Jeddah, SA.

[Crayon]

Hi guys.

Has anyone here ever been to Jeddah in Saudi?
What is the diving like? Is it just northern Red Sea diving or is it a bit different?

For those of you who have been, what D.C. did you dive with and how was your service?

 

[sharkly]

Hi
I went to Arabia last summer..it was beautiful. Corals are the best I have seen before. In August the water is too warm so you cannot see lots of sharks but lots of shools of fish and beautiful colour.
If you want some information you can see the 'Compagnia del Mar Rosso' web site www.mar-rosso.it . This is an Italian scuba tour operator ,the first that began to discover this area.I know, the web site is in Italian...but feel free to ask me about all information

bye!!!

 

[Saudi-Diver]

Hi I have dived Jedda a number of times we use desert sea divers based in the creek the diving is good but not as good as the more remote sites sutch as Yanbu or Farisan a good resourse for those diving Saudi Arabia is www.saudidiving.com. The wreck diving around Jedda is good for recreational divers as most of them are in moderate to shallow depths. The Ann Ann is an excellent dive

 

[Padipro]

I lived in Jeddah for a year in the early 90's when I worked for Lockheed. The diving was fantastic as I remember it. The edge of the reef wasn't very far off shore so it was easy to get a great multi-level dive starting at 80 feet and lasting nearly 90 minutes, and this was on air. The marine life was beautiful and abundent. I think we did the Ann Ann once but trying to dive something like that, or go very far from town, required permission and extra paperwork so it was more of a PITA then it was worth.

I really enjoyed the diving over there, not only because it was some good diving but it was about the only thing there was to do.

 

[Jeddah Aquanaut]

Hi guys.

Has anyone here ever been to Jeddah in Saudi?
What is the diving like? Is it just northern Red Sea diving or is it a bit different?

For those of you who have been, what D.C. did you dive with and how was your service?

:flag: Howdy, I've been diving Jeddah since 1999. Don't know about Egyptian end of Red Sea. While it is a distant runner up compared with Farasans to the south, and Yanbu to the north, there are a number of really good places/sites to dive. Shore diving, Sheraton's beach resort is the best combination of actual diving, ease of entry/exit, and beach/dining facilities. Boat-wise, the best outfit is Desert Sea Divers, run by a very friendly guy named Abu. Their 48ft boats go to a wide variety of wrecks and reefs. The Ann Ann is one of the best wrecks, and it is not a paperwork hassle to go to that site. Sites further south perhaps, because DSD's owners don't have as much pull with the Coast Guard as Dream Divers (another dive outfit--good if you like spearfishing/fishing after dives), but otherwise you just need your Iqama (residence+work visa)/passport and c-card. Bill the DM (Canadian, great fun, very experienced), other DMs, and the crews take good care of you. Out at 8am, back by 5:30. 1hr each dive. Not sure if you are living here, but if not, Abu can help to arrange visit visas and transport for people coming in. Give him a call at: 966 505595573. I can be reached at (locally): 0508072774. Finished my DM course late last year, always looking for good dive buddies. Cheers...
P.S. Oh, the website mentioned above, saudidiving.com is the website of one of my friends on the Raytheon compound here in Jeddah. Jeff Buchanan, MSDT, is an excellent instructor, and a wealth of knowledge on anything wet!

 

[BlueGirlGoes]

I'm going to be doing a travel story (? I don't assign 'em, I just write 'em) in Riyadh this fall. How difficult is it to get to Jeddah from Riyadh? I appreciate the recommendations for dive shops. Nothing like a good DM when you're traveling without a buddy!

 

[AbuK]

Best dive site in Jeddah is undoubtedly Ms Mary, a site unfortunately located opposite the Naval base hence the coastguard often prevent the dive boats going there, that and the fact that a locally well known dive operator has allegedly been killing the sharks there as well as at the Ann Ann.

I have dived Ms Mary 3 times and seen the resident Silky circling for 30 minutes (some divers have seen 3 there). The reef is named after an undefined wreck, potentially one that lies at about 55m, I have yet to see it, but the deepest wreck I have seen sits at about 45m, beneath the stern of another wreck whose prop lies at about 30m with the bows rising steeply out of the water. I have seen 4 wrecks at the Ms Mary site, there being at least 5 there, but been unable to dive it this year hence am unable to verify the allegations.

DSD also get my thumbs up though some of us more experienced divers need to persuade them to look for new and deeper reefs, they have a list of maybe 30 sites and are very loathe to find new ones.

Other great dive sites in Jeddah would include the Ann Ann, Champagne, Aquarium and Swiss Air, though I completely concur that for truly excellent diving Yenbu the 7 mile reef past point 39 is unbeatable, I'm going there on Friday!

North of Yenbu sites include Um Lujj and Al Wajh with some of the best coral cover on the Red Sea (Dugong!), comparable with Ra's Mohammed, yet there are no dive shops, hotels, companies - nada. You wanna a dive boat then speak to the local fishermen. Awesome.

We are not without our problems in the Kingdom but for virgin reef diving that few have been able to experience, we are spoilt.

If anyone fancies joining me on a trip to Um Lujj in early July, drop me a PM, the more the merrier.

 

[AbuK]

Yo Wild Woman!

Are you still coming here in the Fall then?!?

Skip Riyadh and come to Jeddah, people smile here, it's a far more relaxed environment and above all diving is but a small step away!

If you have to be in Riyadh then there are masses of state subsidised flights to choose from.

If you need more info drop me a line.

Ciao,