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Dive Sites
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Cave Site
Area: Bander Khayran
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Depth: 4.5-22m
Cave site is a 20 min. boat ride from Muscat. There are two rocks near to the cliff facing towards the open sea. The anchor point is back inland near to a small rock. There is a mooring buoy. At the moment fishermen stab them and cut them loose. The dive is towards the two rocks and back. Dive at the lowest point of the rocks towards the big rock. This area is bouldery and drops off at an angle to a sandy bottom. Fin round the corner a bit as you pass the big rock towards the sea the corals are more abundant. Then ascend up to 16mts and overtop and back to the boat over the rocks near to the cliff face. Frog fish can be seen. Moray eels can usually be found about half way along under a rock, the rock sits a little on its own, Many types of Nudibranchs can be seen in an amazing range of colours.
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Easter Bay
Area: Bander Khayran
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Depth: 14-18m
This site is a 20min trip from Muscat. The bay has a sandy bottom, boats can moor in side the bay using the beach for picnics. A good 2nd dive, your surface time can be sat on the beach with a cup of tea or coffee. You dive just at the headland towards the open sea keeping the land to your right side. A one way dive or dive from the seaward side to the bay (land to your left side). This site there is a lot of hard corals to the shore side of the dive and the turtles are often seen feeding here. Take your time to look, they sit in the coral and will not move. On the seaward side of the dive the area is not so abundant with corals but the sandy areas attract the rays.
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The Tug and Barge
Area: Fahal Island
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Depth: The tug at 30mtr and barge at 25mtr
You should be an advanced diver to go there.
The site is just off North bay by Fahal island to the west of Muscat. About 20mins boat trip.
The island can be seen from shore, you will see the oil tankers being filled, then you realize how big they are. Take note how high they sit in the water, then check on your way back the difference,
Dolphins can be seen in the hundreds following the tuna. Spinner, common and some bottlenose dolphins are the main types. There is a better chance seeing them early morning. Orcas have been seen playing round the island twice in last year. Also whales.
The tug and barge are both lying in deeper water on sand.
The area is barren and no good visible points for reference. The anchor points will be just off North bay These are not big wrecks but interesting .This is a definite compass dive. From the mooring block go down to 15m. Go on a compass heading of 120? until you see the reef. When you see the honeycomb moray called Gums, turn left. Now go on a heading of 60?. Keep going down to 28m and the tug will be in front of you. After going around the tug, go to the bow (that's the pointy end), take another heading of 305?. You will then find the barge in 24 m. On the barge look very closely around the top edge. You will find white nudibranches, in the size of a pen tip and a resident grouper called Spot. If your air supply is still good, take a heading of 240? and go back into the bay.
You need a dive guide to the wrecks, let them send an SMB to the surface to save time and air. Why waste good air on just a sandy bottom. If the guide says the visibility is bad, do not dive, pick some where likeBills Bumps instead.
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East Bay
Area: Fahal Island
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Depth: 8-12m
The same area as the above, try and use this site for your second dive. On your surface interval go snorkeling you will have a good chance of seeing black tip reef sharks, about 4 @1.5mtr long. They disappear when you go diving, the sound of you breathing with the bubbles frightens them off.Your anchor point will be just out of the bay the anchor will be on the sand area between the corals.This site is interesting for the swim though, a tunnel about 30mts long with a bend in the middle. The tunnel has surges and you need to be aware of this, you will normally swim from the small entrance to the big opening. Better to become negatively buoyant for the trip through. Keep near to the bottom, most of the boulders in side are well rounded on the bottom. You can use your touch to protect your self from hitting the rocks against the sides if you get caught out. The tunnel is full of thousands of small sweeper fish and when you get to the big cavern type exit it will look very blue and full of fish. Do not rush out sit on the bottom for a few minutes as tuna and barracuda do prowl the outside. Lemon sharks and black tips have been seen, The rest of the dive is in a big circle right, you will drop off a bank and swim round back to the boat. There are some corals, not anything really, you can find old fisherman's basket traps. The area has boulders with corals growing over. You will find more morays poking their heads out. The corals get better as you head back towards the island where you can fin along the island back to the boat.
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Bill's Bump
Area: Fahal Island
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Depth: 6-22m.
Located on the west side of the Island of Fahal. This site is ideal for divers of all experience. Starting from the mooring the max depth achieved is 14m. This is a sandy bottom. To the east is the gentle sloping coral wall. This runs downwards from around 6m to 12m. Following this wall to north you come to large boulders on your right. At this point the depth drops to around 15m. Following this direction around the rock head, you continue in a northerly direction. There are a number of large rocks to your right and left and a small drop-off. The sea bed now drops eastwards to a sandy bottom of 22m. Turn round and head back, fin past the mooring buoy you will see some nice table coral. Hug the right hand edge of the coral and follow this along, you will see that the bottom begins to drop away. Follow this drop off , you will descend to around 18m and fin with the coral wall. Look to the right; a popular place for rays. At the end of this short wall ascend up to 10m and follow the coral back to the boat. This reef is highly populated with fish.
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Daymaniyat Islands
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The jewels in the crown of diving in the Gulf of Oman are the Daymaniyat Islands. These tiny islands lie about 18 km off the Batinah Coast and are Oman's only marine National Nature Reserve. Diving here is spectacular. Fishes tend to be larger and more numerous than along mainland shores of the Gulf of Oman and coral reef development is more substantial.
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Fahal Islands
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Fahal is a large island, 4 km offshore from Muscat's popular tourist beach. It is a 30 minute boat ride from the local dive center. Smaller in area than Bander Khayran it boasts equally excellent diving, with bays containing different types of hard and soft coral and swim-through. For the more adventurous there is a cave swim-through and a wreck at 30m, to the north of the island. Sharks can be often found basking on the sand banks.
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Cemetery Bay
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The bay lays between Muscat Island and Sidab. The rock shores of the bay are lined by scattered coral, with two large banks of cauliflower coral in two to three meters off the north side of the bay. Huge, turreted boulder corals from a small reef in the sheltered water off the stony beach on the south-east side of the bay. These corals, which reach four to five meters in diameter, are hundreds of years old, making them some of the oldest surviving corals in this part of Oman.
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Cat Island
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About 300m off the beach to the left of the Marina. Small blacktip reef sharks often cruise among the shallow rocks, and you are likely to see a number of stingrays lying on the seabed or gracefully gliding over it in search of food. There are also a number of large rocks with their accompanying fishes, coral and plant life, en route to the island. Watch for the three-finned turtle, who is normally on the landsite of the island.
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