Lighthouse Reef, Dahab

Lighthouse sits right on the Dahab promenade, named for the small white lighthouse on the shore. The entry is a short walk from any of the seafront dive centres. The site begins as a sandy slope at 3-6 metres, drops to a coral garden at 10-12m, then continues as a reef wall to about 30 metres for those who go deeper.

It is where most students do their open-water training dives. The calm, shallow entry takes the stress out of first descents, and the visibility is usually excellent. But Lighthouse is not just a training site. The reef is one of the healthiest in Dahab, full of damselfish, butterflyfish, and angelfish, and at night it transforms. Octopuses come out to hunt. Spanish dancers feed on the sponges. Crustaceans I rarely see in daylight appear under torchlight.

I run a lot of night dives here. The walk-in entry makes it the easiest spot to dive after dark, and the marine life rewards the effort. For new divers wanting their first night dive, this is the site I always recommend.