The Saudi Red Sea coast runs for more than 1,700 km and its reefs have had very few divers on them. More than 90 islands lie offshore. The coral here has been outside mass tourism for decades, which is the whole proposition rather than a detail.
This week works the northern half of the diveable stretch. Jeddah and Yanbu are the country's two main hubs for underwater trips on this coast, and the route runs north from one to the other before moving on to Umluj, the third of the points this coast is reached from. The two old quarters fill the mornings when you are out of the water.
It suits certified divers who want reef time rather than resort time. Snorkellers can follow the same route without diving.
Day by day
Arrive Jeddah
Jeddah has the country's second international airport and is the standard arrival point for the west coast. You are met and taken to your hotel. Certification cards and logbooks are checked over in the evening and the week's plan is confirmed with the dive team.
Al-Balad, then the first reef
The morning is in Historic Jeddah, the old merchant quarter on the World Heritage List since 2014. The city has been the sea gateway to Makkah since the 7th century, and that double trade - pilgrims and the Indian Ocean - paid for what stands: tower houses of coral stone several storeys high, faced in roshan, the carved wooden bay windows that let air through while keeping the street from seeing in. Much of the quarter is propped and under restoration, so it is half ruin and half work site.
In the afternoon you go out for a check dive to sort weighting and buoyancy before the longer days.
Diving off Jeddah
A full day on the water, two dives with a surface interval between them and lunch on board. Jeddah is one of the two hubs the coast is dived from and the usual base for diving on this stretch. Back on shore in the late afternoon.
North to Yanbu
A straightforward drive north up the coast to Yanbu, a working Red Sea port with a restored historic quarter, set up for diving in a modest, working way rather than as a resort strip.
The afternoon is in the Yanbu Historic District, in Yanbu Al-Bahr south of the modern city: about 45,000 square metres of old coral-stone buildings and lanes, roughly 100 heritage buildings among them, with mosques and traditional houses and the Hanan Street market running through it. There is no ticket to walk in.
Seven Sisters
A full diving day out of Yanbu, including the site known as Seven Sisters, where walls of coral drop away and hammerhead sharks are among what is seen on this stretch. The reefs off Yanbu are among the least dived in the Red Sea, and it shows in the condition of the coral. Two dives, with the second chosen on the day for conditions.
Umluj and the islands
You travel on to Umluj, the third of the points this coast is reached from, and spend the day on the water. Time in the water is set by conditions and by what the boat crew see on the morning, rather than by a fixed schedule. The last night is on the coast here.
Depart
No diving on the final day. You travel back down the coast and are transferred for your flight out. If the flight timing is tight the last night can be moved south instead of staying on the coast, which is settled when the trip is booked.
What is included
- Private air-conditioned vehicle with driver for all land transfers
- Six nights' hotel accommodation
- Daily breakfast
- Boat days as set out in the itinerary, with tanks and weights
- Dive guide on every boat day
- Lunch and drinking water on board on full boat days
- Airport transfers on arrival and departure
- A local contact reachable for the length of the trip
What is not
- International flights
- The Saudi tourist eVisa, which you apply for yourself through the official portal
- Dive certification and equipment hire beyond tanks and weights
- Travel insurance, including diving cover
- Dinners and personal expenses
The places on this trip
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