The Dahlak Archipelago is one of the Red Sea's great secrets: more than two hundred almost untouched sand and coral islands off the coast of Eritrea, where the country's isolation has preserved reefs, beaches and marine life that mass tourism has degraded elsewhere in the Red Sea. Warm, clear waters, healthy corals, colourful fish, turtles, manta rays and even dugongs make Dahlak a paradise for diving and snorkelling far off the beaten track.
But Dahlak is not just about nature. The islands have a fascinating history: for centuries they were a centre of pearl fishing and trade in the Red Sea, with ancient necropolises, cisterns dug to collect rainwater and remains from different eras. The largest island, Dahlak Kebir, still has fishing villages, historic tombs and a traditional way of life tied to the sea.
This guide explains how to visit Dahlak from a practical angle: how to arrange the boat trip from Massawa, what to expect from the diving and the islands, which permits you need and how to prepare for a remote destination with no services. It is one of the most exclusive and memorable experiences in Eritrea, for anyone looking for an authentic, unspoilt Red Sea without the crowds.
For centuries Dahlak was an important Red Sea centre: a trading port, a stop on maritime routes and, above all, one of the region's great pearl-fishing centres, an activity that brought wealth and fame to the islands. It came under the influence of successive powers (Arabs, Ottomans, Egyptians, Italians) and keeps traces of that past, such as necropolises with ancient inscriptions and cisterns dug to store rainwater in a place with no springs. Its isolation during decades of war and instability kept its reefs almost intact. The full story is told on our history page.
Read the full history ↓A thousand years of Red Sea history: the port of Massawa with its Ottoman, Egyptian and Italian layers, the almost untouched Dahlak islands and the ruins of Adulis, Aksum's commercial gateway.
Read the history of The Red Sea: Massawa and Dahlak →No exact prices: a scale from $ (budget) to $$$$$ (luxury), with 2-3 options per category.
Origins, formation and what the sources say.
The Dahlak Archipelago stretches off the Eritrean coast, in the southern Red Sea, like a string of more than two hundred islands and islets of sand and coral. They are low, arid islands of coral origin, with no rivers or freshwater springs, where life has always depended on the sea and the rain. Only a few are permanently inhabited, and the largest of them all, Dahlak Kebir, is home to more than half of the archipelago's small population, traditionally devoted to fishing and herding.
Its position at a crossroads of the Red Sea — between the coasts of Africa and Arabia, on the route that links the Mediterranean, through the Suez Canal, with the Indian Ocean — made Dahlak a place of passage and exchange since ancient times. Ships carrying merchants, pilgrims and fishermen called at the islands, which became a stopover and refuge on the region's sea routes. That maritime connection shaped their history and culture, which bear a strong Arab and Islamic imprint.
The isolation and aridity of the islands, far from being just a disadvantage, helped preserve their natural environment. The coral reefs surrounding the archipelago are now among the best preserved in the Red Sea, precisely because mass tourism never reached them. Dahlak is, in this way, a place where human history and natural wealth are intertwined in a unique way.
For centuries, Dahlak was far more prosperous and well known than its remote isolation today would suggest. The islands were one of the great pearl-fishing centres of the Red Sea: their waters produced pearls and mother-of-pearl that were traded throughout the region and beyond, bringing wealth and renown to the archipelago. Added to this were fishing, the trade in turtles and marine products, and their role as a stopover on merchant routes.
That prosperity drew the interest of the powers competing for control of the Red Sea. Dahlak came under the influence of Arab and Islamic dynasties and kingdoms, and in the Middle Ages there was even a Sultanate of Dahlak that controlled the islands and part of the trade in the area. Later, with the Ottoman expansion across the Red Sea, and then under Egyptian and Italian influence, the islands remained tied to the powers that dominated the coast and the sea routes.
Telling traces of that past remain. On Dahlak Kebir and other islands there are ancient necropolises and cemeteries with tombstones and inscriptions — some in Arabic and of great age — as well as numerous cisterns and tanks dug to collect and store rainwater, essential in a land without springs. These remains speak of a large, organised and connected population, very different from today's.
In the 20th century, Dahlak's strategic position put it back on the map of the great powers. During the period of Italian rule and later, above all, during the Cold War, the islands and the waters off Massawa had military value. In the time of the Derg's Ethiopia, backed by the Soviet Union, a Soviet naval base was set up in the Dahlak area, taking advantage of the archipelago's prime location in the Red Sea, close to the oil routes and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Eritrea's long war of independence (1961-1991) and the instability of the region kept Dahlak largely closed off and away from tourism. That enforced isolation had a paradoxically positive effect on the environment: while other parts of the Red Sea filled up with resorts and their reefs came under pressure, Dahlak's corals remained practically untouched, protected by the lack of access and development.
With Eritrea's independence in 1991 and its confirmation in 1993, the archipelago came under the sovereignty of the new country. The islands remained a remote place, with a small population devoted to fishing and minimal infrastructure, but they began to emerge as a destination for diving and nature tourism, built precisely on the excellent state of conservation of their seabed.
Today, the Dahlak Archipelago is one of the most exclusive and least crowded diving destinations in the Red Sea. Its great value is precisely what isolation preserved: healthy coral reefs, clear waters and abundant marine life — colourful fish, turtles, rays, reef sharks, and in its waters even dugongs — offering an unspoilt-sea experience that is hard to find elsewhere. Diving or snorkelling here means exploring an ecosystem that tourism has barely touched.
Added to this natural treasure is the historical and human heritage: the fishing villages of Dahlak Kebir, the necropolises with their inscriptions, the ancient cisterns and a traditional way of life tied to the sea and shaped by Arab and Islamic culture. Visiting the islands means glimpsing a remote, austere and beautiful world, very different from the highlands and the cities of inland Eritrea.
Tourism in Dahlak is still in its infancy and very much an adventure: it is organised from Massawa, requires permits and logistics, and offers few comforts. But for travellers looking for authenticity, pure nature and exclusivity, the archipelago is a gem. Its future conservation will depend on whether tourism development, if it grows, manages to protect the reefs and the culture that make Dahlak such a special place. For now, it remains one of the Red Sea's great secrets.
