Dahab - World Class Watersports and Diving

Windsurfing - Kitesurfing - Diving - Coaching - Qualifications - Town - Accommodation  

Dahab – Don’t leave without… 

- Working on your freestyle in Baby Bay with the pros.

- Taking a GPS to the speed strip and find out just how fast you can blast.

- Kitesurfing in the open sea out of Centre 2 and love the open, user free space.

- Winding down with Shisha and mint tea in the beach bar.

- Diving into the Blue Hole or follow the Canyon all the way to the Fishbowl and look out for the huge resident   octopus.

- Going quad biking in the mountains and leave your friends for dust.

- Bartering over rugs, lamps and Shisha in the night markets.

DAHAB 

With some of the most consistent winds and best sailing conditions in the world, windsurfers and kitesurfers are guaranteed the most incredible time in Dahab. Only one hour from the international airport of Sharm el Sheikh, itself only a few hours short haul from London, and offering year round warm water, pristine beaches and a spectacular 300 days a year of force 4-7 wind, Dahab is justified in its claim to being one of the world’s best windsurfing spots.

Windsurfing

The majority of the windsurfing takes place in the large sheltered bay, straight off the beach in front of the hotels. This area, called the 'lagoon’, is shallow, warm and windy, making it perfect for working on your beach and water starts, as well as being well within the reach of the beach.

Slightly further out, but sheltered from the ocean swell, is a second area called the ‘speed strip’. Here the wind is clean and strong, and the water very flat. It tends to be less crowded, and is perfect for flat out blasting, or nailing those carve gybes. Just adjacent is ‘baby bay’, hang out spot for the professional, and aspiring, freestylers, who make Dahab their year round home.

If your feeling particularly adventurous, grab yourself a radio and maybe a GPS and head out past the spit and into the bay to get stuck into the big swell. Perfect for learning wave sailing and generally having a blast, out here you’ll be far from the crowd, but with Harry Nass’ radios, resort safety will be there in minutes to help you out.

Kitesurfing

For the kitesurfers among you, there is a dedicated kitesurfing bay adjoining the lagoon; it’s a shallow water safety net, free of other water users, for those handling the kite for the first time or for intermediates concentrating on sailing ability and basic jumps.

The vast open sea then offers plenty of space for downwind adventures, confident boosting flat-water areas for complicated freestyle or air-time and rolling swell for those who want a taste of big waves.

What with the perfect wind conditions, warm water and variety of sailing areas, right on your doorstep, you can see why Dahab is considered one of the prime kitesurfing locations in the world.

Diving

Dahab is perched on the edge of the African Rift, the giant crack in the earth that originally formed the Red Sea and the Rift Valley. The huge and jagged mountains above Dahab descend at much the same angle below the water, to a depth of some 2000 metres. The resulting underwater landscape is spectacular, covered in valleys, canyons and caves.

Because of its location in the Red Sea, much of the diving is geologically unique. The depth of the Dahab dive-sites mean that you are in the unique position of seeing pelagic and reef ecosystems coexisting just a few metres from the beach – most of the dive sites can be accessed by a short walk, jeep or camel ride, although boat trips further a field are an option if you want to explore some of the Red Sea’s famous wrecks.

The most famous dives in Dahab are the Blue Hole and the Canyon, which can be explored by sport divers to a depth of 30 metres, but there are countless other unique dive sites to explore further. Due to the slightly colder water, coral growth is quite different than in Sharm El Sheikh.

The dominant species are Acropora, Brain and Stonecoral, Leather and Blackcoral. Only occasionally you will come across Softcorals. Fish life is represented by the typical Red Sea Reefdwellers, Trigger and Surgeonfish, all kind of Groupers, Emperor and Parrotfish. With some luck you can observe Pelagius, such as Jackfish, Barracudas or even a Reef shark.

COACHING

Harry Nass

The Harry Nass centre is one of the oldest and most well established centres in the Dahab area. With two separate centres, one situated on the main bay, one closer to the speed strip, both linked by a quick complimentary boat trip, Harry Nass can guarantee the ideal location for access to the water.

Staffed by very experienced and friendly qualified instructors, and offering a rigging and launching service, you can really make the most of your time spent here. Equipment comes in the form of the world’s largest collection of JP boards and Neil Pryde sails. 

Harry Nass is also the only centre in Dahab to offer high quality Kitesurfing tuition and equipment hire, with direct access to the kitesurfing lagoon, meaning that you’ll often have the place to yourself. Stocking a full and up to date range of Cabrina kites and boards, you’ll never be left wanting.

Rob Horne

Rob has been teaching windsurfing for over 15 years and is highly regarded by the international windsurf community. Described as ‘one of the best windsurfing teaching concepts in the world’ by German Surf magazine, the combination of Rob’s unique teaching style and Harry Nass’ facilities we can almost guarantee an improvement in your windsurfing. In 2007 Rob became a JP/Neil Pryde sponsored rider. 

Gunnar Palm

Gunnar is a German trained VDWS kitesurf instructor, and has serious knowledge of the technical aspects of kitesurfing and aerodynamics due to his training in aircraft mechanics. He is always happy to pass his excellent working knowledge of boards and kites on to the clients. The German VDWS qualification is recognised by the IKO, and Harry Nass is the only Company qualified to award IKO qualifications in resort.

Black Rock Dive Centre

The Black Rock Dive Centre is considered my most to be the best diving centre in Dahab. Established in 2000, The Black Rock Dive Centre is a fully accredited PADI 5-star Gold Palm Instructor Development Centre (IDC). They offer year round courses for divers of all standards, from first time divers to experienced TEC-diving courses.

Ideally located within easy reach of all the major dive sites, and fully equipped with the most up to date dive equipment available, serviced and maintained professionally on site, Black Rock Dive Centre is the perfect place to learn to dive. It also neighbours on to the Harry Nass centre, offering a brilliant opportunity for those on our diving courses to experience the adrenaline thrills of windsurfing and kiteboarding. 

QUALIFICATIONS

IKO

- Qualifications offered: Assistant IKO Instructor, IKO Kitesurfing Instructor

Through the development of a professional network of affiliated kiteboarding centers and trained instructors and examiners, The International Kitesurfing Association provides a high quality level of teaching, with standards that are recognized and applied worldwide.

Since its establishment in 2001, IKO has developed a network of more than 130 affiliated kiteboarding centers worldwide (38 countries), 18 examiners, more than 3000 instructors and has certified over 40.000 kiteboarders.

To find out more about the IKO qualifications please click here. 

RYA

The Royal Yachting Association’s training schemes for windsurfing, sailing and powerboating provide the qualifications for skippers, instructors and water sports professionals worldwide. On average 185,000 people per year complete RYA training courses at 2220 affiliated Training Centres in 20 countries. The RYA sets the standard for tuition worldwide, and you can guarantee that your RYA instructors at Harry Nass are some of the best in the world.

PADI

- Qualifications offered: Rescue Diver, Divemaster

PADI is the most popular and well respected diving qualification in the world, with over 80% of the world’s divers possessing some form of PADI certificate. PADI Divers carry the most respected and sought after scuba credentials in the world.

No matter where you choose to dive, your PADI certification card will be recognized and accepted. In fact, on most dive adventures you’ll be surrounded by other PADI Divers who made the same choice you did – to train with the world’s largest and most respected diver training organization.  

TOWN 

Located only an hour from the international airport of Sharm el Sheikh, Dahab attracts watersports enthusiasts from all over the world, drawn by the world-class windsurfing, kitesurfing, and diving.

Dahab in Arabic means ‘gold’, a reference to the beautiful beaches of the South Sinai, where Dahab is located. Trade winds blow consistently over the bizarre and mountainous desert and through this oasis. Originally a small Bedouin village, before being discovered by the backpacking community and subsequently adrenaline hunting windsurfers, it still retains much of its original charm.

Nowadays in the center of the little Bedouin village Assalah, which is only a few minutes taxi ride from the hotels by the lagoon, there’s a great array of cozy bars, typical Shisha eating places, little restaurants and lots of shops all situated along the seafront. This is a great place to practice your bartering whilst exploring the traditional Egyptian markets, and in the evening there are relaxed Shisha bars and some upbeat western style establishments serving some Egyptian beer and more familiar food. 

ACCOMMODATION

All our clients in Dahab are accommodated in the Hotel Coralia, which is another close neighbour of Harry Nass and Black Rock Dive Centre. The hotel enjoys a huge expanse of green open space, no mean feat in the middle of a desert, and is located on the prime stretch of beach within easy reach of the watersports facilities in the day, and the bars at night. It’s beach is shaded and breezy, and the building offers good views of the bay.

The Coralia has a good-sized swimming pool with shaded sunbathing areas around it, near which the three well-catered restaurants are based; restaurant Zeitouna offers buffet breakfast and dinner while the pizza and pasta restaurant next door to Harry Nass Centre 1 or the lagoon snack bar to the right of the swimming pool are specifically for lunch. There is also a beach bar only five metres from Harry Nass, which is the meeting point during the day or at sundown for the windsurfers - it offers stunning views across the bay.

Rooms are of a good size, and located in traditional whitewashed detached bungalows. They are safe and well located, with en-suite bathrooms and king size beds, and are available on a half board basis. Room upgrades can be arranged depending on availability and at an extra cost.

ACTIVITIES

Aside from the four main attractions of Dahab; Windsurfing, Kitesurfing and Diving, there are an extraordinary amount of other activities available.

Sporting activities include Waterskiing and Wakeboarding, Snorkelling, Mountain Biking, Quad Biking, Horse Riding, Walking, and even beach volleyball and Yoga.

Camel Trekking

Take guided camel treks into the Sinai Desert in the traditional Bedouin style, to visit local landmarks in the desert and sample a traditional Egyptian meal under the stars. Some guides even offer the opportunity to spend the night in a traditional Bedouin tent before waking for the sunrise and trekking back to the resort.

Petra and Cairo

Visit the beautiful and intriguing UNESCO World Heritage Site of Petra, in Jordan, famous for its spectacular buildings hewn into the rich red sandstone, or travel further a field to the capital of Egypt, Cairo.

St. Katherine’s Monastery & Mount Sinai

St. Katherine’s Monastery is the oldest continuously running Christian monastery in the world, and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The neighbouring mountain of Mount Sinai offers spectacular views of the beautiful desert, and according to Bedouin tradition is the mountain on which Moses received the Ten Commandments.

Windsurfing - Kitesurfing - Diving - Coaching - Qualifications - Town - Accommodation