Dahab is one of the best places on earth to learn to dive, and not by accident: the water is warm, clear and calm, the famous training reefs are a few steps from the beach, and there is none of the rough open-sea entry that makes learning harder elsewhere. Add small-group teaching from instructors who do this every day, and a nervous first-timer becomes a confident diver remarkably quickly. This page sets out every course we run, from your very first breath underwater to instructor level.
Diving has a clear ladder of courses, each building on the last. You can start anywhere that fits your experience, and we will tell you honestly which rung is right for you.
Never breathed underwater? A try-dive is a single, shallow, fully guided dive with an instructor at your side — the gentlest possible first taste, with no commitment to go further. It counts toward a full course if you fall in love with it, as most people do.
The course that makes you a certified diver, free to dive anywhere in the world. Over several unhurried days you learn the theory, practise the skills in shallow water, and complete your first open-water dives. Taught small, at your own pace, by our own instructors.
Once certified, the advanced course opens deeper dives, night diving, navigation and more — building the skills and confidence to dive a wider range of Dahab's sites, including the deeper reaches of the famous ones.
Deep, wreck, navigation, and the rescue course that makes you a safer, more capable diver and is the gateway to professional levels. We teach these as the natural next steps for divers who want to go deeper into the sport.
The way a course is taught matters as much as the syllabus, and ours are taught the way we would want to learn ourselves. Groups are small — often just one or two students to an instructor — so you get real attention and never feel rushed past a skill you have not yet got comfortable with. We do not run courses to a rigid timetable that pushes everyone through at the same speed; a nervous student gets the extra time they need, and a confident one is not held back. Lina, who leads the teaching, has a particular gift for the anxious first-timer, and a great many of our divers arrived terrified and left hooked.
Everything is included — the equipment fitted to you, the materials, the certification — and the calm Dahab water does half the work, letting you concentrate on learning rather than fighting conditions. When you are ready to put the certification to use, the guided fun diving and the dive sites are waiting, and the safety standards behind every course are on the safety page.
Usually three to four days, depending on your pace — we never rush it. You can start the theory online before you arrive to make the most of your days in the water, and we are happy to spread it over a longer, more relaxed stay if you prefer.
There are minimum ages for the courses and a standard medical questionnaire; reasonable fitness is enough, and you do not need to be an athlete. If a health condition needs a doctor's sign-off we will tell you. See the safety page for the medical side.
Yes — the certification you earn here is internationally recognised and lets you dive anywhere in the world, with any centre, for life. It is your qualification to keep, not something tied to us.
Tell us your experience and we will put you on the right course at the right pace.
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