Diving in Bahrain and UAE

[flyinghuntster]

Any responces would be helpfull. I am trying to plan a trip to Bahrain and UAE. I have to dive!!! Could anyone recomend dive shops or dive sites. I travel with my gear and if there are any places where beach dives can be made after putting deposit down on tanks would make an IDEAL afternoon of enjoyment.
I am looking for specific dive sites and dive shops. and experiences with water pollution or clearity. I saw in the other posts that the water vis is around 5 to 15 Meters. is that true of Bahrain?
thanks for your inputs and stay wet and happy!!!!!

 

[decompression]

I've dove quite a bit around both coasts of the UAE. West (Dubai Side) has wrecks and lots of marine life. The East (Fujeriah/Korr Fakkan) has coral reefs and wrecks and lots of marine life. The most amazing would be the Mussandam area to the North. Al Boom diving serves both coasts,(http://www.alboomdiving.com/diving.html
Yes the Vis ramges from 5-15m and the water is very warm. My personal favorite sites are; Martini Rocks, Inscape 1 and 2 (wrecks) and Snoopy Island (shore dive). Snoopy Island has Sandy Beach resort and dive center right in front of it. Good Luck!

 

[MarkH]

Any responces would be helpfull. I am trying to plan a trip to Bahrain and UAE. I have to dive!!! Could anyone recomend dive shops or dive sites. I travel with my gear and if there are any places where beach dives can be made after putting deposit down on tanks would make an IDEAL afternoon of enjoyment.
I am looking for specific dive sites and dive shops. and experiences with water pollution or clearity. I saw in the other posts that the water vis is around 5 to 15 Meters. is that true of Bahrain?
thanks for your inputs and stay wet and happy!!!!!

The only popular shore dive in UAE that I know of is Snoopy island near Khor Fakkan (I'm not sure about spelling) on the East coast. It's right off the Sandy Beach motel (look up their website). The island is about 100 yards off the beach and is small enough to swim around in one dive. It's pretty shallow - 10-40 feet or so deep. There are lots of anemones and anemone fish, cuttlefish, turtles, some blacktip reef sharks, tons of assorted fish and moray eels. The coral is pretty trashed though. There is a dive center in the hotel that does charters, rentals, etc. I rented tanks and they didn't ask for a deposit. Viz wasn't great- about 20 feet at the most. Water temp was in the mid 30's Celsius (Aug-oct). There was an oil spill on the beach one time I was there.

 

[flyinghuntster]

This is good info to start with. I think it would be great to dive with Whale Sharks and I thought I read where that is possible in the Gulf Of Oman some where. Have either of you done that?

 

[MarkH]

This is good info to start with. I think it would be great to dive with Whale Sharks and I thought I read where that is possible in the Gulf Of Oman some where. Have either of you done that?

I've never done that, but I've heard of people diving with whale sharks, mantas, dolphins, etc. up by the Mussandam. It may be over-hyped tourism board stuff, though and it's probably seasonal. Sorry I can't help more. Try doing a browser search for "U.A.E. diving" or something like that. There are a few websites out there with e-mail contacts to local divers.

 

[decompression]

Any responces would be helpfull. I am trying to plan a trip to Bahrain and UAE. I have to dive!!! Could anyone recomend dive shops or dive sites. I travel with my gear and if there are any places where beach dives can be made after putting deposit down on tanks would make an IDEAL afternoon of enjoyment.
I am looking for specific dive sites and dive shops. and experiences with water pollution or clearity. I saw in the other posts that the water vis is around 5 to 15 Meters. is that true of Bahrain?
thanks for your inputs and stay wet and happy!!!!!

Yes there are whale sharks, they are up in musandam with the currents. They are seasonal, usually around fall, email AlBoom and they can give you more info. They are amazing to see.