Jordanian Tourism Website

Aqaba is on Jordan's only sea board which stretches for under 20 km between Israel and Saudi Arabia. The city of Aqaba plays host to a number of Western hotel chains and various SCUBA diving centres. In the town of Aqaba, there are a number of historical sights of interest. Firstly the famous Aqaba castle that Lawrence attacked in the Arab revolt and also the ancient city of Alia, whose ruins have recently been excavated.

Jordan offers some of the best SCUBA diving in the Red Sea with unpolluted waters supporting a wide range of fish and corals. Equally good is the snorkeling. You only need to swim a few metres off the shore and there is a huge range of sea life to explore. If you want to go on SCUBA course the best companies to use is the SeaStar Watersports based in the Alcazar hotel, the Dive Aqaba Diving centre or the Royal Diving Centre. For more information go to the Aquatours websight.

For a relatively short coastline Jordan boasts a very good range of sea life. It is frequently used in underwater photography competitions. One of the best dives is the wreck of the Cedar Pride, which was deliberately sunk in the 1980s. It now has a wide range of wildlife including barracuda. On the border with Saudi Arabia, there are frequent sightings of turtles, tuna and the occasional shark.

If you do not want to SCUBA dive or snorkel there is the alternative of windsurfing, kayaking and sailing from the Club Murjan, which is owned by the Alcazar hotel. If you are not a resident of the hotel you can pay a small fee and have use of the club. It is best to use either the beaches at the hotel or the ones at Club Murjan or the Royal Diving Society. These tend to be cleaner and quieter.