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Diving in Saudi ArabiaSaudi nationals, and of late international tourists, have now adopted what started out as mostly an expatriate sport, diving the Saudi Arabian Red Sea. There are several ways of experiencing the underwater world in this aquatic paradise and all are within the rates found in diving locations the world over. 
Private resorts all along the northern coast offer the best access to the sea for shore diving. Some expatriates visiting Jeddah book a weekend diving package with a hotel in the city and nearly all Jeddah's hotels offer some kind of access to northern beaches by bus. The most popular are Al Nakeel Beach, Blue Beach, Sheraton Beach and the Al Bilad Beach. Durrant Al Arus, the only PADI Gold Palm Resort in the Kingdom, offers a five star hotel situated on a Red Sea lagoon and villas that front the Kingdom's only 18 hole golf course with green grass. There is one half mile of beach diving available, or boats can be arranged to the outer reefs through the dive shop at Durrah Marina. The top hotels in Jeddah have contacts with the dive shops and can arrange instruction for beginners and recreational dives for qualified divers. Many offer private beaches from which to shore dive. You can also book space on one of the excursion boats that go out further to more colourful and secluded sections of the reef. However, before going on these boats, it is necessary to get a letter from your sponsor authorising you to make the trip and to bring along a passport or Igama and your Saudi Dive Permit. There are numerous dive shops around Jeddah. Most have certified diving instructors recognised by the American training agencies under RSTC (PADI, PDIC, NAUI, etc) or the British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC), so options for diving courses are plentiful. Equipment can also be rented in the dive shops by the day, weekend or for the two week dive classes. An effort to start dive tourism was made in 1990, by Saudi Airlines Station Manager for Germany, Harry Schiller. Saudia teamed up with the Al Bilad Hotel and the Al Saif, the first purpose built dive boat to operate in the kingdom - jointly owned by Dr Talal Bakr and Capt. Victor Organ - to provide dive packages. Brochures were printed but the Gulf War put the program on hold and it wasn't until early 1999 that Mr Schiller arrived with travel agents from across Europe for a familiarisation trip to Jeddah and Yanbu. The first dive group from Germany arrived in October that year at Durrant Al Arus and since then there have been other familiarisation trips and tour groups. Travel Operators Offering Dive Tours to Saudi Arabia
Dive Operators in Saudi Arabia
You might also be interested in our page on Saudi Arabian dive sites. Our thanks go to Capt. Victor Organ for supplying much of the information on this page. Other Areas of the Red SeaWe have several pages on dive operators elsewhere in the Red Sea, and other practicalities of diving in the region. This site is regularly updated and more operators in other parts of the Red Sea will be added soon. Meanwhile, these books provide more information.
Note: If you buy any book through one of these links, the SCUBA Travel site earns a commission (at no extra cost to yourself). Thank you for making your purchases from here. Your CommentsPlease send your questions, or add your comments, on diving in the Red Sea. Do you want to recommend a dive operator? Let us know. |
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