You can probably find two dozen diving centers in Na’ama Bay; the tough part is deciding with whom to go. Prices are fairly standard, with a five-day PADI course f US$25O-280, not including certification (US$30). Introductory dives cost US$4045, C full gear rental US$20, five specializes in instruction and has rooms available at die diving center for US$25 per person, breakfast included. Red Sea Diving Club (tel. 60 03 43, fax 60 03 42) has its own jetty and decompression chamber. Aquamarine (tel. 60 02 76, fax 60 01 76) and Aquanaute Diving Center (tel. 60 01 87, fax 60 06 19) will organize your aquatic Aqaba coast adventures. There are many other safe and reputable diving clubs, with new ones emerging all the time; these are the ones which have been around the longest.

When you dry off, a convenient terrestrial excursion is to Nabq, a Bedouin village on the coast 20km north of Na’ama Bay. Notable for its mangrove forest, Nabq can be reached by camel or jeep. Ask at the Sanafir Hotel (tel. 77 08 68) for information. The problem of maintaining traditional Bedouin lifestyles in the modern world is being actively addressed in Nabq: a Bedouin “reservation” is being established in an attempt to preserve their culture, which certainly is undergoing transformation with the development of the Sinai.