Bordered by Jordan and Taba (Egypt), Eilat’s beautiful 10km stretch of shoreline with calm, clear sea, makes it a haven for underwater discoveries—one of the reasons Eilat diving attracts visitors in their hoards, in fact, around 250,000 divers annually! Not to mention, the Coral Beach Nature Reserve at the southern end is brimming with breathtaking schools of tropical fish, weaving among vibrant coral. Over a thousand species of fish populate the sea, with every chance to spot butterflyfish, lionfish, clownfish, and yes, even dolphins!
Scuba Diving Schools
With a plethora of diving clubs at arms reach, Eilat diving opportunities are not only available at every turn, but are suitable for both novice and experienced underwater venturers.
Located at Coral Beach, U-DIVE is an international diving school offering adventures for beginners, various courses, and special underwater photography diving sessions, and boasts the best instructors in their field.
Snuba Dive Center at South Beach has various private and small group diving experiences on its menu at the Caves Reef, suitable for beginners and qualified divers. The center also presents guided night dives in which you can explore the sea like never before at a depth of six feet. Want to jump into a course? Open water dives, rescue diver, and a seven-day master diver program are on offer!
Whether it’s an introduction to scuba diving, guided tours for certified divers, or even introductory dives for nonswimmers and children, Nautilus Red Sea, run by a team of skilled PADI instructors, has it all! Located at Dekel Beach on the southeast coast, the diving club’s photography and video options are ideal for capturing your Eilat diving experience.
Alternatively, Sigala Diving School specializes in personal diving experiences in the Red Sea, including sessions for new divers and in-depth courses, alongside unique professional courses including deep diving and shipwreck diving, with no more than four divers per instructor.
Lucky Divers is one of Eilat’s most experienced diving clubs founded in 1977, with a selection of diving activities for every interest. Introductory dives, discovering the world of scuba diving, guided snorkeling, and all types of courses including PADI specialties are on the menu at this Coral Beach diving club.
Deep Siam, located mere steps from Coral Beach, has a wide offering of diving activities, safaris, and magical underwater dives, as well as training sessions and technical courses for all types of divers, no matter your level! The variety of scuba diving sites is a chance to see coral reefs, shipwrecks, dolphins, sea turtles, and tropical fish in their hundreds. Photographers can also take advantage of the club’s underwater photography course.
The Best Spots for Diving In Eilat
The crystal-clear waters in Eilat make for a diver’s paradise, where an abundance of underwater sea life, vibrant coral, and a phenomenal snapshot of nature are all part of the package.
Coral Beach Nature Reserve
Perched at the top of the Eilat Gulf, the Coral Beach Nature Reserve is a 1.2-kilometer stretch where divers can delve into the thrill of a magical underwater world brimming with all imaginable varieties of coral reef, hundreds of multicolored fish, shellfish, and striking backdrops. This might explain why it’s one of the most popular access points for divers to immerse in a mosaic of underworld beauty. Bridges and lookout points also allow onlookers to catch a glimpse of the action from land.
The breathtaking beauty of the Coral Beach Nature Reserve is an escape from everyday life, and even features the Coral World Underwater Observatory, home to one of the biggest public aquariums in the Middle East!
Dolphin Reef
A glistening gem, Dolphin Reef (also an ecological site) is populated by remarkable bottlenose dolphins. Six-meter dives alongside these majestic mammals provide a once-in-a-lifetime experience, as well as schools of tropical fish swimming throughout the waters. With your personal instructor, the half-hour dive is an ample opportunity to capture the dolphins playing in their natural habitat. Scuba diving Eilat prices with dolphins costs around 360 ILS ($115) a session).
Other not-to-be-missed Scuba diving Eilat sites:
Suitable for both shallow and deep diving ventures, Moses Rock is a beautiful diving spot resting at the corner of the nature reserve. Moses Rock itself almost brushes the water’s surface and is surrounded by a diverse sealife community and stunning corals.
Descending on a sandy slope that reaches a depth of 18 meters, Eel Garden (as you might have guessed) is home to a multitude of humble eels which wriggle their way upward from the sandy bed of the sea. This is your chance to see them in action from a close distance.
Accessible by boat, the magnificent Japanese Gardens is a well-preserved, 500-meter diving area split into a shallow spot for beginners and a deeper dive for those of a more intermediate nature. This is an incredible vantage point of colorful sea life creatures.
Located close to Lighthouse Beach (Migdalor Beach), Three Sisters is named so for its three coral formations standing at around 100 meters from one another, each reaching around five meters in height. The shallow waters make for an ideal beginner’s dive, among moray eels, tropical fish, and octopuses!
Satil Wreck Dive is one of a handful of shipwrecks accessible to scuba divers in the Red Sea. The French-Israeli navy missile ship, measuring 45-meters long and reaching a maximum depth of 25-meters, was sunk in 1994 to be used as a training site for divers and an attraction for underwater visitors. It’s now home to a wonderful array of sea life.
Free Diving
For those who enjoy the thrill of a free dive, where you can delve deeper into the water without the need for a diving tank and breathing apparatus, look no further than Eilat diving experiences to provide the idyllic setting. Check out Freedive Israel to select from a range of underwater discoveries, from a one-day introductory dive (600-700 ILS/$195-$225) to the ultimate master freediver internship (lasting 3-5 weeks) with a maximum depth of 50 meters, and costing 5,000 ILS ($1,600).
Scuba Diving Prices in Eilat
Scuba diving Eilat prices vary depending on the session, experience, and length of time in the water. Typically, a basic introductory dive will cost you around 200-340 ILS ($65-$110), with some clubs offering a half-day activity for approximately 450 ILS ($145). For more experienced divers, Scuba diving Eilat prices are around 140-200 ILS ($45-$65).
If you want to make the most of Eilat’s diving experiences, short one-day courses start at around 550 ILS ($180), reaching upward of 3600 ILS ($1,165) for a private, immersive program. For a typical open water course, expect to pay around the 1,200 ILS ($390) mark for starters.
Snorkeling Experiences and More
Of course, Eilat diving is just the icing on the cake to all that the city’s glimmering waters present. There is ample opportunity to partake in an assortment of year-round water-sport activities—from SUP and surfing to parasailing and snorkeling. Snorkeling in particular is a thrilling way to swim amongst the abundance of sea creatures whilst safely floating on the shore, with Princess Beach, Mosh Beach, Lighthouse Beach, and of course, the Coral Beach Nature Reserve, all hotspots for exploring sea life at its best.
Abraham’s Snorkeling Tour in the Coral Reef is a chance to explore the natural jewels of the coral reserve on a guided snorkel, followed by a half-hour beach cleaning activity to help in the efforts of preserving the area. If surfing is more your beat, the Find Your Surf experience is a chance to try your hand at wind, kite, and wing surfing to see which surfing style best suits you.
Or, why not sail out further into the sea for a snorkel on our Sail in the Red Sea tour? With the guidance of an experienced sailing team, learn about the nature of the gulf and snap panoramic views of the sweeping desert mountain landscape, before anchoring down and diving into the Red Sea for an underwater snorkeling adventure you bet will be a vacation highlight!
Where to Stay
And, in case you haven’t heard, Abraham’s hostel in Eilat, located in the center of town, is open for business! After a day of Eilat diving and at sea, our hostel is the place for some downtime, featuring multiple spaces to rest and relax such as our guest lounge, well-stocked bar, TV room, and yes, even an outdoor pool! Also, with private en-suite rooms that can fit up to a family of seven, and mixed and separate dorm rooms of your choosing, there is no better accommodation to call your home away from home. The best part of all? Abraham Hostels guests receive 10% off Abraham Tours!
