The PADI Scuba Dive centre is based within the Wadi Sabarah Botanical Lodge & Gardens which is a secluded haven compared to more bustling resorts. Built with repurposed fossilised coral limestone, it was designed in harmony with nature and oozes calm to provide a stunning retreat from which to explore the Red Sea.

The Lodge is built right on the coastline, so great diving is available literally metres from your bedroom door. This is another level from your normal dive centre. A simple step off the hotel’s jetty can provide great diving in Wadi Sabarah’s housereef. However, the main way of diving is to take a short minibus ride into the surrounding area, which is full of tranquil bays – protected from wind and waves – where reefs can be accessed from the shore, offering easy and relaxed entry to the water.

For those wanting to see slightly further afield, Wadi Sabarah is also perfectly positioned to access classic day-diving boat trips from nearby Port Ghalib. How about a morning dive on Ras el Torfa, then the afternoon in Marsa Mubarak for example?

There is a dive boat moored at the Equinox jetty, a few kilometres from Wadi Sabarah and with quick access to Sha’ab Abu Dabab (30 mins) and Elphinstone (60 mins). Or, if you want to be a bit earlier, or have a small group, Elphinstone, which can be seen from the grounds of Wadi Sabarah, can be reached via speedboat.

With Marsa Alam less than 30 minutes away, Sha’ab Samadai (Dolphin House) is also on the diving menu, meaning we can confidently say there is no diving base with as many different dive options in the South Red Sea.

And, wherever you have explored during the day, there is always the beautiful housereef and dive centre to return to for another dive – and maybe even a nice relaxing beer. Coupled with the peace and beauty Wadi Sabarah provides, this is a dive centre like no other you will have been to.

• Standard shore diving includes two shore dives per day with a guide, tanks and weights. Trips are by minibus to local bays and reefs.
• Reduced guide to diver ratio 6 divers with 1 guide.
• Shore diving is a morning dive and then back to the hotel, followed by an afternoon dive (at some sites, we make two morning dives)
• Day boat diving upgrades are available, bookable in resort either to Port Ghalib Area or Abu Dabab offshore reefs.
• Elphinstone is accessible by speedboat (30 mins away) for single dives and by daily boat (60 mins away) for two tank dives, both bookable upgrades in the resort
• Ecological presentations every day, free for all hotel and diving guests
• If you haven’t dived for a while, then we recommend you take a scuba review as required by your training organisation.

Day Trip - There is often do a combination of two sites in one day, so the morning and afternoon are in different places. Listed below are some of the dive sites included in a dive package price and visited on a rotational basis. Some include an additional entrance fee (*):

• Marsa Egla: A large sea grass bay 20 minutes south of Wadi Sabarah. The dive site hosts three dive sites completely different in both topography and fish life.
• Marsa Assalayia: Easy access to dives that get deep abruptly and are teeming with small fish.
• Marsa Samadai: A medium-sized bay with simple access, it has a huge variety of fish and the possibility of eagle ray sightings.
• Gabal el Rosas*: A narrow bay with two different dives that offer steep drop-offs, tall corals and towering pinnacles.
• Marsa Shouna (Shouni Kebir): Our longest drive north, this spacious dive site has abundant fish species, turtles and a cleaning station.
• Halg el Shouni: Enter via a swim-through in the reef before being greeted by stunning corals and varied marine life.
• Marsa Abu Dabab*: Very close to Wadi Sabarah and well known for turtle and ray sightings. Seagrass beds are not to be missed!
• Abu Dabour*: A beautiful site with two different types of dive available. Chamber dives, varied marine life and interesting corals.
• Marsa Shouni Soraya*: Narrow bay with three very different dives that offer towering, hard coral formations and amazing macro-marine life and shoals of fish.

Special Dive Trips - Supplements are added to daily diving rates and paid locally. Special Trips are weather-dependent and subject to availability. Minimum numbers apply.

As well as great diving – the dive school also offer speedboat runs to Elphinstone, dayboats from Port Ghalib, and minibus trips to nearby shore dives – there are also unique jeep scenic tours to the wadis.