Dubai may be know for its out of this world hotels, luxurious homes and amazing cars but under this man-made world of luxury there is a warm-watered gulf to be explored. The sea temperature here is at least 75 degrees and sometimes even reaches 93 degrees. It is a perfect place whether you are a first time diver or an experienced diver, you can relax in the stunning surroundings without the shiver you’d get from colder climate dives. Since the construction of the palm and the world, the visibility underwater has become a little obscured in places. Don’t let this get in the way of a good dive, the tour operators here are well aware of the areas not to visit. There are lots of great dives to go on in Dubai, a lot of wreck dives in particular. You can expect to see fantastic marine life wherever you go, from Barracudas and Guitar Sharks to Clownfish, Parrotfish and Stingrays. You will find wrecks as shallow as 10 metres in the gulf, but the further offshore you go, into water depths of 20 metres, the better the dives generally tend to be. A popular dive, the MV Dara, takes place just outside Dubai where a cruise liners sunk in the 1960s. Excluding the titanic, this ship encountered the highest loss of life at sea. Terrorists blew a hole in the ship and a total of 238 passengers were perished. If you’ve got an underwater camera then take it with you, the sea life here is astonishing. Other great dives include the Barge Sarraf, Zainab and Cement Barge. The Barge Sarraf is located about 7 nautical miles off Jumeirah. It sank in 1985 and lays a 42 metre long coastal metre vessel, which is in close proximity to a car barge complete with different vehicles and a tug boat. All the vessels sit upright in 22 metres of water. Find barracuda, guitar sharks and spotted eagle rays here. Zainab is a coastal oil tanker which was scuttled by its own crew so that US Coast Guards couldn’t check its cargo of illegal oil. The wreck sits in about 30 metres of water, approximately 20 miles off Dubai. The wreck isn’t that old so is still in a pretty good condition. In the winter months, you may find yourself surrounded by swarms of barracuda’s. A fantastic dive for newly qualified divers is the Cement Barge. The barge is 25 metres in length and sits upright in 10 metres of water just about 10 minutes from Dubai. It’s a great opportunity to see a magnificent variety of fish such as parrotfish, stingrays and the beautiful clownfish. Dubai is definitely one of the hot spot locations to visit right now. It’s a glossy destination which offers travellers a mix of east and west combining glamorous nightlife with strict Islamic laws. Whether you want to snowboard in a shopping centre, smoke a sheesha, enjoy a meal or two with a view, shop for gold or head to the beach, Dubai is the place that has it all!
