Aqaba has 23 dive sites, 21 of them lie within the boundaries of the Marine Park and each one of them has its special feature and unique character. They can only be appreciated by putting on your diving gear and losing yourself in the warm, enticing waters of Aqaba`s unique coastline.
The power station does not boast an elegant name but it is a spectacular wall dive, conducted as drift from north to south. Sharks and other large pelagic creatures are often spotted here. There are several Humphead Wrasses and some large moray Eels. The wall and drop-off are spectacular and there is an abundance of life to entertain you on the reef slop and the shallows. If conducting a technical dive requiring decompression, this makes the required stops a bonus rather than a chore.
The dive at the north end of first bay has a sandy plain with coral patches and a sloping reef from 12m down to 30m. Features of note are fantastic coral pinnacles covered in red soft corals at the north end of the site- to find this, look for the big table coral and head north past the old fish cage (now covered in sponges). Keep on the straight line and you cannot miss it. There is a pinnacle at 15cm which is a long narrow pinnacle sticking up from the reef at slight angle, this can be used as a navigation aid if you are approaching the site from the shore, you will find it due west of the gap in the fringing reef.
Diving south from the mooring, you will find the cabbage- looking coral at 18m on the corner of the reef. Follow the wall back to the north, and then follow the counter of the reef, you will pass over wide expanse of coral bushes and arrive to sandy gulley. Follow this back up to 12m and work your way back across the reefs to the mooring. In this area, you will find lots of cornet fish changing in waves of color as you watch them hunt the smaller fish. Watch out here for the eight lined wrasse. You can also find lots of parrotfish. This dive is a nice colorful dive with a lot to see for those who want it.
This provides an excellent training area for divers with standing depth down to 5m on a flat sandy bottom- here you can practice without any danger of damaging corals.
Named after king Abdullah II, this is a popular reef for divers, there is a beautiful on coral on top of the reef and here you get larges shoals of pennant fish, and Torpedo Rays are also common here. You usually start the dive exploring the reef with the fan coral, then cross over the gulley, and make your way south along the reef. Turn north when the air supply is dwindling and come back to the shallows where you will find shoals of fusiliers ending up at the mooning. In addition, hawksbill Turtles are often spotted in this site.
From the mooring buoy, swim past the pinnacle to the reef about 18m then turn north crossing the sandy gulley and picking up the reef slope. Here you can pick your depth from 15-30m. it is best at about 25m on the way out. Follow the reef north at this depth then come up the reef to about 12m, you will be somewhere near the cabbage coral at 14m, you can then work our way back between 9 and 12m. there are some nice pinnacles close to the fringing reef, you will pass plates put down for coral growth research, then you know you are nearly back, watch out for turtles on this dive. Current can be up to I knot.
Named because the reef is shaped like rainbow, it starts at around 6m and drops down to 18m on the top of the reef. A deeper gulley runs down the north side of the reef forming a nice wall along the side of the reef. There is a telecommunication all cable that runs over to Egypt running down this gulley. This reef makes a particularly good night dive where you will find Spanish dancers, lots of lobsters and Moray Eels of all the rainbow colors. So if you want to dive “Rainbow Reef” then do it at night.
The cedar Pride was scuttled for divers on November 16th 1985. The ship now lies on her port side across two reefs; the soft coral growth on the masts is fantastic. Those with experience can explore its interior, as it still is very stable. for a nice profile descend by the mooring and work your way along the bottom of the wreck, come around under the bow, then along the keel to the swim through, then ascend to the main mast and accommodation area, stay at this depth and work your way to the bow again, then return along the top edge wreck and complete a safety stop on the mooring chain.
This wreck was scuttled in 1996 after Alcatel had finished laying the electrical cables to Egypt. Its lies not far from the cedar pride and when it went. It landed over the corner of an old sunken fishing boat that has been there since the 71`s. Although the wreck itself is not much to look at, it is a host to a good variety of marine life, blue spotted stingrays, frogfish and a good deal more. The inside is full of banded coral shrimps! Take a tour around here when you dive the cedar pride. Do these at the beginning of your dive as it deeper than the cedar pride.
Its name reflect that it would be all rocks and stones –nothing could be further from truth, This place has amazing flora and fauna and all at shallow depths. It is very popular with snorkelers and is known as one of the prettiest areas in Aqaba. It is a good dive for all, as it has Hawksbill Turtles, shoaling Barracuda, shoals of sergeant majors and fusiliers plus wonderful coral formations.
This site is an excellent shallow dive in an area covered in coral. There are 3 pinnacles, each with its own ecosystem. The central pinnacle boasts a busy cleaning station. Down the coral slope, there is a large Gorgonian fan coral the site is named after, and to the north you will find a series of table corals, and you can also enjoy the Hawksbill Turtles that frequent the area. Around the northern pinnacle are a shoal of Big Eye Emperors and a large shoal of sergeant Major Fish. Here a deep gulley full of Fusiliers drops off towards the Japanese Garden. The mooring is to the south in a sandy patch at 15m. The North West of the fan coral is currently under survey using a down line of the marine park boundary buoy in 24m.
There is an interesting reef to explore in every direction. Huge shoals of Fusiliers are common here and the occasional Hawksbill Turtles. If you look into the reef creases you will find many Moray Eels. Just above the fan coral there is a pinnacle on the reef that can be used to locate the fan coral which sits on a small coral outcrop on the sand away from the reef. Lionfish a bound in this site as do Blue Tang and other Surgeon Fish.
This is a wonderful shallow dive that you can do in a little over an hour while observing the marine life or taking pictures of it. There are two sets of pinnacles, which are the Seven Sister and the Fairy Ring, each has its Own unique ambience. You will find shoals of Fusiliers everywhere. You can also travel another 60m south form the fairy jetty or take a boat dive form the mooring at Olivers Canyon, Excellent for novice divers and also for the experienced ones who have been to many deep divers.
This dive can be made with a circular route with a tour around the table corals (once referred to as a walk through the “grannies” garden), and then you can work your way back to the 40m tank wreck at 6m to do your safety stop. The area around the various pinnacles is busy with marine life, you find lots of Scorpion Fish here, and if you look carefully in the sand gulley’s you will find many Triton Shellfish which keep the Crown of Thorns Starfish at bay.
The Eel Canyon is named after the Garden Eels that Protrude from the sand in the bottom of the canyons (there are also some nice Morays here). There are many Lionfish under coral ledges and some nice black coral bushes. You can enjoy a swim through at the bottom of one the spurs of coral-be careful with your fins though.
Deep off the Eel Canyon dive site, to the West of Kirk's Forest in 38 - 58m lies the Shorouk ship wreck. It was scuttled by the Aqaba Marine Park on 18th June 2008 to create an amazing site for technical divers. due to its depth, coral growth happens more slowly than in the sunny waters above, she almost looks like she could’ve sunk yesterday.
This was named after the famous Yellow Stone park in the USA, also because there is a pinnacle which looks yellow from the surface in the shallow area of the reef and because there is a unique yellow rock sticking up in the desert about 500m inland from the dive site. You will also find there two nice pinnacles with lots of red sponges and nudibranches. Swimming over the deeper reef, you will encounter some huge healthy black coral bushes and lots of Lunar Tailed Groupers. This site is now only accessible by boat.
This site is named after the abundance of blue corals in the area. The topography consists of three spurs of coral starting at around 10m and extending out to 50m with sandy gullies in between. A grass plain is found to the shoreward side and this grass extends down the center of the gullies to 30m. At the south reef there is a circular reef sporting some nice black coral bushes. There are numerous small pinnacles at the top end of each super, and this area abounds with a variety of nudibranches.
Kiwi reef is named after a diver from New Zealand who discovered this amazing place. At the bottom of grass slope there are numerous small pinnacles which form a breeding ground for juvenile fish. Each time you dive there, something new is discovered. This is a favorite dive with underwater photographers.
