Dubai Diving Information

[Glimmerman]

Beginner diver here, just about to take my PADI pool/classroom class in preparation for a trip to Dubai, where I want to complete my 4 open water dives.

I read some of the archives, there was discussion about East vs. West diving, and how construction has made some diving cloudy.

Is this still relevant? I am going on business staying in a hotel, but am staying 2 days longer on my own. I have no accomodations booked for those two nights, so I can go anywhere.

Where would you stay, and what company would you use for your open water dives? I really want to see a coral reef in real life!

Through the archives I found the following so far, any recommendations?
East coast: Divers Down at http://www.oceanichotel.com/hotel.htm
West coast: www.jumeirahinternational.com/diving
Unknown: http://www.alboomdiving.com/home.html
And something about Sandy Beach Hotel.

Thanks a bunch, and any other help would be greatly appreciated, I don't know what else I should even be asking, this is all new to me.

 

[Dive4air]

Hey...I hope this helps you a bit. I used to live there many years ago, and it's changed a lot since, but I remember to be good and I hear it got better.

When I dove, I did it on the Indian Ocean side, not the gulf side. There's wrecks, oil tanker i think, and there's reefs. I dove with an "Al Boom Diving" out of the Oceanic Hotel i was visiting in KHOR FAKKAN. The dive site was called "Shark Rock", but not because of the sharks there but rather the shape of the rock. I saw no sharks ever. They may have changed the name of it since to "Martini Rock". I also dove another Reef close by but I can't remember the name...they all go to it. They are PADI and NAUI. Small boat of 6 people and the trip is about 10 minutes. I was there with some NAVY divers, but I am not, and we all had a good time. Lots of fish and lobsters etc. Reef life was Average and visibility was about 50-75 feet.

I hear the diving closer to Dubai is murky and silty. There's no reefs there, not living ones anyway in my opinion, because of all the industry and stuff. They are wrecks there though that could be interesting.

Otherwise, Dubai is a great place to visit and live. You will enjoy it, and if you have never been to the area, it will surprise you. Be sure to visit the Malls, the Gold Souk, and many of the other local attractions inclusing the museum which is small but educational. It's VERY safe there, so dont' be afraid to venture out on your own.

Have fun and post a report.

 

[Glimmerman]

Great info, since posting I have been researching like mad, and read exactly what you are talking about with the gulf side not being great.

I will not have a vehicle, is there buses that will take me to the east coast that you know of?

 

[Seadeuce]

Suggest you do your 4 OW dives in sheltered water such as the Gulf out of Dubai. Pavilion Divers at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel are a good outfit.

After that, book with Al Boom for a day trip to the Musandam. They will pick you up at about 6am at your hotel, and drive you to the east coast. Better diving there.

If you are doing your first 4 OW dives you will have enough to concentrate on without the distraction a beautiful reef can be. See that when you're used to the water, more enjoyment that way.

Enjoy!

Seadeuce

 

[paschen]

I was approached this morning about working in Dubai. Big change for me - I have travelled through there a couple of times, but never any real time as a "local." Not living by the water and being able to dive at a drop of a hat was a concern, but after reading your posts I will actually seriously consider this option.

 

[Glimmerman]

Dubai is about 75% expats, so you would be the majority by not being an emerite!

I have been doing more reading, and with a revised business trip schedule, I might get 3 days of diving in.

I have contacted 6 dive companies, and they all are really helpfully. Al boom will do the first day in Dubai, then the second day of OW dives on the east coast. Then I could stay one more day on the east coast and go to Dibba Rock, supposed to be nice reef and fishies there.

 

[hedonist222]

Glimmerman, as others have mentioned, because of the reclaimation of land in the ocean outside Dubai, I can imagine its not the best in terms of visibility. The East Coast has better sea life, but the West Coast has more/better wrecks. Alboom in Dubai is highly reputable with friendly staff.

Emarati = person from UAE

 

[Ian T]

Just about all the information here in this thread is accurate...
out of general interest, here is some more:
Shark Rock (and close-by Anemone Garden) will soon be a memory since they are expanding Fujairah Port, and the small island will be part one of the jetties....
Just about all the dive centers have daily (or so) buses going from Dubai to the east coast...

Sandy Beach Hotel....really nice little dive center, dive manager is Wilfred (brilliant guy)...the resort is big (after yet another expansion being completed)..and usually full...
Just off the coast (300m away) is Snoopy Island, the rock looks like Snoopy when he is resting on top of his dog house...very shallow dive (max 5-6m) with a surprising amount of fish life - lots of black-tip reef sharks, turtles, puffers, massive barracudas, cuttlefish etc...and lots of tourists walking all over the reef or grabbing turtles.. (yup, been in a couple of arguments about it...then again, their plastic sea kayaks overturned quite easily...)
When we are there, we usually dive with Scuba2000 (run by Hassan the policeman - also brilliant), it's about 5 min south of Sandy Beach, very close to the oldest mosque in the UAE - they are a tad cheaper but much more of a mom-and-pop dive shop... but the 2 (!) rooms they have are a lot cheaper than anything else.
Both dive centers allow 2-4 dives per day. Sandy Beach has Nitrox ..
They go to the same dive sites and at least Scuba2000 will let you decide where to go unless other people have already requested a certain dive.
If you do Dibba Rock, bring a snorkel and swim all the way up to the island on the southern side - really close, we're talking depths of 2-3ft adn you can enjoy the black-tips, we think there are about 15-20 of them there, all sizes... exhaling through the regulator will scare them away...find a nice rock and hide behind..
There are more wrecks on the Gulf side but unless things have changed sice I dived them, they are silted over..the two wrecks mostly dived on the east coast are Inchcape I and Inchcape II - at 21 and 30m respectively...

There ya go...

Dubai? Well..errr...for me, living there was horrible - whenever we go there to pick up visitors or shop for stuff we can't here, I can't wait to leave...but that's me...

 

[Glimmerman]

Great info Ian T, thanks!

I am going to go with Al Boom diving. I have gone with them because I will be arriving in Dubai the night of March 30th, then I can do my first 2 OW dives with them Friday March 31st in Dubai. Not much to look at, but should be find for my first 2 OW dives, probably best not to be distracted by a reef the first time anyways!

I then have to work in Dubai Saturday - Thursday. Then Al Boom will bus me out to their east coast dive center on Friday and complete my second 2 OW dives, site(s) to be determined. I will stay on the East Coast Friday night and get 2 more dives in of my choice Saturday morning. I will stay wherever it is cheapest, probably a hostel or one of the cheap rooms at a dive center.

Then I will catch the Al Boom bus back to Dubai Saturday afternoon, then I fly out Sunday morning at 7am, so I have to make sure I dont dive past 1pm on Saturday.

 

[Stryker]

Conditions in the last few months have not been ideal on either Coast. West coast has tons of dredging still going on for the world and palm islands and that will not be stopping anytime soon. I was fortunate enough to get a day when the visibility was around 10 meters (which to me is pretty good coming from california).

East coast has had much better luck, but lately its been pretty murky there too. Hopefully it will be clearing up here soon... I am actually about to head out there right now (Fujairah) and I will come back with a report and post some pictures so you can judge for yourself.

Hope this helps.