Tala Bay tide times

Tala Bay is a purpose-built resort marina development 8 km south of Aqaba city, opened in the mid-2000s as part of the ASEZA investment zone. The marina is the centrepiece of the development: a 500-berth facility with breakwater-enclosed basin, hotel towers on the marina waterfront, and direct beach access onto the Gulf of Aqaba. The approach to Tala Bay from Aqaba city runs through what is now a continuous strip of resort hotels and diving centres; the fringing reef along this section is designated within the Aqaba Marine Park.

The tidal regime is Gulf of Aqaba mixed semidiurnal: spring range 1.0–1.4 m, neap range 0.3–0.5 m. The marina basin at Tala Bay is enclosed by a breakwater and dredged to 3.5–4.5 m; the entrance channel is approximately 4.0 m at mean water level. With a spring range of 1.0–1.4 m, the entrance channel drops to approximately 2.6–3.0 m at spring low water — adequate for most recreational craft. Vessels drawing over 2.5 m should confirm current depth with the marina office and plan arrival 2 hours before high water on spring tides. The shamal wind effect — which lowers the Gulf of Aqaba water level by 0.2–0.4 m below prediction during November–April northerly events — can reduce the already-reduced spring low entrance depth further.

For the resort beach at Tala Bay, the fringing reef immediately offshore is the defining feature. At high spring water, the reef crest has 0.8–1.2 m of clearance and snorkellers can safely traverse the entire reef system including the shallowest sections. At spring low water, the reef crest shallows to 0.2–0.4 m — the same constraint as the Aqaba city resort section. Tala Bay's marina development has added some physical infrastructure on the reef approach that slightly extends the safe-access window compared to natural reef sections north of the marina, but the fundamental tidal constraint is the same.

For dive operations, the Tala Bay area has several well-known sites. The Aquarium (or Fish Farm) site offshore, and the south edge of the Marine Park just north of the Saudi border, are accessible by dive boat from the marina. The 1.0–1.4 m tidal range creates mild current (0.2–0.5 knots) along the reef walls — enough for a gentle drift-dive experience on the reef slope. The best current for drift-diving occurs during the mid-ebb, approximately 3 hours after the morning high water.

For families, the Tala Bay beach is one of the better-managed resort beaches on Jordan's coast. The beach width at high spring water is 15–20 m; at low spring water it extends to 30–40 m over the coral-sand bottom. The reef is 30–50 m from shore. Children swimming inside the reef crest are in a protected lagoon with 0.5–1.5 m depth at mid-tide — safe for supervised swimming. The reef crest itself should be flagged for children: the coral is live and fragile, and low-water access in the 0.2–0.4 m zone risks both the swimmer and the ecosystem.

The Tala Bay marina hosts a small community of long-term liveaboard vessels alongside the resort transients. Provisioning for passage-making — the Jordan–Egypt route is a standard Red Sea yacht itinerary — is available from the marina facilities. The marina has 24-hour security and full marina services including fuel, water, and crew facilities. The wind in the Gulf of Aqaba is predominantly north-to-south (the shamal in winter) and southerly sea-breeze in summer; the marina entrance faces west and is protected from both dominant wind directions by the breakwater arms.

All tide predictions for Tala Bay come from the Open-Meteo Marine gridded model. Timing accuracy is ±45 minutes; height accuracy is ±0.3 m above Chart Datum.