Staying Home Sucks, home
Sinai mountains and hotels 5km north of Dahab - panoramio
Near Abu Helal. Photo: Pedro Krtička, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Abu Helal

Dive site · Egypt

Advanced divers and up

Is it worth the trip?

88Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

Best on Fri 6: Sea: flat, Visibility about 25 m, Water 26 °C

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 88 out of 100

Sea
0.3 m
Wind
8 kn
Gusts
14kn
Air
33°C

Wed 4 · 86 out of 100

Sea
0.4 m
Wind
9 kn
Gusts
17kn
Air
30°C

Thu 5 · 88 out of 100

Sea
0.2 mflat
Wind
7 kn
Gusts
13kn
Air
29°C

Fri 6 · 90 out of 100

Sea
0.1 mflat
Wind
1 kn
Gusts
10kn
Air
28°C

Sat 7 · 87 out of 100

Sea
0.2 mflat
Wind
9 kn
Gusts
16kn
Air
26°C

Sun 8 · 86 out of 100

Sea
0.4 m
Wind
10 kn
Gusts
19kn
Air
25°C

Mon 9 · 86 out of 100

Sea
0.4 m
Wind
10 kn
Gusts
19kn
Air
26°C

Tap a day for sea, wind and water. Full forecast

Forecast: next 9 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 290, good
  2. Tue 388, good
  3. Wed 486, good
  4. Thu 588, good
  5. Fri 690, good
  6. Sat 787, good
  7. Sun 886, good
  8. Mon 986, good
  9. Tue 1084, good

The site in five facts

  • Down to 20 mits deepest
  • From a boathow you get in
  • Advancedand up
  • Water 26 °C3 mm wetsuit
  • Faces Eswell from there reaches it

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know currents, the visibility on the day or your certification.

Suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it. Scored for Advanced divers.

Sea and wind forecast and score for each day at Abu Helal
DayScoreSeaWindGustsAir
Mon 2Nov90, good0.1 mflat2 kn5kn33°C
Tue 3Nov88, good0.3 m8 kn14kn33°C
Wed 4Nov86, good0.4 m9 kn17kn30°C
Thu 5Nov88, good0.2 mflat7 kn13kn29°C
Fri 6Nov90, good0.1 mflat1 kn10kn28°C
Sat 7Nov87, good0.2 mflat9 kn16kn26°C
Sun 8Nov86, good0.4 m10 kn19kn25°C
Mon 9Nov86, good0.4 m10 kn19kn26°C
Tue 10Nov84, good0.6 m13 kn23kn26°C

Sea is the waves near the site, in metres; wind and gusts in knots. "Boats in": gusts that keep dive boats in. More

Tide

  • Mon 2 NovLow 05:48 −0.4 mHigh 12:40 +0.2 mLow 18:36 −0.3 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 00:51 +0.2 mLow 07:08 −0.4 mHigh 13:50 +0.2 mLow 20:00 −0.3 m
  • Wed 4 NovHigh 02:06 +0.2 mLow 08:18 −0.4 mHigh 14:50 +0.3 mLow 21:05 −0.3 m

Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Slack water, the safest time to dive where there is current, is about half an hour either side of each high and low. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Map

the site, its town, photos

Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Photos of Abu Helal

Abudefduf vaigiensis 342073880
Near Abu Helal. Photo: Анна Митрошенкова, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Torpedo panthera egypt
Near Abu Helal, 1 km away. Photo: Steve & Jem Copley from Kuwait, Kuwait, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Pinnacle on the Way to The Canyon
Near Abu Helal, 1 km away. Photo: Tim Sheerman-Chase, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

More diving near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Abu Helal

A reef dive. It goes down to 20 m. You get in from a boat. It suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces E: swell from the E reaches it, and wind from the W blows out to sea. 50 dive centres or shops within 10 km, the nearest 0.6 km away. The sea is about 22°C in February, its coldest month (5 mm wetsuit), and 28°C in August, its warmest (3 mm wetsuit). The town to stay in is Dahab. Within 5 km we also list 2 wind sports spots and 9 dive sites.

  • What it is Reef.
  • How deep Down to 20 m.
  • Getting in From a boat.
  • Who it suits Suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it.
  • Dive centres 50 dive centres or shops within 10 km, the nearest 0.6 km away.

Water about 26°C: 3 mm wetsuit. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

Visibility about 25 m. Typical for the time of year, estimated from ten years of NASA satellite water clarity, not a forecast. Clearest in Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep (over 30 m).

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$791–US$1,600 each

about US$791–US$1,600 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn ORD to SSH, estimated from distance and season, changing at IST, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$663–US$1,380
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$27–US$40
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$47–US$80
Food7 days eating outabout US$54–US$100
Totalabout US$791–US$1,600

Guided dives are not priced yet: we have no sourced price, so it is not in it. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Dahab

Closest

Dahab

about 15 min by car · 48 places to stay

about US$20/nightcountry average

See 48 places to stay in Dahab · Booking.com

About Dahab its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$20 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

Getting there: about 22h 15m

About 22h 15m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → SSH, changing at İstanbul Airport (IST), then 1h 20m by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.

In the water

Dive centres nearby

  • Daniela 0.6 km

  • Subex 0.9 km

  • Lagona Divers, Dahab North 1.1 km

  • Sea And C 2.7 km

  • Reef 2000 2.8 km

The nearest named dive centres and shops within 25 km, in a straight line; training agencies where the map states them. Listings, not a recommendation. Dive centres: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits

What you might see

Too few open records near this site to list its animals. Ask a dive centre what you are likely to see.

This week's visibility, the current and the life no free forecast gives. Ask a dive centre before you book.