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Golden Blocks
Egypt · reef · beginner
5–30 mbeginnerOWshore entry
MEDIA5 items
Golden Blocks
The northern beach entry of the Dahab South chain: two golden coral towers, three sand alleys and a sunken paddle boat at 20 m.
Max depth5–30 m
Required levelbeginner
Entry typeshore
Visibilitynot sourced
The dive
Golden Blocks is the northernmost of the shore entries on the Southern Oasis strip south of Dahab. Dahab Dive puts it about 10 km along the coast road from El Qura bay, just before Happy Life Village; Scuba Seekers call it twelve minutes south of town. Our catalogue also holds a Moray Garden pin 220 m away, a Three Pools pin 600 m away, and a combined "Golden Blocks - Moray Garden" pin between them, because the standard way to work this coast is to walk in at one entry and out at another. Golden Blocks is still published as its own dive by every operator we read, and both Scuba Seekers and Dahab Dive describe starting at the towers and returning to the same entry. So it is the north end of a chain, dived either on its own or as the top of a one-way run south.
The entry is a walk over shingle into water the operators describe as protected from waves. You cross a sandy slope carrying seagrass and turn north at roughly 16 to 20 m with the reef on your left. The slope is cut by three sandy alleys: the first runs from about 10 m down past 30 m, the second is a small canyon, and the third carries a large gorgonian fan at the mouth of a small cave at around 22 m. The blocks the site is named for are two hard coral towers of golden colour. Sources put them differently: Diversion Dive Travel and Scuba Seekers describe them running from 10 m up to the surface, Dahab Dive places the towers and the big gorgonian at 18 m, and Fantasea says the pinnacles show at low tide.
In the first sandy alley, at 20 m, lies a sunken paddle boat. Both Scuba Seekers and Diversion Dive Travel call it Dahab's only real wreck, which tells you how small it is; it is a feature on the sand rather than a wreck dive. Published maximum depths for the site run to 40 m at Diversion, 45 m at Dahab Dive, and Scuba Seekers list profiles from 1 to 40 m. Those numbers are the slope continuing to fall away, not a plan. The dive people actually do sits between about 5 and 30 m.
The name comes from the anthias. Scuba Seekers describe the towers swirling with schools of golden anthias, and the sea goldie is among the most frequently logged fish at this pin. The shallows carry table corals and small coral blocks where operators point you at groupers and nudibranchs. OBIS records around the pin add twoband anemonefish in their anemones, Red Sea bannerfish, royal angelfish, crown butterflyfish, grey moray, blue-spotted ribbontail ray, day octopus and Spanish dancer. Devil firefish are among the most frequently recorded animals here and stonefish are reported on the site, both of which are reasons to look before you put a hand down on the sand.
- Two hard coral towers of golden colour under schools of anthias, showing at low tide
- Three sandy alleys through the coral slope, the first dropping from 10 m past 30 m
- A large gorgonian fan at the mouth of a small cave on the third alley, at about 22 m
- A sunken paddle boat at 20 m in the first alley, published by two operators as Dahab's only real wreck
- Dived out and back from its own entry, or one-way south to Moray Garden
Please note before you go
- The first sand alley runs from about 10 m past 30 m and the slope keeps going below that; on an even sand gradient it is easy to go deeper than planned
- Shore entry and exit over shingle in kit, and a walk back along the beach or the road if you finish the dive at Moray Garden
- Devil firefish are among the most frequently recorded animals at this pin, and operators list stonefish on the sand
- The paddle boat at 20 m is small and broken; it is a feature to look at, not a wreck to go inside
Access & rules
Mandatory requirementsGetting there
Reached by dive-centre pickup from Dahab, about 10 km south on the coastal road from El Qura bay, just before Happy Life Village according to Dahab Dive, and roughly twelve minutes from town according to Scuba Seekers. Entry is a walk over shingle pebbles into sheltered water. If you dive it one way you come out at Moray Garden a few hundred metres south and walk or drive back. All the published descriptions are dive-centre trips with transport and a guide.
Operator
Access to the site runs through a local operator.
Rules and permits
South Sinai carries per-person national park fees. Elite Diving, a Sharm operator, published the 27 November 2019 ministerial change as EUR 7 per person per day for Ras Mohammed, the Straits of Tiran and the Sharm local sites, and EUR 12 per person per day for Dahab's Blue Hole and Canyon, payable at check-out and applying to diving and snorkelling alike. Nothing we read names the Southern Oasis shore dives specifically. A 2026 Red Sea price guide puts protected-site fees more broadly at roughly EUR 5 to 25 per person, so the figure has moved since 2019 and should be confirmed with the centre when you book.
Season
No source we read names best months for this site specifically, and it is a sheltered shore entry that works year round. What changes is the water: Poseidon Divers put Dahab between 20 C in January and February and 26 C in July and August, so the choice is a 5 mm suit in winter or a 3 mm in summer. The practical seasonality is wind rather than season, since this coast still works on days that close the boat dives.
Conditions
Visibilitynot sourced
Currentlight
Surgenot sourced
WaterSalt water
Depth range5–30 m
Environmentreef
Coralnot sourced
Crowdsnot sourced
A sheltered beach on a coast road, with a shingle walk-in and no boat needed. The water is calm often enough that Dahab centres use this stretch on days when wind stops the boat trips, and the ground away from the entry is sand and seagrass rather than a wall you have to hold onto. Poseidon Divers give Dahab sea temperature as a steady 20 to 26 C through the year, coldest in February and warmest in August, with a 3 mm suit in summer and up to 5 mm in winter.
On current: No source we read describes a current strong enough to run the dive. Scuba Seekers call the conditions calm and the entry protected from waves, which is why this stretch carries training. The one-way route south to Moray Garden is a planned traverse with the ground sloping away on one side; Diversion Dive Travel recommend it as a drift, but it is the plan that moves you, not the water. Where sources disagree is depth. Diversion give 10 to 40 m, Dahab Dive publishes a 45 m maximum, and Scuba Seekers list profiles from 1 to 40 m. The towers are quoted at 10 m to the surface by two operators and at 18 m by a third. This page takes the conservative reading: the sand alleys keep falling away below recreational limits, so the depth here is a decision you make, not a number the site has.
Dives & underwater footage
Questions & answers
How deep is Golden Blocks?
The dive most people do sits between about 5 and 30 m. The first of the three sandy alleys starts around 10 m and drops past 30 m, and the published maximums go further: Diversion Dive Travel give 10-40 m and Dahab Dive publishes 45 m. Those figures are the slope continuing to fall away rather than a plan, so depth here is a decision rather than a property of the site.
How do you get to Golden Blocks and can you dive it from shore?
It is a shore dive, reached by dive-centre pickup about 10 km south of Dahab on the coastal road. Dahab Dive place it just before Happy Life Village and Scuba Seekers call it twelve minutes from town. Entry is a walk over shingle pebbles into water the operators describe as protected from waves, and you exit at the same beach unless the centre is running the one-way route south.
Is Golden Blocks good for beginners?
Yes. Fantasea rates it easy with an Open Water minimum and uses it for training, and Scuba Seekers call it suitable for all levels. The one thing to keep an eye on is the sand alleys, which slope away evenly and will take an inattentive diver past 30 m without any obvious landmark to tell you.
Is there really a wreck at Golden Blocks?
There is a sunken paddle boat lying at about 20 m in the first sandy alley. Scuba Seekers and Diversion Dive Travel both describe it as Dahab's only real wreck, which is a fair measure of how small it is. Treat it as a feature on the sand to swim past, not a wreck to penetrate.
Can you snorkel Golden Blocks?
The shallow half of it, yes. The two coral towers run up to the surface and show at low tide, and the shallows are table corals and small coral heads over sand, reached from a beach entry in sheltered water. The three sandy alleys, the gorgonian at 22 m and the paddle boat at 20 m are all well below snorkelling depth.
What is the difference between Golden Blocks and Moray Garden?
They are two beach entries a couple of hundred metres apart on the same reef, and centres often run them as one dive in one direction. Golden Blocks is the northern end and the one with the golden towers, the three sandy alleys, the gorgonian and the paddle boat. Both Scuba Seekers and Dahab Dive also describe diving Golden Blocks on its own, in and out at its own entry.
What will I see at Golden Blocks?
The towers are covered in schools of golden anthias, which is where the name comes from, and the shallows carry table corals with groupers and nudibranchs on the small blocks. Occurrence records around the pin add twoband anemonefish, Red Sea bannerfish, royal angelfish, crown butterflyfish, grey moray, blue-spotted ribbontail ray, day octopus and Spanish dancer. Devil firefish are logged often enough here to be worth watching for.
Is there current at Golden Blocks?
Nothing we read describes a current strong enough to run the dive. Scuba Seekers call the conditions calm and the entry protected from waves, which is why this stretch of coast carries training when wind closes the boat trips. The one-way route to Moray Garden is a planned traverse rather than a drift the water imposes.
Life recorded at Golden Blocks
60 species within 1.5 km · OBISTaeniura lymmarare · 4 recordsHexabranchus sanguineusrare · 3 records
Amphiprion bicinctusoccasional · 14 records
Pterois milesoccasional · 13 records
Pseudanthias squamipinnisoccasional · 13 records
Thalassoma rueppelliioccasional · 9 records
All 60 species recorded in this area
| Species | How often | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Amphiprion bicinctus | occasional | 14 |
| Pterois miles | occasional | 13 |
| Pseudanthias squamipinnis | occasional | 13 |
| Thalassoma rueppellii | occasional | 9 |
| Heniochus intermedius | occasional | 9 |
| Parupeneus forsskali | occasional | 9 |
| Pygoplites diacanthus | occasional | 8 |
| Arothron stellatus | occasional | 8 |
| Grammistes sexlineatus | occasional | 8 |
| Pomacentrus sulfureus | occasional | 8 |
| Chaetodon auriga | occasional | 7 |
| Paracirrhites forsteri | occasional | 7 |
| Sufflamen albicaudatum | occasional | 6 |
| Pearsonothuria graeffei | occasional | 6 |
| Variola louti | occasional | 6 |
| Monotaxis grandoculis | occasional | 6 |
| Parapercis hexophtalma | occasional | 5 |
| Chaetodon fasciatus | occasional | 5 |
| Chaetodon paucifasciatus | occasional | 5 |
| Cheilinus lunulatus | occasional | 5 |
| Chlorurus gibbus | occasional | 5 |
| Epinephelus fasciatus | occasional | 5 |
| Melibe colemani | occasional | 5 |
| Scarus niger | occasional | 5 |
| Hipposcarus harid | rare | 4 |
| Amblyglyphidodon indicus | rare | 4 |
| Bodianus anthioides | rare | 4 |
| Cephalopholis miniata | rare | 4 |
| Cheilinus abudjubbe | rare | 4 |
| Fistularia commersonii | rare | 4 |
| Gymnothorax griseus | rare | 4 |
| Pseudochromis fridmani | rare | 4 |
| Scarus fuscopurpureus | rare | 4 |
| Taeniura lymma | rare | 4 |
| Cheilinus quinquecinctus | rare | 3 |
| Hexabranchus sanguineus | rare | 3 |
| Millepora dichotoma | rare | 3 |
| Octopus cyanea | rare | 3 |
| Abudefduf vaigiensis | rare | 3 |
| Amblyeleotris steinitzi | rare | 3 |
| Ancylomenes longicarpus | rare | 3 |
| Arothron diadematus | rare | 3 |
| Cheilio inermis | rare | 3 |
| Calotomus viridescens | rare | 3 |
| Cephalopholis argus | rare | 3 |
| Chlorurus genazonatus | rare | 3 |
| Corythoichthys flavofasciatus | rare | 3 |
| Cyclichthys spilostylus | rare | 3 |
| Zebrasoma xanthurum | rare | 3 |
| Genicanthus caudovittatus | rare | 3 |
| Cheilodipterus macrodon | rare | 2 |
| Aluterus scriptus | rare | 2 |
| Chromis viridis | rare | 2 |
| Gymnothorax flavimarginatus | rare | 2 |
| Conus parvatus | rare | 2 |
| Tridacna maxima | rare | 2 |
| Pedum spondyloideum | rare | 2 |
| Abudefduf sexfasciatus | rare | 2 |
| Hemimycale arabica | rare | 2 |
| Pseudocheilinus hexataenia | rare | 2 |
Nearby sites in Sinai
Explore all sitesGolden Blocks- Moray Garden0.2 km
SinaiThe one-way shore dive between two entries in Dahab's Southern Oasis: gold-lit coral blocks and sandy roads at one end, a sloping coral garden at the other.
Moray Garden0.2 km
SinaiA sandy shore entry in Dahab's Southern Oasis that runs out to golden coral blocks, usually dived as a one-way drift with the site next door.
Three Pools0.6 km
SinaiThree sandy lagoons in the reef plate, three to four metres deep, that you walk into and swim through to reach the drop-off.
El Gehaza1.9 km
SinaiUm Sid2.0 km
SinaiA wide sand corridor cut into the reef 400 m north of The Caves, with a garden-eel slope and gorgonians deep, skipped by most Dahab groups because of the current.
The Caves2.5 km
SinaiUndercut shoreline south of Dahab: the caves are overhangs, the entry is the hard part, and the real find is the small stuff.
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