321dive is committed to providing the best value and most professional access to dive sites around the Egyptian Sinai.

All of the dive sites can be visited in a single week, subject to sea conditions.

From beginners embarking upon their first confined dive to technical divers, from wrecks to coral gardens, from clown fish to white tipped sharks, the Red Sea has it all.

Below are some of the dive sites that can be accessed from our venues.

Ras Mohammed National Park

On the very tip of the Sinai, where the Gulf of Aqaba and the Gulf of Suez meet with the main body of the Red Sea, there is a high cliff wall. It is on this cliff that it is said you can see the outline of the Prophet Mohammed's face looking south over the Red Sea.

This is where the Sinai's oldest National Park takes its name. Established in 1983, the Park covers all of the land starting from the tip of the Sinai all the way north to Sharm el-Sheikh's main port, and all the waters along the coastline. There are several dive sites in the Park, which vary from steep wall dives and fast currents to mild drift dives past fabulous coral pinnacles and gardens.

Ras Ghozlani

This is possibly the smoothest of dive sites in the National Park. The cur rents here are never strong and the diversity of life that can be seen here is outstanding. The shore reef descends down to a plateau that proceeds out into the sea and then drops away. The topography of the plateau varies between rolling coral gardens and large coral bommies.

The most significant features to this site are its huge table corals and Gorgonian fan corals. A huge variety of reef fish live among the corals, turtles come into the site to nest on the shoreline above and Manta Rays glide through the blue.

Shark and Yolanda Reef

The most famous of the National Park's dive sites is Shark and Yolanda Reef. Here, the variety of all the Parks dive sites is combined to create a dive that is hard to beat. Shark Reef is an 800m wall, with crystal blue water that, during the height of summer, is filled with thousands of schooling Snapper and Barracuda, which are hunted by marauding Sharks. It sits on the tip of the Sinai next to Yolanda Reef, which takes its name from a ship that hit the reef and sank in the early 1980s.

Around the outer edge of Yolanda is a beautiful coral garden full of vibrant soft corals and thousands of Anthias. To the west of Yolanda, in the shallows, is what remains of the ship's cargo. Toilets and bathtubs lie encrusted in corals and have become home to Giant Morays and a variety of reef fish taking shelter from the currents. Turtles can often be found feeding on soft corals.

Thomas Reef, Tiran

This is the smallest reef in the Straits of Tiran, which means that if the conditions allow, it is possible to dive all the way around it. With steep walls on all sides, made up of a variety of hard and soft corals, and fast currents running, this is an exciting dive. Below the eastern wall of the reef is a wide deep-water plateau that leads the dive north over a stunning canyon.

Swinging around onto the north and western walls the style of the reef changes from being a bright and colourful dive, to craggy walls where baby sharks and turtles are sometimes found resting in small caves.

Jackson Reef, Tiran

The Straits of Tiran are made up of four offshore reefs that climb up from the depths of the Gulf of Aqaba all the way to the surface. Described as "one of the most beautiful places in the world", by Jacque Cousteau, Jackson Reef is the northernmost reef in the Straits. Due to its location, the southern side of Jackson is a popular location, as the northern wall is often subject to large swells.

The reef is essentially circular in shape with steep walls on all sides. To the east and west of the southern wall beautiful coral gardens can be found which are home to hawksbill turtles and a multitude of reef fish. Pelagic fish such as Snapper and Barracuda can be seen hanging in the blue and below them White-tip and Grey Reef Sharks. During the summer months it is on the northern wall that the famous Scal loped Hammerhead Sharks are seen schooling in crystal blue waters.

Thistlegorm

In the Gulf of Suez, between the reef systems of Shaid Ali and the Sinai Peninsula is where SS Thistlegorm finally came to rest. She was sunk by German bombers in World War II while she was entering the Suez Canal. The Thistlegorm was carrying supplies for the Allied troops in North Africa. Her cargo ranges from rifles to steam engines, motorbikes to airplane wings and it is this extraordinary amount of equipment that makes this dive so interesting.

The wreck sits upright on the seabed and has become home to schools of Snapper and Barracuda, and many smaller reef fish. Much of the wreck is encrusted in sponges as well as hard and soft corals. It is possible to penetrate almost all of the wreck and it is in the front two holds that much of the cargo can be found still intact. This dive is one of the best wreck dives in the world and is a must see for any wreck dive enthusiast.

The Straits of Tiran

The eastern arm of the Red Sea, which separates the Sinai from Saudi Arabia, is known as the Gulf of Aqaba. It is a huge rift on the sea floor that plunges down thousands of meters into the deep. It is these currents that bring nutrients to corals of the four reefs, and it is the abundance of reef fish that bring in the pelagic fish such as Snappers, Tuna and Barracuda, then come the sharks. White-tip, Grey Reef, Silver-tip, Leopard, Thresher, Tiger and schooling Hammerhead sharks abound.

The Bells

A true vertical wall, which offers divers an exciting entry through a narrow chimney. Bells is full of overhangs and fissures, with many swim-throughs and cavelets. Toward the Blue Hole in the south the reef profile softens to a steep slope. The dive begins in a small slot in the reef table about 100m north of the Blue Hole.

Descend through the tube-like fissure and, after reaching your maximum depth, ascend slowly while following the reef south to the saddle marking the Blue Hole. A head-first, spiralling descent through the chimney adds a new dimension to the confined space of the tube. The saddle, at approximately 6m from the top of the reef, is one exit point.

Current permitting, divers are able to enjoy a relaxing drift along the wall towards the saddle, and then exit through the Blue Hole. There is a good growth of plate and cabbage coral, black coral bushes, white soft corals and diverse fish life. Like all wall sites, this site should be treated with caution. Refer to your depth gauge, and be careful not to exceed your maximum depth. Current permitting, divers are able to enjoy a relaxing drift along the wall towards the saddle entry to the Blue Hole.

Eel Garden

This is a gently sloping wall dive to suit all levels of divers and offers easy entry and exit through a shallow sandy lagoon, home to several lion fish. As the name suggests there are numerous garden eels that can be seen opposite the wall in the white sloping sand bank. The wall starts at 3m and has a maximum depth of approximately 16 metres.

Blue Hole

A lot has been written about the Blue Hole. Most of it focuses on the dive sites reputation as one of the worlds most dangerous dives. Well it is. But only when the rules are broken and deep diving, especially on air, is attempted. The reason? 'The Archway'. Inside the hole at a depth of 60m, the top of a Cathedral sized archway reveals itself. The bottom of the arch lies at over 100m and the whole arch breaks through the Blue hole to the open sea wall.

It is the 'challenge' of The Arch, dropping down to 60m and beyond, then swimming through the 25m of archway and finally, (if your luck's in) ascending on the other side that has led to so many compressed air dives ending in fatality. It is to be stressed that Extended range diving or better still Mixed Gas diving (Tri mix) with the proper training and experience is the ONLY way to reach these depths.

One of the greatest attractions of the Blue Hole lies on the rich sloping reef outside. A shallow lip over the reef table at 6m leads to the outer reef. The reef slope, one of the Red Sea's deepest and most spectacular drop offs, is rich in hard corals, particularly the section to the south of the lagoon. Triggerfish, jacks, unicorns, parrotfish, angels, grouper and surgeonfish are all part of the variety of fish life on the outer reef.

Lighthouse

The Lighthouse, situated at the Northern end of the bay of Dahab, is home to the confined water training area due to its large sandy slopes and gentle drop off. The Lighthouse offers a number of different dives depending on the route chosen. The sprawling coral gardens offer an abundance of marine life and vividly colourful corals, extending far from the shore.

The Lighthouse is made up of a large rocky wall that wraps around the point whilst heading north to the Eel Garden. The wall and the sprawling coral gardens, which alongside a spectacular variety of coral, feature here and make it a very popular dive site. The Lighthouse is also a very reputable night dive area where it is not uncommon to see sleeping parrot fish, Spanish dancers, Red Sea lobsters, shrimps, hermit crabs and much more.

The Canyon

This site takes its name from a long and very beautiful cavern under the seabed and is an essential dive for all fanatics of caves and cavern diving. This cavern lies north to south from the shallow reef offshore. Access to the site is through a shallow (3m) lagoon lying a few steps from the shoreline. Once outside the lagoon, a large coral mound lying some 10m out from the reef face, at a depth of around 14m marks the entrance to the canyon. An opening, just wide enough to free-fall through comfortably, leads to the first chamber. A careful drop to 30m lands you on the bottom of the cavern.

Sunlight penetrates through various large openings allowing excellent visibility throughout the dive. Ascending, the fissure snakes its ways up from the depths, to emerge in a large coral dome, known as the Fish Bowl. This is a smaller cave at the shallow end of the canyon and is filled with thousands of shimmering glassfish.

Continuing through the fish bowl, exit the cave at 18m, and swim back over the Canyon to catch your bubbles forcing their way through the seabed in straight columns reaching to the surface. The lagoon leads out to beautiful coral gardens which can only be fully explored after several visits Caution is required on this dive due to parts of the Canyon having an overhead environment. But with the proper planning and the use of one of our experienced dive guides, it is both a safe and highly rewarding experience.

There are many, many diving options available down South.

With more than 25 inshore and offshore reefs in the Marsa Alam area, 50 different dive profiles and snorkeling opportunities are offered each full of adventure and discovery.

Please email or give us a call and give us the opportunity to reveal more!