Any Recommendations on Middle East Destinations

[anemone]

Hi! I've been living in UAE for more than a year now. And only been diving in Fujeirah (UAE) twice, most of the dive sites here in Middle East are wrecks, right? I've heard about Red Sea, Gulf of Oman, but can anyone tells me about the best time to go diving? What sort of exposure suits do i have to wear? And the dive sites please.

All your opinions are very much appreciated.

 

[mania]

Go to Red Sea which is not about the wreck but about the second largest coral reef in the world (after Australia nad New Zeland). I myslef of course would reccomend Sharm el Sheikh - Egypt. you can dive there all the year around but the best time is April - May or September - November. Then it's not that hot - something around +30 Centigrades.
Mania

 

[Jai Bar]

No doubt- go to the Red Sea, Egypt! You won't regret.

 

[Ian T]

Off Dubai, you have the wrecks, unfortunately the Palm Island (with all the dredging) has mucked up the vis and changed some of the currents, but it's still ok. To the north, you have Ajman where you can dive with manatees and dolphins..
Go to Musandam and do all kinds of dives (not that many wrecks though), wall diving, coral reefs, drift dives etc... Dec - March, you have a chance to dive with whale sharks, reef- bull- hammerhead sharks, dolphins and so on...
Oman: Dimaniyat Islands, go to Al Suwaidi and you have a string of 9 islands with about 20-25 different dive sites, loads of fish, corals. The Islands are a marine park and protected by law.
I do most of my diving there and really recommend it. If you want more information, send me a private message and I can answer any and all questions you have.
For the Red Sea, well, I'm not the expert. I know that some people I have talked to said that, even though the vis is better in the Red Sea, fish life is about the same as off the Dim Islands.
In Oman you can also head down south to Turtle Island (they might have changed the rules there, but you used to be able to dive there), and there is also diving off Salalah, but I have never been down there so can't tell you...

Temp's, well you live in Dubai so you know what it's like. Humidity is a bit worse here in Oman though...
Best times to dive? Anytime. visibility is improving at the moment, still good to dive though...

At the moment in Oman, I'm using a 2/3mm full, but in a couple of weeks, a shorty should be alright, come late-April and May, a diveskin should be alright -- all of it depending on how much you dive. Some use a 5mm full, depends on how easily you get cold...

 

[MarkH]

I've been diving in Fujairah ( I can never spell it properly) myself a few times and quite liked it. I just wore a pair of shorts (my dives were in August-October). One time the water temp. was 36 degrees Celsius! Almost too warm. Since you are in the U.A.E. already, I would definitely spend more time exploring the local dive sites. There is a guide book to U.A.E. diving (including Mussandam, Oman) available. It includes tons of site descriptions and colour photos. I can't remember what it's called, but it's available at just about every book shop. I don't know where your dives on the east coast were, but I did Sharm Rocks (almost no coral at all, but lots of fish), Dibba Rock (lots of hard and some soft corals) and a bunch of dives at Snoopy Island (the only shore dive that I know of). If you are really into diving, I would strongly suggest you get that guide book. I miss Dubai. Except for the heat in summer.

 

[Ian T]

The book is called the Underwater Explorer and covers the UAE and Musandam

 

[swisstrav]

fujairah is always good for a short trip. day trips you've done already, i belive. maku offers over night trips to the musandam (2 days). al marsa (www.musandamdiving.com) is based in dibba und runs 2 converted dhows as liveaboards. they do 4 and 7day trips.

yemen is certainly interesting - for a single female i don't know.

red sea. sharm and hurghada for action, resorts around marsa alam for relaxing but superb diving. would be much easier to fligh direct do these destinations. do you have charters out of dubai? doing a transfer in cairo i would not recommend. but you are the expert?

how about maldives. for you it's just a hope. select an island close to the airport. it's excellent for a few days.

have fun and let us know where you're heading.

swisstraveller

 

[Sea Squirt]

I agree with Bubble-og. I've found the diving in Oman to be as varied and interesting for easy dives as anywhere else. The abundance of marine life on the dive sites, including soft and hard corals, sponges, etc, etc not to mention bigger stuff, or whales and dolphins, should be enough to entice you down from Dubai for a weekend to try it out.

Temps? Be warned, thermoclines round here can be ICY. We have registered bottom temps of 25C.

 

[chippy]

Sharm El Sheikh gets my vote - it's stunning!

 

[wapyaly]

I second that! We went just shortly after we got our OW certification. We've been spoilt now!It's be best diving second to Oz's great barrier reef (which I have been to but only snorkeled there!) and we're off to Dubai and Fujairah in May, nice to know the diving there will be good too!