Sharks, Fish, & Shipwrecks: 5 Diving Hot Spots In Saudi Arabia For The Adventurous Diver

Summer is almost over, but that doesn’t mean that diving is out of the question since many consider the best time to dive in Saudi Arabia is between July and October, which means you still have around two months to explore the deep blue.

Ann Ann Wreck

One of the most well-known spots you need to check out is the Ann Ann shipwreck off the coast of Jedda in the western part of Saudi. The famed location is the largest shipwreck available for divers within the country’s waters, but it’s not for beginners.

The ship sank in the 1970s and lodged itself between two reefs, reaching depths of about 32 meters. Navigating the wreck is best for intermediate to expert divers for safety reasons, but thankfully, there are a lot of great things to see. Divers can explore the ship from inside and its many rooms, including the electrical room and the captain’s main quarters, as for the cargo it was removed some time ago. When it comes to wildlife, there is a lot to see in the area, including whitetip sharks, whale sharks, dolphins, schools of barracudas, tunas, and even some blue-spotted stingrays.

Farasan Islands

Situated opposite Jazan, you’ll be able to find the Farasan Islands, located in the Red Sea at the southwestern point of Saudi Arabia, a fantastic place to go for a dive, especially if you’re interested in getting a glimpse of unique fish.

A great diving location for any diver at any skill level, with depths ranging everything between 10 to 500 meters, there is definitely so much to see, but still, it’s not for the faint-hearted, as divers can find a lot of different kinds of sharks in the area, including whale sharks, hammerheads, whitetip reef sharks, and grey reef ones. That’s not mentioning the stunning coral reefs, along with beautiful schools of tunas, barracudas, snappers, and clownfish.

Cable Wreck

One of the must-try shipwrecks in the Red Sea near Saudi Arabia is the Staphonos wreck off the coast of Jeddah, better known as the Cable Wreck.

The popular diving spot got its name from what the ship was carrying when it sank in 1978, which included cables, asbestos sheets, steel beams, chainlink fence, and more, all of which divers can check out for themselves at 24 meters below sea level. Thankfully, it’s easy to navigate, making it accessible for all kinds of skilled divers; just be aware that there are all kinds of memorable marine life near the wreckage, including guitar sharks, goatfish, and whitetip reef sharks.

Halfmoon Bay

Moving to the eastern side of the kingdom, more specifically in the Dammam and Khobar areas, there’s Halfmoon Bay, which has a manmade diving fun area that’s perfect for those looking for something different and open to all kinds of diving skill levels.

A few steps from the shore, divers can check out the wide variety of different sites in the water, including sunken cars, trucks, towers, a fully stone city, a small replica of the Great Pyramid of Giza, and more. These submerged areas are also rich with marine life, which you can attract with some bait, elevating the experience.

Chicken Wreck

Divers love their wrecks, and thankfully the Red Sea is full of them, and they’re almost all from the 1970s for some reason, and of course, the Chicken Wreck off the coast of Jeddah is one of them.

The name can be confusing, knowing that there’s no chicken in the sea and that they can’t swim, but it all clicks when finding out that the name “Chicken Wreck” is of a refrigerator ship that sank in the Red Sea back in 1978 with its cargo full of frozen chickens, which can be still found today. Like with the rest of the Red Sea entries on this list, there’s an abundance of marine life to keep an eye out for, including pipefish, all kinds of different sharks, trevally fish, emperor angelfish, and more.

Happy diving, and stay safe out there!

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