If a holiday to the UAE has been in your bucket list and you can’t wait to get there, you should try to scuba dive in Dubai. Thankfully, some of the world’s best dive centers are in Dubai and so you will have expert guidance as well as a place to hire your snorkeling and diving gear.
With the temperatures in Dubai always ranging between 27° C and 40° C, just be sure that a dip in the pristine, turquoise-blue waters will make you feel very good. Besides, Dubai has well established water sport centers and diving and snorkeling feature widely.
Without the slightest doubt, Dubai is one of the top travel destinations in the world. When you get there, you will want to get the full value of the money you have paid. Do try some scuba diving.
So what are the best dives to try out? we though the few discussed in this small post are awesome, shipwrecks, aquariums and even a few far off in the East Coast, coupe of hours away from Dubai. Don’t worry, the roads heading there are good, sealed and the ride is totally enjoyable.
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The top places to scuba dive in Dubai
Scuba Diving Dubai mall
Whether you are a certified diver or not, you can scuba dive in Dubai with the world’s ultimate predators, sharks at the Dubai Aquarium and underwater zoo located in the Dubai mall. The Dubai mall is an extremely big shopping mall located at the base of Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the whole world.
The Dubai aquarium and underwater zoo is the second largest aquarium tank in the entire world. It is home to over 30,000 aquatic creatures and over 300 different fish species including sharks and rays.
You can experience diving in this amazing aquarium through several ways, but one of the most thrilling and memorable ways is through scuba diving in it and get a close up of the rays and sharks and so many other aquatic life.
As earlier stated, you do not require to be a certified scuba diver to dive in the Dubai Aquarium. This is because the management of the aquarium has an introduction to scuba diving course that you can take to be allowed to dive.
The session is one of the quickest to undertake and within a day you will have covered it. For the people who want a face-to-face encounter with the sharks, there are three encounters offered daily that last for about 20-30 minutes.
If you do not want a face-to-face experience with the sharks and the other marine life, or you are not an experienced diver, you can still safely experience all these while you are inside a cage. Next time you are in Dubai, visit the Dubai mall for this and more exiting adventures.
Scuba Diving Fujairah Beach
Although Fujairah is not exactly in Dubai as it is about 2 hours away by road, it is still going to give you a diving experience that you will never forget.
Fujairah gives both the experienced and the novice divers a chance to scuba dive in her amazingly exciting diving sites. Fujairah is located in quite a unique location in the UAE because it is the only emirate in the Gulf of Oman. It is also the only emirate state that does not share a coastline in the Persian Gulf.
Fujairah diving sites are home to bright corals, exotic tropical fish and other enthralling marine life. There are more than 930 species of tiny and large marine life to interact with while diving.
The PADI offers diving courses in case you do not know how to dive so that you can also experience an amazing diving experience. Fujairah is an amazing destination for scuba diving since her coasts are not crowded and the marine life visibility is awesome. Since the coasts do not experience strong currents, navigation is very easy for divers of all levels including children.
You will love this place for its serenity. If you organize your diving tour with a good diving company, you will be guided by the very best and you do not even have to bring your gear because you can rent. However, if you have a pair of travel fins that you are totally attached to, you can always bring them along for your scuba diving rendezvous.
Dibba Rock Diving – Scuba Diving Fujairah
Dibba Rock is one of the most popular diving destination on Fujairah Beach. You can visit and treat yourself with a thrilling scuba diving experience. This place is full of color from its amazing marine creatures such as the green sea turtle, the black tipped reef sharks, the purple coral, puffer fish, parrotfish, banner fish, lionfish and the orange clown fish among others.
Scuba diving at the Dibba Rock is relatively easy and diving when the tides are high is more exciting than diving when the tides are low. The water is nicely clear, leaving you with a lot of view.
People who have done Dibba Rock diving before say that it is a great place to dive since the chances of spotting black-tip reef sharks and sea turtles are very high. The visibility and the lighting is also great enabling you to take clear and beautiful photos under water.
Scuba Dive in Dubai – Jumeirah Beach
Jumeirah Beach is located on the coast of the Persian Gulf and it offers you a chance to scuba dive at its Pavilion Dive Centre. At the Jumeirah Beach, you enjoy a thrilling adventure of diving in the deeper parts waters of the sea as you interact with different fish species and other amazing aquatic creatures.
You will also get a chance to see ancient shipwrecks. If you do not have any experience in diving, the Pavilion Dive Centre offers diving training sessions so that you can enjoy the experience like a professional.
There are instructors who can communicate in different languages such as English, Russian, French, Arabic, Chinese and German to cater for different tourists. If you choose to stay at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, you will get a scuba diving experience course free of charge.
Everything that you need for the diving is sold in the hotel’s diving store, and you can enjoy the underwater experience while taking photos of the amazing shipwrecks and the exotic aquatic creatures.
The Pavilion Dive Centre is open every day, on Friday to Monday being open from 8am to 6 pm and Tuesday to Thursday being open from 8am to 10 pm. If you have never experienced a thrilling deep-sea scuba diving adventure, visit this place and you will enjoy an awesome memorable adventure.
Best shipwrecks scuba diving in Dubai
Wreck diving is very popular. There is something so alluring about it. However, it is not a feat for everyone as you should be trained in wreck penetration and with certain sites, you will be required to have a certain level of certification. Most importantly, diving companies in Dubai do arrange diving tours and they also rent out equipment and diving gear. Do not go shipwreck diving alone.
Zainab Wreck Diving – best scuba diving in Dubai
Zainab is a shipwreck found off the coast of Dubai. It has an interesting history because it is said to have been illegally transporting fuel from Iraq in 2001 when it’s crew willingly sank it to avoid the Us Navy who were then enforcing UN sanctions on fuel. Zainab now lies 70 meters under the water and it offers about 20 meters of a diving spot making her one of the amazing destinations to scuba dive in Dubai.
There is a lot to see in the Zainab wreck since most of the equipments it used to smuggle still lies around the wreck making the place to be frequently visited by maritime enthusiasts. In addition, most of the marine creatures have adopted her as their home making it an interesting place to interact with different species of marine life. Some of these marine creatures include barracudas, ousters, batfish, rays and snappers among others.
Because of the different artifacts that lay around the wreck on the bottom the ocean, and the many entry points on Zainab herself that give ease of access, this wreck has become one of the most interesting and amazing places to dive in Dubai.
Mariam Express Shipwreck diving
This is yet another of favorite shipwreck dives in Dubai. The Mariam Express was a roll on roll off ship that used to carry load between Iraq and the UAE. It was caught up in a heavy sea and as it was overweight, it sank off the coast of Dubai in 2006, 3rd May.
All its cargo, including construction vehicles have made some good homes for marine wildlife. The deepest part of this wreck dive is the port side, which sits at a depth of 25 meters. Some of the marine wildlife you can expect to see at this wreck include spotted eagle rays, yellowtail barracudas, torpedo rays and many more, including flat worms.
MV Dara Shipwreck diving
Sad story with this wreck, perhaps all the more reason you should dive there to commemorate the people that died in the ship explosion that occurred in 8th of April, 1961. 238 people perished in that explosion.
While American and British destroyers had sent their men aboard to successfully put out the fire, the Mv Dara would later sink on the 10th of April 1961 as it was being towed to safety. However, 565 passengers had been rescued. Today, she nestles 17 meters below the surface about 3 miles out of Dubai. Plenty of marine wildlife species have made this shipwreck their home.
MV Victoria Star – Best diving in Dubai
Located about 55 minutes out of Port Rashid in Dubai, this shipwreck has got quite a history. But first, the diving certification required for this wreck is the advanced open water, or a higher certification.
This is a recent shipwreck because the Angyafold-built MV Victoria Star sank in 2013. It is recommended that you take two dives to explore this wreck but one dive is usually enough for casual dives. However, you can ask for more advice from the diving shops. The deepest part of the wreck is 32 meters.
Cement Barge Wreck – Scuba dive in Dubai
As the name suggests, this is the wreck of a cement barge that sank in 1971 after running into heavy seas off the Dubai coast. Because of its shallow depth, this wreck is best for divers of all levels, including beginners. Although the barge has started suffering some damage, it still has its cargo of cement. The average depth of this wreck is 12 meters. Some of the marine wildlife to see here include stingrays, hammour and snapper.
There are just a few of the many artificial and natural wrecks and dive sites where you can have a lot of fun in the water. Just remember to book with one of the diving companies and most importantly, remember to be safe.
