A guide to diving in the Saudi Arabian Red Sea

A BSAC Webinar covering the logistics of diving in the Saudi Arabian Red Sea. Some options and recommendations.

[@MrMenteith]

I dived out of Yanbu for a year. Simply stunning diving those offshore reefs.

[@AhmedAdly11]

I am tired of the word "rarely dived sites" Diving doesn't hurt reefs; fishing does. With the growth of diving in Saudi the key is to ban spear fishing and fishing in general. Otherwise, reefs will be depleted in no time at all.

[@boglefish]

Great talk and very timely. I’m going to Jeddah this week for diving (from eastern province).

[@kjp543]

Good luck!

[@johnR_TravelDiver]

Hi Kevin! I skipped thru your presentation a bit. I was interested in what you mentioned about "the south" of the Red Sea; however, I noticed that you did not mention Jazan or the Farasan Islands. I'm in the process of planning my first trip to KSA in the upcoming years and during my visit, I would definitely want to dive for at least 4 days during my trip. I'm interested in particularly large marine life such as sharks, mantas, dugongs, whale sharks, etc as I'm an underwater photographer. From the blogs and vlogs I've seen, it seems as though Farasan Islands would be the best experience for diving "untouched reef systems". Have you dived there at all? Do you have any recommendations for that area? Are there any particular "dive seasons" in KSA? Like maybe its colder in January, but it brings large pelagics. Thank you again for any information you can provide. John

[@kjp543]

John, I dived Farasan Banks (we were advised not to go as far south as the Islands due to tensions with Yemen). That said the Farasan Banks were superb. I have anorther video on my channel of that trip. kzbin.info/www/bejne/a3SbZn6apMunhtE I have now been back in the uk for nearly three years so not up on the current situation in Saudi. However I would recommend speaking to BevTec diving (Dave Bevan and Kat Trencher) who run a dive ceter and trips in the Saudi Red Sea. Contact as follows: Dave Bevan [e-mail] WhatsApp [phone]

[@yyjones79]

Your video is extremely interesting, and you do seem to have a very reasonable amount of experience. I have a safety question. I'm very fond on snorkelling, kayaking, fishing (and spearfishing). I am currently living in KSA so I am considering going to the sea regularly. Are there any dangers (sharks for example)?

[@kjp543]

Never had any issues with Sharks. Jeddah has a few good places to dive from (Sheraton or La Plage). Not sure they allow spear fishing but snorkelling is fine.

[@benk8109]

Thanks for sharing! Would you recommend going there in December?

[@kjp543]

Yes. All year round is good. Never cooler than about 26-27 degrees in the water and plenty of life all year round. Dive in t-shirt and shorts in summer and 3mm wetsuit In winter.

[@benk8109]

The German travel agency „Beluga Reisen“ offers 7-day liveaboard trips on the MY Saudi Explorer. This might be a good (but not cheap) option flying in from abroad. The vessel was built in Dec. 2019. www.belugareisen.de/tauchreiseziele/asien/saudi-arabien/tauchsafari/my-saudi-explorer.html?no_cache=1