Dana in Winter & Diving Aqaba

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curlyscot
curlyscot

Looking at the treks in the Dana nature reserve it seems that a lot of them shut off in November, or require a lift to a trailhead, which seems a bit dispiriting if not expensive at JD6 each time.

Has anyone got experience of Dana at this time of year? Can you do the forbidden treks (or is it plain stupid)? Are there lots of other treks? Is it just so awesome that you'd be a fool to miss it?

Also, as I only photocopied the pages of the Jordan book that I thought I needed I'm in the embarrassing position of having nothing at all about snorkelling or diving in Aqaba, which I'm now suddenly into. Bah. Most internet searches I do lead to the inevitably biased BUY BUY BUY sites of the dive centres themselves. Can anyone provide Anything At All about this situation?

Cheers.

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mariapia
mariapia

www.diveaqaba.com - We dove with them and had a great time. Safe, knowledgeable & fun!

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cgasc
cgasc

I dived in 2006 in Aqaba with Dive Aqaba.

Good diving and great fun. for more info try www.bsac.com and go to the travel club.
PM me if you need anything,

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ruffgyder
ruffgyder

Dana is 1,500m above sea level - roughly 5,000ft. It's darn cold in winter. Here's the list of trails:

http://rscn.org.jo/orgsite/Reserves/DANABIOSPHERERESERVE/Trails/tabid/203/Default.aspx

The only paths that are closed in winter are the ones out of the Rummana campsite (which shuts down Oct-March). Otherwise, they're all available year-round. It's a big place, Dana - why is getting a lift to a trailhead dispiriting? There are no 'forbidden treks' - just forbidden areas: some of the reserve is open for low-impact tourism, but large areas of it is a wilderness zone: the reserve is a scientific initiative, to help conserve Jordan's natural environment, and the tourism helps fund that. If you go off trail, or if you dodge payment, or if you follow some more unscrupulous hotel-owners in Dana village and sneak into closed zones, then you are damaging Jordan's attempts to preserve its own flora and fauna for its own future generations...

"Is it just so awesome that you'd be a fool to miss it?" Yep.

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curlyscot
curlyscot

With regards to Dana, it certainly is worth it. It's stunningly beautiful.

I take it the reference to unscrupulous hotel-owners is the Dana Tower Hotel owners - I paid them to give me a lift to Wadi Musa/Petra, and they kept trying to make me go to their friends hotel. When I finally shook them off, they went round the hotels afterwards to find out where I was staying and demanded a commission! My new Hotel owner of course refused to pay. To be honest I got a bad vibe from them throughout.

Don't let this put you off Dana though, it's a beautiful place to wander in, and I didn't find it too cold at all. Apparently the weather is unusual this year, though.

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ruth
ruth

Yes, you are spot on about the Dana Tower. Also about the weather - often there is snow in Dana at this time of year.

Do you really not know about www.jordanjubilee.com?

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esteh
esteh

You can snorkel in Aqaba from the shore (on the public or private beaches) or from dive boats operated by the dive centers.

Here you will find a detailed descriprion of all Aqaba beaches: http://www.your-guide-to-aqaba-jordan.com/aqaba_beaches.html

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