SeaLogEgypt · reef · intermediate
A detached Madrepora tower off the Dahab Laguna, dived from a boat because the reef juts into the current.
Napoleon Reef is a Dahab site, not a Sinai offshore one: it lies at the southern end of the Dahab peninsula, about 5 km south of the town centre, on the stretch of coast called the Laguna and specifically the sand spit that closes it. Roughly 450 m out from Laguna Beach a large detached massif of Madrepora stands clear of the fringing reef, separated from the half-submerged reef by a channel and rising from a sandy bottom at about 20 m. That block, and the Napoleon wrasse that live around it, are what the site is named for.
The reef front here is a set of slopes and drop-offs rather than one continuous wall. The crest sits close enough to the surface to snorkel over, and the ground falls away quickly at the foot of the coral formations, past about 10 m and on down to the sand. Poseidon Divers, one of the few Dahab centres that runs its own boats, describe the deeper water as where the larger fish hold station against the flow and where the deep-water black corals are. Nearer the top, the soft corals are the point: Dendronephthya hemprichi grows thickly across the formations.
What makes the dive is also what makes it awkward. The reef pushes out into the mouth of the lagoon and takes very strong current, which is why the soft coral is so dense and why the site is run from a boat rather than swum out to. Poseidon Divers report eagle rays, feathertail rays and turtles here, a single hammerhead sighting, and Napoleon wrasse on almost every dive. Shore access from Laguna Beach is free but means a swim of over 500 m each way before the dive starts, and the same page warns against entering when the current is running.
Our occurrence records within 1.5 km of this pin are the ordinary Dahab fringing-reef assemblage rather than anything unusual: Rueppell's wrasse, brown and striated surgeonfish, blacktail and diagonal butterflyfish, purple tang, sulphur damsel, twoband anemonefish, masked puffer, daisy and bridled parrotfish, giant clams, three species of fire coral, blue-spotted ribbontail ray, grey moray and devil firefish. The Napoleon wrasse itself is not in that record and rests on the operator descriptions.
Normally reached by boat or zodiac from Dahab; the reef is about 450 m off the beach. Shore access is possible and free from Laguna Beach at the southern end of town, but Snorkeling Report puts the swim to the tip of the reef at over 500 m. Poseidon Divers, who run boats, say the site is now best dived from one.
You can reach the site independently.
A shallow, sunlit reef crest with the current running across it and deeper, darker water immediately beyond. Poseidon Divers note that because so few Dahab operators have boats, you are usually the only group in the water, while Snorkeling Report records medium-to-high visitor numbers on the snorkelling side, which is the same reef seen by tour boats rather than dive boats.
On current: Current is the defining condition and the sources agree on it. Poseidon Divers say the reef juts out into the lagoon and catches some very strong currents, and that the soft coral growth is a consequence of that. Snorkeling Report tells snorkellers plainly not to enter when the current is strong. Depth figures are less settled: the PADI listing contributed by Circle Divers Dahab has the detached Madrepora tower coming up from a sandy bed at around 20 m and gives about 20 m for the site, Snorkeling Report puts the massif itself at about 5 m and the foot of the coral formations at 10 m or more, and Poseidon describe dropping into deeper water for black coral without giving a figure. One unattributed directory stub lists 30 m. We record 5 to 20 m, which is the range two sources actually support; treat anything below that as a choice you make, not part of the dive.
It is in Dahab, not Ras Mohammed. The reef lies at the southern end of the Dahab peninsula, about 5 km south of the town centre, off the Laguna and its sand spit. It sits roughly 450 m out from Laguna Beach, and the Islands dive site is under a kilometre away.
The detached Madrepora massif tops out at about 5 m and the reef crest is shallower still, while the sandy bottom the block stands on is at around 20 m. Snorkeling Report puts the foot of the coral formations past 10 m. Poseidon Divers describe going deeper again for black coral, without giving a number, so treat 20 m as the working floor.
Yes, and it is the main thing to plan for. Poseidon Divers say the reef juts out into the lagoon and catches some very strong currents, which is exactly why the soft coral grows as densely as it does. Snorkeling Report tells snorkellers not to get in when it is running.
You can get in free from Laguna Beach, but the reef is over 500 m out and that is a long surface swim in both directions with no lifeguard on the beach. Poseidon Divers, one of the few Dahab centres with its own boats, say the site is now best dived from one, and the PADI listing gives boat or zodiac as the access.
It is, and boat tours specifically drop snorkellers on the tip of the reef where the Madrepora patch sits close to the surface. Snorkeling Report grades it intermediate, with a maximum useful depth of about 9 m for a snorkeller. Skip it if there is current, and factor in the 500 m swim if you are going from the beach.
Napoleon wrasse are the site's namesake and Poseidon Divers report them on nearly every dive, along with eagle rays, feathertail rays and turtles. Snorkeling Report adds bluespotted stingrays and moray eels among the coral, over dense Dendronephthya hemprichi soft coral. Records around this pin also hold the usual Dahab reef fish: Rueppell's wrasse, surgeonfish, butterflyfish, purple tang, anemonefish and parrotfish.
The depths are modest, but the current is not a beginner's condition and the site is normally run as a boat drift. If you are on your first dives in Dahab, the Islands less than a kilometre away is the shallower, calmer option that operators put all certification levels on. Come back to Napoleon Reef once you are comfortable being moved along a drop-off.
None of the sources we read mention a permit, a gate or a marine-park fee for this reef. It is an in-town Dahab site off a beach with free public access, unlike the Blue Hole to the north or the Ras Mohammed and Nabq protected areas, which do collect fees. Confirm with your dive centre when you book, because South Sinai fees have been under revision.
| Species | How often | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Thalassoma rueppellii | occasional | 31 |
| Ctenogobiops crocineus | occasional | 17 |
| Acanthurus nigrofuscus | occasional | 14 |
| Tridacna maxima | occasional | 13 |
| Pomacentrus sulfureus | occasional | 13 |
| Chaetodon austriacus | occasional | 10 |
| Ctenochaetus striatus | occasional | 10 |
| Arothron diadematus | occasional | 9 |
| Heterocentrotus mamillatus | occasional | 9 |
| Nerita albicilla | occasional | 9 |
| Heniochus intermedius | occasional | 9 |
| Chlorurus sordidus | occasional | 9 |
| Chaetodon auriga | occasional | 8 |
| Millepora dichotoma | occasional | 8 |
| Arothron stellatus | occasional | 8 |
| Millepora platyphylla | occasional | 8 |
| Cheilinus lunulatus | occasional | 8 |
| Amphiprion bicinctus | occasional | 7 |
| Zebrasoma xanthurum | occasional | 7 |
| Pterois miles | occasional | 7 |
| Scarus frenatus | occasional | 7 |
| Chaetodon fasciatus | occasional | 7 |
| Pleurosicya micheli | occasional | 6 |
| Paracirrhites forsteri | occasional | 6 |
| Chaetodon paucifasciatus | occasional | 5 |
| Pygoplites diacanthus | occasional | 5 |
| Abudefduf vaigiensis | occasional | 5 |
| Millepora exaesa | occasional | 5 |
| Pseudanthias squamipinnis | occasional | 5 |
| Parupeneus macronemus | occasional | 5 |
| Ostracion cubicum | occasional | 5 |
| Hipposcarus harid | rare | 4 |
| Parapercis hexophtalma | rare | 4 |
| Diadema setosum | rare | 4 |
| Taeniura lymma | rare | 4 |
| Siganus luridus | rare | 4 |
| Dascyllus abudafur | rare | 4 |
| Stethojulis albovittata | rare | 4 |
| Scarus niger | rare | 4 |
| Mammilla melanostoma | rare | 3 |
| Asaphis violascens | rare | 3 |
| Fistularia commersonii | rare | 3 |
| Corythoichthys flavofasciatus | rare | 3 |
| Chaetodon semilarvatus | rare | 3 |
| Neoglyphidodon melas | rare | 3 |
| Arothron hispidus | rare | 3 |
| Gymnothorax griseus | rare | 3 |
| Tridacna squamosina | rare | 3 |
| Zebrasoma desjardinii | rare | 3 |
| Acanthurus sohal | rare | 3 |
| Sphyraena flavicauda | rare | 2 |
| Epinephelus fasciatus | rare | 2 |
| Pearsonothuria graeffei | rare | 2 |
| Gymnothorax undulatus | rare | 2 |
| Plectroglyphidodon leucozonus | rare | 2 |
| Conus parvatus | rare | 2 |
| Conus flavidus | rare | 2 |
| Octopus cyanea | rare | 2 |
| Coenobita scaevola | rare | 2 |
| Ocypode saratan | rare | 2 |
A shallow coral maze south of Dahab: sand pools, valleys and lagoons, and almost nothing below 20 m.
A name our catalogue carries that no dive centre publishes. The coordinates land at the southern end of Dahab bay.
Sand, patchy seagrass and scattered coral blocks off a hotel beach in Lagoona. A training and night dive, not a reef.
A 14 m shore reef off the Jaz Dahabeya beach in Lagoona, with a hoop buoyancy park at 5 m, a small sculpture reef at 4 m and two resident feather-tail rays on the sand.
Dahab's southern house reef: a walk-in seagrass and sand dive with a pinnacle at around 18 m and a deep swim-through behind it.
One of the walk-in entries on Dahab's town bay, worked north over coral blocks or south over seagrass and sunken sculptures.
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