Sinai's chilled diver — Blue Hole, Bedouin camps, and a lagoon for kiteboarders
Dahab is the anti-Sharm — a low-key former Bedouin fishing village on Sinai's east coast where divers, freedivers, and kiteboarders converge around a turquoise lagoon. The Blue Hole, a 130m submarine sinkhole just north of town, is one of the world's most famous and most dangerous dive sites. Barefoot beach restaurants, cheap falafel, and a laid-back vibe make it easy to stay far longer than planned.
Dahab — Arabic for 'gold' — was a small Bedouin camp until the 1970s when backpackers discovered its perfect conditions and the Israeli occupation of Sinai opened it up. It passed to Egypt under the 1982 withdrawal and has since evolved from hippie haunt to established dive destination without losing its scrappy independence. A 2006 terrorist bombing targeted the town, killing 23 people, but Dahab recovered fully within two years.