Dahab

About Dahab

The scarred desert landscape of Sinai is home to the Bedouins. Originally nomadic people, they have changed with the times and now many of live in and around Dahab. The Bedouins in the Dahab area are called Muzeina and are an important part of the area. The Bedouins give Dahab much of its unique, relaxed atmosphere. Dahab is a famous dive resort that has managed to keep its small-town, hippy feel, unlike the larger centres of Sharm el Sheik and Hurgada.
Dahab is one of the oldest and most famous dive areas in the Red Sea offering some of the most exciting and spectacular diving in Sinai. Dahab, which means 'gold' in Arabic, was named after its golden beaches, lying on the east coast of the Sinai Peninsula on the Gulf of Aqaba. The journey from the airport in the more touristy Sharm is an hour's drive through the magnificent desert and mountains.

Tourist highlights
* Dahab is world-renowned for its windsurfing. Reliable winds provide superb flat water conditions inside Dahab's sand spit. There is also an area behind the spit known to windsurfers as 'Speedy' which has more flat water and strong interupted winds, making it a perfect area for windsurfing at speed. A very small bay within 'Speedy', known as 'Baby Bay', is used for freestyle windsurfing (doing tricks). To the east, wavy conditions couple with strong winds to provide formidable conditions for keen windsurfers.
It's a perfect place for SCUBA diving, Freediving and snorkelling, with many reefs immediately adjacent to waterfront hotels. The nearby Blue Hole and Canyon are internationally famous dive spots.

* The seafood restaurants along the waterfront of the down-town tourist area, known as Masbet, are good, with red snapper, calamari and lobster being highlights. The Bedouin-style seafood is based on baking in earthenware.

* There are camel, horse, jeep and quad-bike safaris. These are either parallel to the shoreline, up one of the several valleys or around the township.

* A two hour drive is sufficient to reach Mount Sinai and Saint Catherine's Monastery; ascents to view sunrise and sunset are popular.

* Kind of Tourists: Historically, most visitors to Dahab have been backpackers travelling independently and staying in hostels in the Masbet area. In recent years, development of hotels in the Medina area has facilitated the arrival of a wider range of tourists, many of whom visit Dahab specifically to partake in the windsurfing, diving and other activities.