FairyBasset
Contributor
If you are spending some time in Dubai you may wish to check out some of the local dive sites. There are various dive shops in Dubai, Here are two dive shops which I dived with and can both be recommended.
The Pavilion Dive Centre based at the Jumeirah Beach hotel: Hotels & Resorts
Pavilion is a PADI Gold Palm IDC Resort and National Geographic Dive Centre and has very high quality facilities for learning and is extremely safety conscious. The rent-able dive gear is of top quality and Pavilion has excellent boats to take you to the dive sites. Most of Pavilion's dives are in the Arabian Gulf - just off the coast of Dubai.
As Dubai has no natural reef environment, diving in the gulf is more wreck diving. Some of the wrecks date back to the first gulf war and before. The wreck sites are only accessible by boat. The general visibility in the Gulf is pretty bad, between 5 and 15 metres, due to the currents and the huge amount of dredging that has taken place to make the fake islands. There are some quite strong currents in the gulf, but the dive masters control ascents and descents and so you should really not have any problems.
The diving at Pavilion is quite expensive in comparison to many destination diving locations, such as Egypt, Thailand etc. But you are also paying for quality gear and boats, safety and some unusual dive sites, so it is still a reasonable price (circa 50 Euro a dive).
Al Boom Diving Welcome to Al Boom Diving Club!
Al Boom has various locations: Al Wasl Rd Dubai, Jebel Ali Golf Resort and Spa, Le Meridien Al Aqah in Fujeirah. Jebel Ali offers trips in the Gulf - same kind of sites which are offered by Pavilion. Al Wasl road is the shop and pick up point for trips to Musandam and Fujeirah. The staff are really courteous and friendly and make your dive a great experience. The team is extremely safety conscious and the rent-able dive gear is all in top condition.
If you are staying in Dubai and want to dive Musandam and Fujeirah Al Boom is an excellent option... but beware of the extremely long day! You need to be in Al Wasl Rd at 6 am for Musandam and 6.30 for Fujeirah trips.
The Musandam weekend day trip is fantastic. You go on a traditional old dhow and sail up the coast of Musandam set against an almost moon-like landscape of orange brown mountains. There is plenty of soft drinks on board, the food is delicious and better still is the huge amount of room on the boat. There is an upstairs sundeck on the dhow, where you can lie down and relax (and sleep!) between dives.
The dives are predominantly sloping sides descending from the mountains. The sites are beautiful, with plenty of corals and teeming with sealife - including turtles, rays, morays, fusilleers, cuttle fish etc. There are some dives with great swim-throughs. The visibility is far superior to the Gulf dives. The water can be around 30 degrees in November - so almost no need for a wetsuit. You hear about strong currents in Musandam, however if you are a reasonable swimmer, with a reasonable level of fitness you shouldn't have any problems at all.
The day trip to Fujeirah is also an extremely early start. From Dubai, Al Boom takes you over to their base in Le Meridien Al Aqah in Fujeirah. You go by speed boat to the local dive sites, which tend to be big underwater rocks or coral beds on the sand. The sites are not very deep - so perfect for divers who only have Open Water certifications. The sites are packed full with sealife, huge schools of fish, turtles which will let you get up right close to them. Because the dives are quite shallow it means you can stay under for much longer... which when the water is 30 degrees is just perfect. Again you will be swimming with and against currents, but most people should have no problem with that level of exercise.
The prices at Al Boom are about 35 Euro per dive plus the costs of the transfer to the East Coast. This price is definitely worth it because the diving is fantastic.
If you go... I hope you have fun underwater!
The Pavilion Dive Centre based at the Jumeirah Beach hotel: Hotels & Resorts
Pavilion is a PADI Gold Palm IDC Resort and National Geographic Dive Centre and has very high quality facilities for learning and is extremely safety conscious. The rent-able dive gear is of top quality and Pavilion has excellent boats to take you to the dive sites. Most of Pavilion's dives are in the Arabian Gulf - just off the coast of Dubai.
As Dubai has no natural reef environment, diving in the gulf is more wreck diving. Some of the wrecks date back to the first gulf war and before. The wreck sites are only accessible by boat. The general visibility in the Gulf is pretty bad, between 5 and 15 metres, due to the currents and the huge amount of dredging that has taken place to make the fake islands. There are some quite strong currents in the gulf, but the dive masters control ascents and descents and so you should really not have any problems.
The diving at Pavilion is quite expensive in comparison to many destination diving locations, such as Egypt, Thailand etc. But you are also paying for quality gear and boats, safety and some unusual dive sites, so it is still a reasonable price (circa 50 Euro a dive).
Al Boom Diving Welcome to Al Boom Diving Club!
Al Boom has various locations: Al Wasl Rd Dubai, Jebel Ali Golf Resort and Spa, Le Meridien Al Aqah in Fujeirah. Jebel Ali offers trips in the Gulf - same kind of sites which are offered by Pavilion. Al Wasl road is the shop and pick up point for trips to Musandam and Fujeirah. The staff are really courteous and friendly and make your dive a great experience. The team is extremely safety conscious and the rent-able dive gear is all in top condition.
If you are staying in Dubai and want to dive Musandam and Fujeirah Al Boom is an excellent option... but beware of the extremely long day! You need to be in Al Wasl Rd at 6 am for Musandam and 6.30 for Fujeirah trips.
The Musandam weekend day trip is fantastic. You go on a traditional old dhow and sail up the coast of Musandam set against an almost moon-like landscape of orange brown mountains. There is plenty of soft drinks on board, the food is delicious and better still is the huge amount of room on the boat. There is an upstairs sundeck on the dhow, where you can lie down and relax (and sleep!) between dives.
The dives are predominantly sloping sides descending from the mountains. The sites are beautiful, with plenty of corals and teeming with sealife - including turtles, rays, morays, fusilleers, cuttle fish etc. There are some dives with great swim-throughs. The visibility is far superior to the Gulf dives. The water can be around 30 degrees in November - so almost no need for a wetsuit. You hear about strong currents in Musandam, however if you are a reasonable swimmer, with a reasonable level of fitness you shouldn't have any problems at all.
The day trip to Fujeirah is also an extremely early start. From Dubai, Al Boom takes you over to their base in Le Meridien Al Aqah in Fujeirah. You go by speed boat to the local dive sites, which tend to be big underwater rocks or coral beds on the sand. The sites are not very deep - so perfect for divers who only have Open Water certifications. The sites are packed full with sealife, huge schools of fish, turtles which will let you get up right close to them. Because the dives are quite shallow it means you can stay under for much longer... which when the water is 30 degrees is just perfect. Again you will be swimming with and against currents, but most people should have no problem with that level of exercise.
The prices at Al Boom are about 35 Euro per dive plus the costs of the transfer to the East Coast. This price is definitely worth it because the diving is fantastic.
If you go... I hope you have fun underwater!
If I end up in dubai again, I will do it again. 
