Pharaoh's Island and other Aqaba, Jordan Off The Beaten Path Tips

Several places organise excursions by boat to Pharaoh's Island, a noted snorkelling site, just off the Egyptian coast south of Taba. This is a tiny islet, originally fortified by Saladin, and still holding the castle, which has been much restored. There are always a great many small boats around it, I am told that diving there is not so easy to do and quite frankly not up to much, "as overuse from trips out of Eilat has somewhat trashed the reefs there" but that it is OK for snorkelling. These trips have to be booked a couple of days in advance and your passport handed to the organisers to arrange a visa with the Egyptian Consulate. The price of a trip with Seastar is 28JD/person, which includes a barbecue lunch and the visa. (But even with the visa you are not allowed to land on the Egyptian mainland here).

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Other Contact: www.jordanjubilee.com

THE WRECK OF THE CEDAR PRIDE

A Lebanese freighter was scuttled in 1983 and now hosts a wide variety of hard and soft corals. She is intact and lies across two reefs on her port side. Divers can swim under her at 27m. She can take several dives to fully appreciate and is an excellent night dive. It is also the site for beautiful sea horses.

Entry through a narrow path through the reef to drop into 5m of water where a small pinnacle sits with a myriad of life, an excellent safety stop on the return. Follow Rainbow Reef down to the wreck, explore from bow to stern, working your way to the top of the superstructure. The mast is covered in large red soft coral, large snappers and cruising Yellow Bar Bream. Leave the wreck with air enough to explore Rainbow Reef as you make your way back to the entry point. 

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Website: www.diveaqaba.com
Other Contact: www.jordanjubilee.com

You can get fantastic views out over the Gulf of Aqaba from the top of Jebel Baqer. You'll need a car, and preferably a 4x4 to take you up Wadi Itms towards the north and turn left at Wadi Mizfar, by some white buildings, just to the north of the truck driver stop.

There's a clear path to the saddle, but after that pick your way to the summit. It should take you about 2 hours from where you left the car.

From here the sea is "like a blue jewel" and you see the four countries spread out below you: Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Egypt.

Don't try this in the summer; the best views are after rain.

Posted by Lulu

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