Fish as big as Volkswagens and coral every colour of the rainbow await divers in Sinai’s Ras Mohammed National Park, Dahab and the straits of Tiran. Chris explores the hidden depths and looks at the best and cheapest dives available.

Down we go, five, 10, 15 , 20m. A quick forefinger and thumb OK signal and we are off. Into the deep blue. The divemaster is already making toward the reef or, as we have no visual reference, where her compass says the reef should be. Having no desire to be stranded in mid ocean we fin furiously along behind, and that’s when we see him.

Emerging from the void is the largest fish we have ever set eyes on. A giant Napoleon wrasse the size of a Volkswagen. He passes close enough to rub shoulders. His large saucer eyes scrutinise us up and down as he glides past and disappears back into the blue. Both myself and buddy hold up both hands in unison giving the PADI okay sign and grinning insanely. We have just come eyeball to eyeball with George, Jolanda reef’s self appointed guardian of the deep.

Jolanda and Shark reefs are one of the premier dive sites in the Red Sea if not the world. On the tip of the Sinai where Ras Mohammed National Park preserves the desert ecology above shore, below is a wonder world of sheer wall diving and coral gardens. Here you can feel what it’s like to fly as you drift past the reef wall that plunges hundreds of feet below you into the depths.

Hanging suspended in shoals of jack fish, their silvery bodies bouncing shafts of sun light from the surface around you. Vivid purple corals waft like feathers in the currents and form homes for thousands of gold fish and electric blue Solomon’s. Just for a sense of the completely bizarre, explore an underwater collection of toilets and bidets, the debris from the wreck of the Jolanda that gave it’s name to the reef.

Access to the Ras Mohamed reefs is by boat from Na’ama Bay, the main diving resort in southern Sinai. This large sweep of sandy bay is home to an ever increasing multitude of resort hotels and dive schools. You can certainly blow a sizeable fortune on a five star holiday here if you had the inclination.

Fortunately it’s still possible to dive on a budget as well. The Red Sea Diving College is not only one of the first and most professional operations in Na’ama, but also offers dirt cheap accommodation in dormitories or shared rooms above the dive school. If they’re full, try the Pigeon house just along from the Movenpick on the main road toward the airport. They have cheap bamboo huts with fans and links with Camel Divers.

Boat diving is pure self indulgence and in Na’ama you can develop a taste for the millionaires’ lifestyle. The morning dive works up enough appetite for the excellent buffet lunch prepared by the on board chief. Then it’s all hands to the deck as you sun yourself for a couple of hours and wait for your meal and nitrogen levels to go down. Follow that up with a mid afternoon dive and it’s back to base in time for the last few hours of beach.

There’s a host of different dive sites within reach of Na’ama and something to suit every type of diver. My own favourite, just outside of Sharm port, is The Temple — a natural aquarium where the Technicolor feast grows ever more vivid as you spiral up between the twin pillars.

Wreck divers can make the day trip to the SS Thistlegorm, a WWII freighter sent to the deep by the Luftwaffe while carrying supplies for troops in North Africa. Jacques Cousteau first discovered this treasure trove of old tanks, guns, jeeps and motor bikes now forming its own reef across the sandy bottom.

Further to the north, where the Red Sea meets the Gulf of Aqaba, are the straits of Tiran. The strong currents which sweep these reefs attract schools of barracuda, tuna, jacks and sharks as well as providing the nutrition responsible for the corals rich colour. It’s not uncommon for a turtle or two to follow you on your dives, or for you to catch sight of an eagle ray coming out of the blue.

Two hours drive up the Aqaba coast lies Dahab. A different ambience and different type of diving. There’s still a lot of the hippie vibe about the place and there must be close to 50 travellers camps which will accommodate you for a pound or two a night. There’s no boat diving from Dahab. Divers take to the jeeps and head up the coast for shore dives. It cuts out the sea sickness, but the trek up the beach at the end with weights and tanks will re-acquaint you with the laws of gravity.

The most popular dive is The Bells and Blue Hole — a sharp 30m descent through a vertical cave before rising up and over the saddle border into the Hole. The Blue Hole has claimed the life of many a diver who decided to descend its seemingly bottomless depths. Perhaps it’s best just to admire the shafts of light falling into the blue and picking out the sergeant, parrots and lion fish attracted by the score to this refuge from the open sea.

Dahab has its own reef in the bay and this offers excellent nursery waters for the beginner. Good deals are available from the various dive schools which line the bay for PADI open water courses, but it’s best to go with the experienced operator. Fantasea are a five star PADI facility, while Club Red and Nessima divers are long established operators.

By way of a change you could consider a camel/dive safari. It’s a means of reaching some pristine reefs while exploring beautiful stretches of the Sinai coast in the most traditional of modes. Sleeping out on the beach, meals cooked over an open fire by a Bedouin guide and first in the water in the morning to catch the marine life at play.

The Sinai has something for every diver. It’s a mere five hours away on the plane and boasts the kind of coral reefs which would normally only be found in the Tropics. Hell it’s out of this world, it’s virtually on your doorstep and you don’t need to earn a footballer’s wage to afford to dive it.

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