Destination: TABA
S
ituated to the far north of the The Aquarium is another top site,
Egyptian Red Sea, the relaxed as it offers a very gentle drift dive
diving resort of Taba is a popular past life-filled coral bommies and
location for those looking to a mass of fish swimming around
get away from the crowds and the cleaning stations.
explore the vibrant reefs that
fringe the tip of the Gulf of The standard of house reef
Aqaba. This Sinai Peninsular town diving here is excellent, with a
is famed for its macro life and chance to see life such as turtles,
is one of the best places in the beautiful red anemones and
Red Sea to encounter frogfish in good soft and hard coral cover.
virtually current-free conditions,
as well as a plethora of small The town of Taba itself can
critters such as octopus, morays, be split into three areas: Taba
nudibranchs, pipefish, stonefish, Village, which is located close to
and sea moths. the Israeli border; Taba Heights
approximately 20 minutes drive
Good visibility and lack of south where there is a complex
current means Taba’s waters of hotels; and also the Taba Coast
offer an excellent environment area where there are yet another
in which to learn to dive and also two large hotels.
provide hassle-free conditions
for underwater photographers.
Getting there: By far the
There are few dive boats
easiest way to get to Taba is to
operating in the area, so there
fly direct into Taba International
will only ever be a few divers on
airport. Alternatively visitors
each dive.
can fly to the southern Sinai
resort of Sharm El Sheikh and
Overlooked by the neighbouring
be transferred by road 180km
countries of Israel, Saudi Arabia
through the desert mountains
image: Red Sea Waterworld
and Jordan around the Gulf
and coastal roads. The transfer
of Aqaba, another advantage
takes between two and three
of a stay here is the day trips
hours. Taxis can be arranged
available to some of the region’s
through the dive centre at a
best topside attractions, such as
cost of approximately 00LE
the stunning rock-carved city of
(Egyptian Pounds) each way.
Petra, the Wadi Rum desert, the
Alternatively the transfers can be
Dead Sea, Jerusalem and Cairo.
arranged by the tour operator
if you opt for a holiday package
There are more than 25 dive
with accommodation, flights and
sites around Taba, with more
diving included.
still being discovered. Most of
the diving available is by a short
The following diving operators
boat journey. To tune in with
in Taba have met ISO standards
the relaxed approach to holiday
EN 167 / ISO 280 for diving
image: Red Sea Waterworld Map: ©Etudes et Cartographie, Lille
time here, centres offer flexibility
as agreed with Egypt’s CDWS,
on the number of dives visitors
the Austrian Institute of Norms
wish to do each day with full day,
and the European Underwater
half day and single dive trips
Federation.
available by boat. One of the best
dives around Taba is the Canyon,
Red Sea Waterworld
where you are likely to see a
Taba Heights
http://www.redseawaterworld.com
colourful collection of frogfish
info@redseawaterworld.com
at a coral bommie around 5m.
Telephone: 0020 69 580099
Moving across the sandy bottom,
which is peppered with tiny Werner Lau
critters and stonefish, you reach
Morgana Beach Hotel - Taba
a split in the reef that descends
www.wernerlau.com
to 0m. The reef wall here is
taba@wernerlau.com
encrusted with life, including
Telephone: 0020 10 505076
octopus, ghost pipefish and
Aqua-Sport Taba
more frogfish. The Black Coral
Hilton Taba Resort
dive site, also accessible by shore,
Movenpick Taba
is where you will find a cleaning www.aqua-sport.com
station for coral groupers as well
info@aqua-sport.com
as a huge collection of moray
Telephone: 0020 69 5010 or
eels and hunting lionfish.
0020 10 651
image: Red Sea Waterworld
 www.cdws.travel
Issue 1 June 2009
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