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Liveaboard Diving in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has only recently started to open up to divers wanting to travel to the West coast of the Red Sea and explore what has previously been mostly unexplored reefs.
While a relatively new destination for dive tourism, liveaboard diving in Saudi Arabia can offer fantastic chances to dive in places untouched by mass tourism.
Bordering the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia has an enviable position to offer divers wanting to be some of the very few who have seen the underwater world from this side of the Red Sea.
Dive Sites and Areas of Saudi Arabia
Very few liveaboards operate dive tours from Saudi Arabia, but a select few offer an exciting opportunity to dive into new reefs, wrecks, and islands. A few of the best places to dive are;
Farasan Island and Farasan Banks
Farasan Island, located off the coast in the far South of Saudi Arabia, is a dive hot spot not to be missed. Home to Farasan Banks, consisting of small reefs and a few islands, the diving here is not to be missed. With dive sites having a white sandy bottom and clear blue waters, the marine life and corals here are very diverse. Large Gorgonian fans and walls of black coral can be seen here. Shark sightings are common, including whitetip reef sharks, silky sharks, grey reef sharks, and even hammerheads.
Yanbu
Yanbu is known as the ‘Pearl of the Red Sea,’ despite this port city having historical interest, it is also known as Saudi Arabia's diving capital. With access to dive areas such as the Seven Sisters Coral Reef, boasting some of the best reef systems in the world, it hosts a reef wall and masses of healthy coral and is well known for its Hammerhead shark sightings. Yanbu is also a departure point for some Saudi Arabian liveaboard dive safaris.
Rabigh
Located along the Saudi coast between Jeddah and Yanbu, diving in Rabigh can offer great rewards. Amazing coral reefs with healthy numbers of marine life, including barracudas, sea turtles, and schools of jackfish.
Abu Galawa
Abu Galawa is part of the Seven Sisters Coral Reef and is home to a famous Chinese World War II shipwreck and amazing marine life and corals to explore.
How to Get There and Port of Departure
Flights to Jeddah are available from most international destinations, and the liveaboard usually arranges transfers to the ports of departure. Popular ports of departure are Yanbu, Al Lith, and Jeddah. Please check your chosen itinerary for full details of the departure port.
Saudi Arabia Diving Reviews
- 8.4 Very good
- 14 Verified Reviews
Grate. I am glad I had the opportunity to experience it
Diving Saudi Arabia in November on the Saudi Explorer
Great !!! Hope one day they preserve these sites and declare then a national park so they are not destroyed
Diving Saudi Arabia in September on the Almonda
An adventure that I would recommend to experienced divers only.
Diving Saudi Arabia in March on the Saudi Explorer
The experience has been very nice becasuse there is no more boats diving near.
Diving Saudi Arabia in September on the Saudi Explorer
Enjoyable, most people are curious about foreigners, Jeddah is convenient for solo travelling lady
Diving Saudi Arabia in November on the Saudi Explorer
This is a experienced divers trip. Worth the effort or getting to Saudi Arabia
Diving Saudi Arabia in March on the Saudi Explorer
expensive visa, and we didn't see much of the country. But the waters and the reefs in Saudi Arabia are very nice.
Diving Saudi Arabia in April on the Almonda
Saudi Arabia was easy to enter and exit. There were no hassles with border officials or coast guard, and transport to/from the boat was efficiently managed. The trip crew was entirely Egyptian and so the vibe of the trip felt a lot like Egypt. Jeddah seemed like a worthwhile place for short visit but as it was Ramadan, the city was a ghost town during the day.
Diving Saudi Arabia in April on the Almonda
Kann ich jedem Taucher nur Empfehlen auch wenn die Anreise etwas umständlich ist.
Diving Saudi Arabia in May on the Almonda
You are just allone diving. But there is no decompression chamber, so safe diving is a must.
Diving Saudi Arabia in July on the Almonda
Warm, relaxed, nice dive spots especially Anemon reef. Not really a lot of fish. But enough to be amazed by it.
Diving Saudi Arabia in August on the Almonda