SEALS Diving Center · Beirut, Lebanon
The SEALS Diving Journal
Practical writing about diving in Lebanon — from a first breath underwater to the deep wrecks off Beirut.
Showing 41 articles
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HMS Victoria — The Only Wreck in the World Standing Vertically
A Royal Navy flagship, rammed by her own squadron in 1893, that came to rest bow-first in the seabed with her stern pointing at the surface. She is real, she is off Lebanon — and almost nobody can dive her.
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Every Dive Site on the Lebanese Coast — Depth, Level and What You'll See
Lebanon's coast is short enough to drive in an afternoon and holds wrecks, walls, canyons and caves. Here is what is actually down there, at what depth, and what level you need.
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The Souffleur — Diving a French Submarine Sunk Off Beirut in 1941
A Requin-class French submarine, torpedoed by a British submarine in 1941 during a campaign most people have never heard of, now lying broken in two on the sand south of Beirut.
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Wreck Diving in Lebanon — A Coastline of Submarines, Freighters and Flagships
Two hundred and twenty kilometres of coast, and a wreck list that would embarrass most countries ten times the size. Here is what is down there and who can actually reach it.
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What You'll Actually See Underwater in Lebanon
The Eastern Mediterranean is not a coral reef and never was. What it is, once you learn to look at it properly, is considerably more interesting than most divers expect.
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Diving Batroun and the North — Where Lebanon's Water Gets Clear
An hour north of Beirut the water changes. Less run-off, less development, and the best visibility in the country — plus a cement freighter and real caverns.
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The Alice B — The Jounieh Wreck and the Story Around It
Lebanon's most accessible real wreck — a cargo ship on the sand in Jounieh Bay, shallow enough at the top that you can actually spend the dive looking at it.
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Shark Point, Beirut — The Dive Everyone Starts Asking About
The name does most of the work. The reality is a deep, current-swept site with rays, morays and — in high summer, sometimes — a harmless sand tiger shark.
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Technical Diving in Lebanon — Where Recreational Limits End
Lebanon's coastline has more below 40 metres than above it. Here is what technical diving actually is, what it demands, and why most divers should not do it.
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Is Diving Safe? An Honest Answer From People Who Teach It Daily
Not "don't worry, it's totally safe." The actual numbers, the actual causes of accidents, and an honest account of which risks you control and which you don't.
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Your First Dive, Minute by Minute
Nobody tells you about the twenty minutes of paperwork, or that the mask is the worst part, or that the hardest moment is at chest depth rather than at ten metres.
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SSI vs PADI vs NAUI — Which Certification Should You Take in Lebanon?
They are more similar than the internet suggests and more different than dive centres admit. Here is what actually varies, and the thing that matters far more than any of it.
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Do You Need to Know How to Swim to Scuba Dive?
Two different questions get mixed up here. One has the answer "no", the other has the answer "yes, and here is exactly what is required."
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Glasses, Ears, Asthma, Age — The Questions People Ask Before Booking
Some of these have a clear answer. Some of them genuinely require a doctor. Here is which is which, and why a dive centre is not qualified to clear you.
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What Diving Actually Costs in Lebanon — A Transparent Breakdown
Not a price list — those go stale. What actually drives the cost of diving here, what a quote should include, and the specific question that exposes a suspiciously cheap course.
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When to Dive in Lebanon — Water Temperature and Visibility Month by Month
Lebanon dives year-round, but the experience changes completely between February and October. Here is what the water actually does, and the month most divers should plan around.
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Scuba Diving in Lebanon — Courses, Dives and Dive Sites
Lebanon has warm water, easy shore access and a coastline of shipwrecks — but almost nothing written honestly about what diving here is really like. This is that guide.
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Open Water Diver Course in Lebanon — Schedule, Structure and What's Included
The qualification that lets you dive anywhere in the world, for life. What the three phases actually involve, how long it really takes, and what to check before booking.
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How to Get a Diving Licence in Lebanon (Step by Step)
First, a correction: there is no diving licence. There is a certification, it is issued by a training agency rather than a government, and it works everywhere.
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Every Diving Course We Run in Lebanon, and How to Choose Between Them
The full ladder, from a single supervised breath underwater to teaching. Which rungs matter, which can wait, and which are genuinely worth doing on this coast.
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Advanced Open Water in Lebanon — Which Five Dives to Pick
The course that opens up most of Lebanon's actual diving. Five dives, and the choice of which five is more consequential than people realise.
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Rescue Diver in Lebanon — The Course That Changes How You Dive
It is the least glamorous certification on the list, the most physically demanding, and the one almost every experienced diver names when asked which course mattered.
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Choosing a Mask That Actually Fits — The One Piece Worth Owning First
A leaking mask ruins a dive more reliably than cold water, bad visibility or a boring site. It is also the cheapest problem in diving to fix permanently.
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What Wetsuit You Need for Mediterranean Water, by Season
The surface temperature is not the temperature you dive in. What thickness you actually need in Lebanon, month by month, and the mistake almost everyone makes on the second dive.
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Buying Dive Gear in Lebanon — What to Own First and What to Rent
People buy fins first because they are fun and a computer last because it is dull. That order is exactly backwards, and here is what to do instead.
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Snorkelling in Lebanon — Where to Go and When It's Worth It
Free, needs almost no equipment, and works about half the time. What Lebanon's shallow water actually offers, where the good rock is, and the safety rules of a rocky coast.
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Freediving in Lebanon — And How It Differs From Scuba
Two ways to go underwater that share almost nothing except the water. What freediving actually is, why the safety rules are absolute, and which suits you.
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Scuba Diving in Beirut — Diving From the Heart of the City
Very few capital cities have real diving twenty minutes offshore. Beirut does, almost nobody uses it, and a dive day here fits inside half a day.
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Try Scuba in Beirut — One Dive, No Certification, No Commitment
No certification, no course, no commitment. One morning, an instructor within arm's reach, and the only question that actually matters answered: do you like it?
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Diving With Kids in Lebanon — Ages, Programmes and What's Realistic
There are junior programmes, real depth restrictions, and one question that matters more than any age threshold: does the child actually want to do it?
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Home for the Summer? Get Certified While You're Here
Three or four days out of a three-week visit buys a qualification that works for the rest of your life, anywhere in the world. Here is how to fit it in.
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Boat Dives From Beirut — Schedule, Sites and How the Day Runs
Short rides, empty sites, and a day that finishes by early afternoon. What a Beirut boat dive actually involves and how to book one that suits you.
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Diving From Jounieh and the Bay
The sheltered bay north of Beirut, and the reason it matters: it is often diveable on days the exposed coast is not — and it holds Lebanon's best first wreck.
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Finding Us — Diving From Mövenpick Hotel Beirut
Where we are, how to find us, and what a dive day looks like from the moment you walk in.
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Dive Centres Across Lebanon — Where Diving Actually Happens
Diving in Lebanon clusters around a few stretches of coast. Where they are, what each gives you, and the questions that actually reveal a good dive centre.
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Diving Is the Beirut Summer Activity Nobody Puts on the List
The beach clubs, the corniche, the mountains, the nightlife. Every list is the same list. The one thing missing is twenty minutes offshore and nearly empty.
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Your First Dive Computer — What Matters and What Doesn't
The specification sheets are almost entirely noise. Four things actually matter, and the most important one is whether you can read it at 35 metres without thinking.
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Regulator Servicing and Tank Fills in Lebanon
The least glamorous article on this site and one of the more important. What needs servicing, how often, and the one question to ask before buying a regulator in a small market.
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The Riviera Caves and Beirut's Underwater Rock Formations
The rock that makes Raouché famous above water keeps going below it. Arches, cuts and swim-throughs a short ride from the corniche — and one important word of caution.
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Going Pro in Lebanon — The Divemaster Path Explained
The first professional grade in diving, and the point at which the hobby becomes work. What it takes, what it pays, and the question worth answering before you start.
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Nitrox in Lebanon — Longer Bottom Times on the Deeper Wrecks
The most misunderstood certification in diving. It does not let you go deeper. What it does is change your day on Lebanon's deep wrecks — and that is worth more.
