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- Snorkeling and reef dives on the southern Red Sea — The coral gardens off Assab are startlingly clear and virtually empty compared with better-known Red Sea spots. You’ll see bright reef life close to shore, swim through shallow bommies and franky appreciate how remote reef snorkeling can feel when the only boats around are local dhows.
- Ride a dhow with local fishermen — Jump aboard a low wooden dhow for a few hours and watch traditional handline fishing, learn how the catch is cleaned and salted, and maybe help haul in a net. It’s as much a cultural exchange as a sea trip — raw, noisy, and oddly addictive.
- Rusted portscapes and salt flats for offbeat photography — Assab’s shoreline mixes rusting colonial-era structures, salt-encrusted flats and black volcanic rock in ways that photograph
- Snorkeling and reef dives on the southern Red Sea — The coral gardens off Assab are startlingly clear and virtually empty compared with better-known Red Sea spots. You’ll see bright reef life close to shore, swim through shallow bommies and franky appreciate how remote reef snorkeling can feel when the only boats around are local dhows.
- Ride a dhow with local fishermen — Jump aboard a low wooden dhow for a few hours and watch traditional handline fishing, learn how the catch is cleaned and salted, and maybe help haul in a net. It’s as much a cultural exchange as a sea trip — raw, noisy, and oddly addictive.
- Rusted portscapes and salt flats for offbeat photography — Assab’s shoreline mixes rusting colonial-era structures, salt-encrusted flats and black volcanic rock in ways that photograph like postcards from another century. The textures and colors at low tide are uniquely Eritrean; bring a wide lens and plenty of patience for light.
- Seasonal shorebird watching on the tidal flats — The mudflats and shallow lagoons near Assab act as stopovers for migratory shorebirds. In the right months you can watch dense flocks feeding and flushing at once — low-cost binoculars and a quiet approach pay off big time.
- Long Red Sea sunsets and pure night skies — The sunsets here linger over a shallow, reflective sea and the sky goes through an insane palette of colors. After dark the lack of light pollution makes for great stargazing; bring a sweater and a thermos — the wind can bite once the sun’s gone.
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Hi, I’m Johan (Netherlands 🇳🇱), the creator of TakeYourBackpack. Over the past decade, I’ve backpacked through 80+ countries across six continents, gaining extensive experience with independent travel, long-term trips, and overland routes.