Dive sites in Saudi Arabia

Located offshore southwest of Jeddah, Abu Tair—often associated with the expansive Shiab Alkabir reef system—presents a mix of dramatic coral walls, open plateaus, and historic wreckage. Divers explore healthy hard-coral structures before drifting along drop-offs frequented by pelagic species. The reef's most famous landmark is the wreck of the Staphonos, commonly known as the Cable Wreck, which settled along the reef slope and now shelters vast schools of fish within its remaining structural frames.

Located along the Eastern Province coastline near Al Khobar, Halfmoon Bay serves as the primary training and shore diving location on the Arabian Gulf side of Saudi Arabia. The protected crescent-shaped bay features a gently sloping seabed composed largely of fine sand and silt, interspersed with intentionally placed artificial reef structures, sunken car frames, and dive training platforms. Because the bay is sheltered from open-sea swell, conditions remain relatively calm year-round, though bottom silt can reduce visibility if disturbed by fin kicks.

Jackson Reef sits at the northern end of the Straits of Tiran, marked conspicuously on the surface by the rusted skeletal remains of the wreck Lara. Underwater, sheer vertical walls drop into the abyss, adorned with lush gorgonian sea fans, soft corals, and vast fire coral formations. Due to strong prevailing currents sweeping through the narrow straits, the site functions primarily as an exhilarating drift dive where pelagic life frequents the blue.

Umm Al Maradem is a low-lying sandy island surrounded by fringing coral reefs in the southern Arabian Gulf. The dive profiles feature shallow coral gardens that gradually slope out toward sandy flats. Hard coral formations here include extensive table corals and massive porites mounds, which provide shelter for a variety of regional reef fish and macro fauna.

The Iona wreck lies along the outer reef systems off Yanbu, where an early-twentieth-century steamship came to rest on the reef slope. Broken across multiple sections, the structure features exposed boilers, steam machinery, and twisted hull plating heavily encrusted with stony corals and gorgonian fans. Because the site faces the open Red Sea, divers often transition from inspecting historical ironwork to scanning the blue for cruising pelagics.