SeaLog
Certification required
OW
Um Sid
Egypt · reef · intermediate
5–30 mintermediateOWshore entry
Um Sid
A 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.
Max depth5–30 m
Required levelintermediate
Entry typeshore
Visibilitynot sourced
The dive
Um Sid, written Umm El Sid by some of the centres that dive it, is a shore entry on the coast south of Dahab, in the run of roadside sites that locals call the Southern Oasis. It sits about 400 m north of The Caves, between The Caves and Three Pools, and dive centres put it roughly 15 km south of Dahab town by road. It is not Ras Umm Sid, the headland below the lighthouse in Sharm el-Sheikh's Hadaba district, which is a different site about 70 km away; the names get merged in listings and the two dives have nothing in common.
The entry is a wide sandy corridor carved into a steep sloping reef, with coral wall on both sides. It opens onto a large coral tongue, then a sandy slope colonised by garden eels, then a coral garden. Circle Divers gives the working range as 0 to 30 m and rates the site intermediate; H2O Divers lists a working band of 18 to 30 m and rates it two stars for difficulty and two for current, open water and above. The deep end of the dive is a set of large gorgonians, and both centres treat that part as advanced ground rather than a standard profile. Coming back up you cross table corals, soft corals and clouds of anthias.
The reason this reef gets less traffic than its neighbours is the water, not the coral. Circle Divers writes that the currents here can often be strong and unpredictable, particularly at depth, and H2O says plainly that it is a less known and less dived site because of the stronger currents it can get. Take the more cautious of the two ratings when you plan it: this is a site the local guides time, not one you walk into because the parking is convenient.
What you see is a mix of reef fish and macro. The centres list garden eels, longnose hawkfish, moray eels, coral grouper, scorpionfish and stonefish, octopus, pufferfish, blue-spotted stingray, glassfish and nudibranchs, with eagle rays, turtles, Napoleon wrasse and occasionally dolphins as the irregular sightings. Occurrence records at this pin back the macro end of that: Nembrotha megalocera, Chromodoris africana, Chromodoris quadricolor, Hypselodoris yarae, Spanish dancer, and Jayakar's seahorse. Risso's dolphin is also on the record here, which fits the centres' note about occasional dolphins.
- A wide sandy corridor cut into a steep sloping reef, coral wall on both sides
- A garden-eel colony on the sandy slope past the coral tongue
- Large gorgonians at the deep end, table and soft coral on the way back up
- Quieter than the neighbouring south Dahab sites because of the current
- Strong macro: Nembrotha megalocera, Chromodoris africana, Spanish dancer and Jayakar's seahorse are on the record here
Please note before you go
- Current that both dive centres flag, described by one of them as often strong and unpredictable and worst at depth; it is the stated reason the site is under-dived
- The deep end of the dive, the gorgonian ground, sits at the bottom of the 30 m range and is treated as advanced only
- Stonefish and scorpionfish are both on the centres' species lists for this reef, and lionfish (Pterois miles) are among the more frequently recorded fish at this pin
- This is an unattended roadside shore entry well south of Dahab town, with no facilities at the water and no boat cover; an exit in current is your own problem
Access & rules
Getting there
Shore entry off the coast road south of Dahab, in the Southern Oasis run of sites, about 15 km from town by road and roughly 400 m north of The Caves entry. You drive or take a taxi down, park at the roadside and walk in through a wide sandy corridor cut into the reef. There is nothing at the water: no centre, no boat, no cover. Most people dive it as part of a guided south-coast day with The Caves, Three Pools or Golden Blocks.
Operator
You can reach the site independently.
Season
Diveable year round as a shore entry, with March to May and September to November the window Dahab operators recommend: air around 25-30 C instead of the 35 C-plus of midsummer, and calmer seas. Calm matters here more than it does on Dahab's town reefs, because Circle Divers' own advice for this site is to pick your timing for calmer water.
Conditions
Visibilitynot sourced
Currentstrong
Surgenot sourced
WaterSalt water
Depth range5–30 m
Environmentreef
Coralnot sourced
Crowdsquiet
On a good day this is a still, clear shore dive with an easy walk-in down the sand corridor and a slow drop along the slope. Water on this coast runs about 23-25 C from December to February and 27-29 C from June to September. The Dahab coast generally gives 20-30 m of visibility year round; nobody publishes a figure for this site specifically, so we have not set one. The variable that decides the dive is current, which can be absent one day and running the next, and is strongest at depth.
On current: The two centres that publish a page for this site do not agree on how much current it gets. H2O Divers rates it two out of three, which is their word for moderate, and says the site is less dived because of the stronger currents that can be experienced here. Circle Divers goes further and calls the current often strong and unpredictable, especially at depth. We have taken the more cautious reading. Plan for a site where flow can pick up without warning below about 18 m, ask locally about timing, and treat the deep gorgonians as a conditional part of the dive rather than a fixed one.
Best months: Mar, Apr, May, Sep, Oct, Nov
Questions & answers
Is Um Sid in Dahab the same as Ras Umm Sid in Sharm el-Sheikh?
No, they are two different dives with similar names. This Um Sid, also written Umm El Sid, is a shore entry on the coast road south of Dahab, about 400 m north of The Caves. Ras Um Sid is a headland reef in Sharm el-Sheikh's Hadaba district, below the lighthouse and just south of Na'ama Bay, around 70 km away. Descriptions of the Sharm site, including its ladder entry at El Fanar Beach, do not apply here.
How deep is Um Sid?
Circle Divers gives the site a 0 to 30 metre range; H2O Divers publishes a working band of 18 to 30 metres for the main dive. The shallow part is the sandy corridor, the coral tongue and the garden-eel slope; the gorgonians and table corals start around 18 metres and run to the bottom of the range. Both centres treat the deep end as advanced ground, partly because that is where the current is strongest.
How do you get to Um Sid?
It is a shore dive off the coast road south of Dahab, in the run of sites locals call the Southern Oasis, about 15 km from town by road. You park at the roadside and walk in through a wide sandy corridor cut into the reef, with coral wall on both sides. There is nothing at the entry point, so most people dive it as part of a guided south-coast day alongside The Caves, Three Pools or Golden Blocks.
Is there current at Um Sid?
Yes, and it is the defining feature of the site. H2O Divers rates the current two out of three and says outright that Um Sid is less known and less dived because of the stronger currents it can get. Circle Divers goes further and describes the current as often strong and unpredictable, especially at depth. We have taken the more cautious of the two: plan for flow that can pick up below about 18 metres, and ask locally about timing before you go.
Can you snorkel at Um Sid?
No. H2O Divers, who dive the site, list it as not suitable for snorkelling. Everything worth seeing here, the coral tongue, the garden-eel slope and the gorgonians, sits well below snorkelling depth, and the current the site is known for is a bad thing to meet on the surface with no boat cover. Three Pools, a little over a kilometre north, is the shallow, easy option on this stretch of coast.
Is Um Sid good for beginners?
H2O Divers set the minimum at Open Water and above, so a newly certified diver can dive it, but Circle Divers rates the site intermediate and both centres warn about the current. The shallow corridor and the garden-eel slope are easy on a still day; the gorgonians deeper are not a beginner objective. If it is your first time on this coast, dive it with a guide who works the south sites rather than alone.
What will I see at Um Sid?
The centres that dive it list garden eels on the sandy slope, longnose hawkfish, moray eels, coral grouper, scorpionfish and stonefish, octopus, pufferfish, blue-spotted stingray and glassfish, with eagle rays, turtles, Napoleon wrasse and occasionally dolphins as the irregular sightings. The macro is well recorded at this pin: Nembrotha megalocera, Chromodoris africana, Chromodoris quadricolor, Hypselodoris yarae, Spanish dancer and Jayakar's seahorse all have occurrence records here.
When is the best time to dive Um Sid?
It works all year as a shore entry, but March to May and September to November are the months Dahab operators recommend, with air around 25 to 30 C and calmer seas. Water runs roughly 23 to 25 C from December to February and 27 to 29 C from June to September. Calm sea matters more at this site than at Dahab's town reefs, because Circle Divers' own advice for Um Sid is to time it for quieter water.
Life recorded at Um Sid
60 species within 1.5 km · OBISHexabranchus sanguineusrare · 1 records
Pterois milesrare · 4 records
Pomacentrus sulfureusrare · 4 records
Tenellia melanobrachiarare · 4 records
Amphiprion bicinctusrare · 4 records
Heniochus intermediusrare · 3 records
All 60 species recorded in this area
| Species | How often | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Pterois miles | rare | 4 |
| Pomacentrus sulfureus | rare | 4 |
| Tenellia melanobrachia | rare | 4 |
| Amphiprion bicinctus | rare | 4 |
| Heniochus intermedius | rare | 3 |
| Pygoplites diacanthus | rare | 3 |
| Aegires villosus | rare | 3 |
| Fistularia commersonii | rare | 3 |
| Cadlinella ornatissima | rare | 3 |
| Hypselodoris yarae | rare | 3 |
| Paracirrhites forsteri | rare | 3 |
| Amblyglyphidodon indicus | rare | 2 |
| Zebrasoma xanthurum | rare | 2 |
| Chromodoris africana | rare | 2 |
| Dascyllus marginatus | rare | 2 |
| Arothron diadematus | rare | 2 |
| Phyllidia rueppelii | rare | 2 |
| Chaetodon austriacus | rare | 2 |
| Monodonta nebulosa | rare | 2 |
| Gymnothorax flavimarginatus | rare | 2 |
| Hippocampus jayakari | rare | 2 |
| Polycera melanosticta | rare | 1 |
| Anampses meleagrides | rare | 1 |
| Bothus pantherinus | rare | 1 |
| Chlorurus sordidus | rare | 1 |
| Cyclichthys spilostylus | rare | 1 |
| Epibulus insidiator | rare | 1 |
| Gymnosarda unicolor | rare | 1 |
| Gymnothorax griseus | rare | 1 |
| Hexabranchus sanguineus | rare | 1 |
| Hipposcarus harid | rare | 1 |
| Labroides dimidiatus | rare | 1 |
| Naso unicornis | rare | 1 |
| Ostracion cyanurus | rare | 1 |
| Pseudanthias taeniatus | rare | 1 |
| Sphyraena barracuda | rare | 1 |
| Chromodoris quadricolor | rare | 1 |
| Cheilinus lunulatus | rare | 1 |
| Neopomacentrus miryae | rare | 1 |
| Scarus niger | rare | 1 |
| Tylosurus crocodilus | rare | 1 |
| Amblyeleotris steinitzi | rare | 1 |
| Chaetodon auriga | rare | 1 |
| Chaetodon fasciatus | rare | 1 |
| Chaetodon paucifasciatus | rare | 1 |
| Chaetodon trifascialis | rare | 1 |
| Echidna nebulosa | rare | 1 |
| Gorgasia sillneri | rare | 1 |
| Grampus griseus | rare | 1 |
| Hypselodoris infucata | rare | 1 |
| Monotaxis grandoculis | rare | 1 |
| Octopus cyanea | rare | 1 |
| Oxycirrhites typus | rare | 1 |
| Priacanthus hamrur | rare | 1 |
| Pseudanthias squamipinnis | rare | 1 |
| Synodus variegatus | rare | 1 |
| Torpedo panthera | rare | 1 |
| Trachyrhamphus bicoarctatus | rare | 1 |
| Tridacna squamosa | rare | 1 |
| Nembrotha megalocera | rare | 1 |
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SinaiBeen here? Log it.
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