The Aquarium

The name is the review. The Aquarium concentrates the Daymaniyats' fish life over a slope of coral heads and pale sand channels: snapper and fusilier schools thick enough to navigate by, batfish escorting divers like hired guides, red-toothed triggerfish flickering above the coral in purple static. Zebra sharks are the site's quiet specialty, settled on the sand with the patience of parked cars, and hawksbill turtles work the reef edge through the whole dive. Sharp-eyed guides add seahorses and nudibranchs from the rubble margins, and in season a whale shark can drift through and reorganize everyone's air consumption. Easy depths and buoyed entries make it the reserve's flagship for good reason; it is many Oman divers' first dive and few forget it.

The moment you come for: Zebra sharks at rest; fish density that earns the name; seasonal whale shark cameos.

Topography: Coral gardens and sand channels sloping off an islet's flank

Entry: Mooring-buoy site in the reserve's eastern sector; operators rotate groups through, so early boats get it quietest.

Hazards: Thermoclines and occasional green-water patches; boat traffic at the moorings.

Permits & rules: Environment Authority entry permit required, arranged by licensed operators.

Conservation: Nature-reserve rules: no touching, no collection, no landing on the islands May-October.