The Bells
Also known as: Bells, El Bells
Shore dive beside Dahab's Blue Hole: drop one at a time through a hole in the reef table, leave the chimney onto a wall at 26-30 m and drift to the Blue Hole.
Last updated October 2026
The dive
Kit goes on at the Blue Hole, and a walk of about 150 metres, uphill and over uneven ground, comes before any water. The entrance is a hole in the reef table roughly 3 metres long and 2 metres wide, and divers lower into it one at a time. It opens into a chimney with an opening on the seaward side. The chimney closes at around 23 metres, and divers continue to the next opening at 26 to 28 metres and come out into clear blue water. One route goes under an arch at 26 metres and out onto the wall, with the option to carry on to 30 metres.
On the wall, keep the reef on your right and the open blue on your left. The wall is covered in soft corals and sea fans, with clownfish in the anemones and barracuda patrolling the blue. From there the wall leads to the Blue Hole, where the dive shallows to a coral saddle at about 7 metres. Swim round the saddle and exit by the cafes. The dive averages 45 minutes, and one operator caps its groups at six divers.
What makes it special
The entry is the site. A small opening on top of the reef leads into a vertical chimney open on one side to the sea, narrow enough that each diver in the group goes in and comes down in turn. At 26 to 30 metres the rock gives way to open water and a coral wall, with corals to one side and nothing but blue to the other.
That committed start is why operators grade the dive above beginner level, and it is also what makes the Bells a different way into the Blue Hole than stepping in at the lip. The dive finishes at the Blue Hole instead of beginning there: you arrive along the wall and rise onto the saddle.
Know before you go
The walk to the entrance in full kit is the part divers underestimate. Operators will arrange to get kit there for anyone who cannot manage the incline, and it is worth asking in advance. Going early means fewer people around the entry, since the crowds build later in the morning.
A small harbour is reported near the site, so pleasure boats are possible on the surface when you come up. The entry is exposed to wind and waves, which is worth a look before you commit to the walk.
Descend through the chimney one diver at a time and keep your tank off the walls. Operators ask for good buoyancy control because the entrance is narrow and the reef walls are sensitive.
Why Dive The Bells
What makes this dive site stand out.
- Chimney entry
A reef-table hole about 3 by 2 m, open on the seaward side and entered one diver at a time
- Wall below the chimney
The chimney releases divers onto a coral wall with open blue on one side
- Drift to the Blue Hole
The wall leads on to a coral saddle at about 7 m beside the Blue Hole
- Walk-in shore entry
Kit up at the Blue Hole and walk about 150 m to the hole
Depth & Profile
Location
28.5725°N, 34.5373°E
Conditions & difficulty
Diveable year-round.
A national park entrance fee is collected at the Blue Hole; quoted figures run from USD 20 to about USD 25 per foreign visitor, so confirm the current amount with your operator.
Operators grade the site Advanced Open Water or the 30 m level, because the committed vertical start puts divers at 26-30 m. Open Water divers should not dive it independently, and operators recommend a guide for first-timers. This is operator wording, not a regulation.
Summary
The entry is a narrow single-file chimney that needs steady buoyancy, and the wall begins at 26-30 m.
Safety considerations
What can go wrong here, and what divers do about it. Conditions change - take the briefing from the operator on the day.
- Overhead: The chimney is entered and descended one diver at a time, with reef walls close on both sides.Keep buoyancy and trim steady, and let the diver ahead clear the chimney before you drop in.
- Depth: The wall begins at 26-30 m, so the dive starts at the working limit of the recreational range.Stay within certification, watch the computer from the first metre, and keep a gas reserve for the return to the saddle.
- Current: Reports of the current differ, from a gentle carry along the wall to a strong drift that makes finning at the surface tiring.Plan gas for the stronger case and surface with a marker buoy.
- Surface and boat traffic: A small harbour is reported next to the site, with pleasure boats around.Ascend under a deployed marker buoy and look up before the last metres.
Marine Life
Rules and permits
- Conduct: no touching, no feeding, no taking anything.
Frequently Asked Questions
How strong is the current at The Bells?▾
Accounts differ. Some operators describe a gentle current that carries you along the wall, while another diver found the drift quite energetic and the finning back at the surface tiring in strong currents. Plan the gas for the stronger case, keep a marker buoy ready, and ask your guide what the water was doing that morning.
Where does the name The Bells come from?▾
The usual story is the sound of tanks knocking against the chimney walls on the way down, which divers compare to bells. One operator gives a second possible origin, the shape of the chimney, which narrows and widens like a bell.
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