Dive Centers Oman

Oman's beaches are some of the most important turtle nesting sites in the world, therefore the government has conservation policies to protect them. One of the most popular places to see turtles is The Daymaniat Islands, are a group of nine small islands in the Gulf of Oman. In order to dive here you need a permit and boats don't land on the islands at all during the nesting season.

The easiest access to the islands is from the dive centre at the Al Sawadi Beach resort. It's about 45 minutes boat ride to the nearest one, Junn Island. It's a tiny, rocky island with a sweep of sandy beach. The diving here is full of colour with bright yellow and purple soft corals and hard corals in many shapes, and good numbers of reef fish . If you've dived in the Red Sea or the Indian Ocean you will recognise some of the species here: shoals of fusiliers and blue tang, goatfish digging in the sandy patches, large surgeonfish streaming by in groups - there is plenty to see and photograph. Beautifully patterned moray eels watch from their holes in the reef. Pufferfish and pairs of brightly coloured bannerfish swim close to the corals. Lionfish stalk their prey and cuttlefish hang in the water or jet away when disturbed. Painted rock lobsters hide in rocky crevices and sea urchins sit everywhere on the sea bed protected by their long spines. I enjoyed watching anemone fish in their snake-lock homes. Our dive guide pointed out a deadly stonefish blending invisibly into a coral background.