Top-6 Aqaba dive sites
Aqaba is one of the last places many people would ever think of diving. But there is a lot of beautiful places for diving. We prepared for you our article about Top-6 dive sites in Jordan.
You’ve might never considered it yourself.
But if it’s not on your list you are missing out on great diving.
Aqaba, Jordan is a little known destination for divers, but it boasts some of the best dive sights in the Red Sea.
Imagine dream-like scenes of coral or the adventurous Cedar Pride Wreck or Hercules C130 and creatures indigenous to the area. Your experience here will be one you will never forget.
- Year-round mild weather: The water temperature in Aqaba is about 25-28° C in summers and drops to nothing below 20-22° C in winters.
- Ease of access: The prominent diving sites in Aqaba easily access from shore. Located not very far off from the Aqaba city.
- Massive coral & marine life: The destination is home to 500 species of corals, 1200 species of fish, and over 1000 types of mollusks & other crustaceans.
- Diversity: Both soft and hard corals can be found here. The sites too vary in shape and inhabitants. From slopes to drop-offs and canyons to flat bottoms.
- Attractions at sea-bed: In addition to beautiful corals, divers will come across wrecks. Here you can find aircrafts Hercules C130 and Lockheed Tristar, a Lebanese freighter Cedar Pride and underwater military museum.
So lets start with our ranking of Top-6 dive sites in Jordan!
Cedar Pride Wreck dive site
Sunk in 1985 to make an artificial reef especially for divers, this is a wreck even discover scuba divers can enjoy. Because of easily accessible from shore, this old container ship boasts a gorgeous variety of coral.
If you will be lucky, there is chance see a Giant Napoleon Wrasse, stingrays or eagle rays or a Green Sea Turtle.
Japanese Gardens Aqaba
Ironically, the Japanese Garden locate on the same beach as the Cedar Pride Wreck. Picturesque coral as far as visibility allows, this site is locally known for its’ beauty.
A nice, shallow dive, you will thoroughly enjoy your time in the water.
There are numerous of lion fishes, morays, nudibranches, puffer fishes and shrimps.
Hercules C130 dive site
The Hercules C130 has been sunk in a very easily accessible location. While its not far from the wreck of the Cedar Pride. Even more only a few meters from the M42 ‘Duster’ anti-aircraft vehicle, more commonly known as ‘the Tank’.
An average maximum depth of around 16m and a flat bottom. The Hercules is upright and almost level, with a length of 30m and a wingspan of around 40m. The site is prone to only the lightest of currents. Descent onto the wreck is aided by the excellent Red Sea visibility, meaning it will almost always be visible from the surface.
Underwater military museum Jordan
The world’s first underwater military museum has been created just off the shores of Aqaba, Jordan.
After 30 days of planning, a total of 21 pieces of hardware were sunk over a period of seven working days. The launch ceremony took place on 25 July, 2020. The equipment was sunk in ‘battle formation’. It includes tanks of different sizes, an ambulance, a military crane, a troop carrier, anti-aircraft guns and a combat helicopter.
The machines sunked in a depth range of 15 to 28m. For the reason that visitors will be able to enjoy the attraction by snorkeling. Also glass-bottom boat tours are available, as well as scuba diving. For safety stop there is 2 machines at 5 meters.
Lockheed Tristar dive site
Lockheed TriStar L-1011 is a wide-body passenger aircraft. It abandoned at King Hussein airport following a few unsuccessful business arrangements.
Tristar is simply colossal. You need a lot of time to make a circle around it. The opportunity to visit both the passenger and pilot’s cabins, as well as cargo space, is very interesting. Therefore the biggest surprise is that you can enter the passenger cabin through the rear engine. A truly unique diving experience. We are sure that, after the sea decorates this wreck with corals and fish. The experience of diving here is even more powerful and something to remember.
The Seven Sisters
A collection of huge coral formations, you can easily spend hours exploring the area. The American army tank is one of the main attractions to see here as well as the amount of diverse marine animals. Dive site has easy shore access and available for all certification levels.
Learn more www.dive-inaqaba.com
Source: Divein.com