The coast that lines the gulf of Aqaba is such that regardless of where you go into the water, you can expect almost everywhere a potentially deep dive....a VERY deep dive. This is the fact that makes the gulf of Aqaba, a sort of Mecca for technical divers and "wannabe tekkies". Another fact is that the coast around Dahab has a number of fantastic dive sites, such as those that guys have mentioned in previous posts. People here even have a photos of some dive sites in their avatars...
)
It is one of the greatest places on the face of this earth for diving. This is undesputable fact, and everyone who has ever dived Dahab will eagerly attest that it is so. Unfortunately, it is becoming overvisited and overdived and, by the looks of it, it will soon become another Sharm El Sheikh, which is sad. Rapid development will bring in even more tourist divers, and we can expect that statistics in diving fatalities will follow suit.
It is pretty hard not to be exposed to the stories about fatalities in the Blue Hole (much less in the Canyon and other dive sites), but even if you visit that place in January, when Dahab looks like a ghost town, there will always be a lot of divers there. Among them, of course, there will always be a few "wise guys with wrong attitude" who would think that they can beat the odds and do The Arch. Diving deep at "El Bells" has the same reputation.
If somebody has decided to do such thing, there is no way that anybody can say anything that would make them change their mind. Humans are just like that! Especially men. We are competitive and curious. When those two things get together, you get a highly combustible substance that explodes in our brain leaving only a strong determination to do most stupid things despite the warnings of wiser or more experienced people. When you add to that a spice of mistery, we also tend to go blind.
That is the Blue Hole. In its essence, a very dull dive site. None of the main reasons why people come to dive in The Red Sea is there. No corals, no fish. Well, there is some of both, but not nearly as much as on the outside wall, coming from "El Bells". It is also dark and deep, so if you are not sure in your buoyancy skills, it is definitely not for you.
On the other hand, it is the most popular dive site in Dahab (well, actually some 4km north of Dahab, give or take a few meters). Blue Hole has its appeal, and with most divers, it is in its morbid mystery. A lot of people just have to test themselves somehow by diving into the deep of the Blue Hole. They have to prove something to themselves, and there is never a solid explanantion to the question: "Why?". Maybe it is because it is there and it beckons? It is definitely a challenge, both for technical divers, as well as for those who practice deep diving on air (and there are many). Most of them who take it seriously, and go down only after good training, preparation and planning, will most likely keep the experience to themselves. It is a very private one, and do not try to ask them to tell about it.
Anyway, if you want to have a great time underwater and enjoy fabulous marine life that Red Sea has to offer, I suggest that you skip the Blue Hole and focus on more attractive dive sites in Dahab, like: Canyon, Islands, Moray Garden, Um Sid, Gabr El Bint (a boat trip) or Ras Abu Gallum (a camel safari).
