Reef

Three Pools

Dahab, South Sinai, Egypt

Snorkeller-friendly reef top
Suitable for beginners
Best for advanced divers

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Type

Reef

Max depth

25 m

Level

Advanced

DepthPools at 3-4m; coral garden beyond at 20-25m

Location8 km south of Dahab, immediately south of Moray Garden.

ConditionsShore entry, best at high tide when there is water over the saddles. Low current, good visibility. Shallow enough to work as a second or third dive of the day.

Overview

Three Pools is three natural basins in the reef, 3 to 4 m deep, linked to one another by coral saddles and to the open sea by a sandy alley. Being that shallow is what makes the site and what threatens it: snorkelers can reach everything in it, and the traffic over the pools has worn the coral in a way the deeper sites here have escaped. Beyond the alley a coral garden runs at 20 to 25 m.

Dive plan

The pools are taken in order, crossing the coral saddles between them, and the sandy alley leads out to the coral garden at 20 to 25 m for anyone wanting depth. Most of the dive belongs in the pools themselves. Buoyancy matters more here than at any of the deeper sites nearby, since there is nowhere to be except directly above coral.

What to see

Brain coral, pipe coral and salad coral build the pools, and young napoleon wrasse grow up in them. A resident turtle uses the site. Anthias hold over the saddles, blue-spotted rays lie in the sandy alley, and octopus work the pool edges.