Red Sea Sports Club (tel. 37 65 69), across the street from Aqua Sport, offers rentals at similar prices, as well as night dives for US$49- Their office on North Beach near the lagoon rents sailboats and offers waterskiing and parasailing. Upstairs from Red Sea Sports Club, the Red Sea Sport Club Hotel’s Photo Shop (tei. 37 31 45, ext. 272, fax 37 40 83) rents underwater cameras for NIS50-100 and video cameras for N1S35O per day. Coral Beach is the most trafficked reef territory on the Red Sea-for more privacy with the fishies, head south into Sinai.

Before snorkeling, a judicious stop is the Coral World Underwater Observatory and Aquarium (tel. 37 66 66). The circular glass-walled underwater observatory lets you examine the coral reefs and fish at close range without getting your feet wet. Much more impressive than the observatory are the indoor tanks, which feature fluorescent fish, an amazing array of multi-colored fish from the Red Sea, huge turtles, frightening sharks, and bizarre bird-like rays. Well-labeled tanks make a guidebook (NIS12) unnecessary. The area also holds a snack bar, a same-day photo shop, a gift shop, and a cafeteria. A full day of fishy fun will cost you, though (NIS29, children NIS18; open Sun.-Thurs. 8:30am-5pm, but once you’re in you can stay until 6pm; Fri. 8:30am-3pm, once in stay until 4:30pm). Coral World runs a water shuttle from the Marina in Eilat to the Observatory. A cruise in the Coral Pearl (tel. 37 78 58) costs US$17 round trip and includes entrance to the Observatory.