Dahab is a 45 minute drive from Sharm el Sheikh and is a much smaller, less hectic and more personal tourist destination.  Dahab means ‘Gold’ and is situated amongst the golden mountains of the renowned Red Sea and the Sinai Desert.  A dive holiday in Dahab offers a quiet ambiance that is ideal for both land and underwater adventures. This dive holiday spot caters for free diving, snorkeling, scuba; plus it’s also the preferred choice for technical divers who want to explore the natural treasures in the deep Blue Hole, as well as the Canyon.

Here are my top 10 tips on how to save on a dive holiday in Dahab:

1) Fly on easyjet.com any month other than July & August to Sharm el Sheikh Airport from the UK.  Make sure you are met by a taxi from the accommodation you are going to stay in, this way you will pay much less. The cheapest way to get to Dahab, is by bus, from Sharm el Sheikh, but this may not be the most practical way when you first arrive.

2) Find your accommodation before you go.  An apartment is a very reasonable way to stay in Dahab and I would thoroughly recommend Dahab Sea Stars, owned and run by an English couple.  4 people can pay between 50-70 EUR a night and they also run private scuba diving courses.   The main currency accepted is EUR and the Egyptian Pound (LE).  GBP is accepted, but becareful with the Scottish GBP, this has been refused in the local banks in the past and therefore could not be exchanged.

3) You can also stay in a ‘camp’, this is another very reasonable way to stay there.  In the camps you can pay 2 EUR for single bedroom, without a bathroom, however, you can pay up to 16 EURO per night for a triple room with a bathroom and an AC.  This won’t be the most luxurious accommodation, but for a week diving, this is perfect.

4) Research all the prices for the local hotels and if you find a great deal, but think it could be improved, ‘haggle’ – the Egyptians and the Bedouins understand and even appreciate a good haggle; you never know what you kind of deal you might end up with!

5) Once you’re in Dahab, take a day to wander around the dive centers’ and find the best deal for your scuba diving, free diving and/or tech diving – you can find it all and at very reasonable prices, especially if you compare the prices to Sharm el Sheikh.

6) You can eat out for as much as you want to spend.  On average you will pay 50LE for a main course.  However, you can eat Koshary for 5 LE and it is clean and tasty.  If you rent an apartment, then you can also cook your own food, which can save on the potential for a bad tummy, as well as the costs.

7) Don’t go boat diving, go shore diving.  A shore dive is cheaper and overall a completely different experience.  There are many places for shore diving in Dahab and if you wanted to save even more money, you could choose one of the many dive centers on the beach front, and go diving just opposite the dive center!  However, to truly enjoy your dive holiday in Dahab, I would invest a little more money in this activity.

8) Walk around and find the best deals for day trips.  Make sure you mention that another tour operator is offering a better price and see what suddenly happens to the price of the trip you are interested in taking!

9) Did I forget to mention – Haggle!!  Haggle for everything, this is the culture and it works.

10) Buy Bedouin gifts from the beach front.  These are normally cheaper from the Bedouins’ themselves and the camel hair goods are hand-made and make beautiful gifts.

Dahab is Gold, but it doesn’t need to cost the same!  If you do a little research; haggle a little and time things right, you can find that you will spend much less and experience so much more.  Dahab is a great dive holiday destination and one that you will remember for life.

This money-saving post about diving in Dahab was written by guest blogger Sally James who writes for ubadiving.com. ubadiving provides the best information on worldwide scuba; diving courses & diving trips at dive centers in the Red Sea, Thailand, Mexico and more. Dive the world with ubadiving!

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