD 83]

Are you saying the newspaper reports of the shark's release and subsequent satellite tracking were all b/s?

It's extremely dubious

 

[Searcaigh]

Are you saying the newspaper reports of the shark's release and subsequent satellite tracking were all b/s?

Special sushi for the Japanese restaurant.

There was a lot of pressure from Major Ali of Emirates Marine Environmental Group (EMEG) to Sheikh Mohammed to have it released it due to the negative image it portrayed regarding Dubai's environmental image.

Whether it was released or not is still an unknown, perhaps Jason at the Dive Centre has some information.

---------- Post added December 29th, 2014 at 02:59 PM ----------

For diving the east coast I would also recommend Blue Planet, however their dive locations are limited to Dibba Rock and Inchcape 1 only, but a great dive centre, run by Alla and Slava, who are a great team.

Dibba Rock is an amazing site with a major variety of aquatic life including shoals of barracuda, black tip sharks and frequent turtle sightings.