About us
Two friends, one place
How The Gate Freediving came to be, and what we're trying to build.
The Gate Freediving started because two friends spent too many years telling each other they should just do it.
Emilio and Liam grew up in the Netherlands and met through scuba diving. For years they dived together, first in Dutch waters, then further afield, and eventually ended up in Dahab. Dahab has a way of doing that. You come for a week and start making plans to come back for longer.
Both of them found freediving here. Not as a replacement for scuba, but as something completely different: quieter, more internal, more honest in what it asks of you. The calm, and the way it changes how you move in the water. They were hooked.
What we wanted to build
A home base for the freediving community.
Somewhere that feels like a home base: a place where anyone can show up, feel welcome, and leave knowing more than when they arrived. About diving, about the water, about Dahab itself.
Getting it right mattered. Not just the teaching, but the way the center operates: the equipment, the facilities, the care for the reef. Freediving asks you to be present and deliberate underwater. It felt right that the center should work the same way above it.
The third person in the story is Bassem, a friend who has lived in Dahab for years and knows the place better than anyone. Bassem owns The Gate Hotel, a clean, well-run property in Mashraba with the best pool in town. When the three of them started talking about what a freediving center there could look like, it felt like an obvious fit. Three friends, one place, a shared love of the water.
Today
Open since 2025.
The Gate Freediving opened in 2025. Our team speaks Dutch, English, Spanish and Arabic. The pool is 25 metres and used daily. The reef is a short drive away, and the whole thing runs from one place, so you can learn, stay and dive without the logistics.
See you in the water.
Emilio & Liam
What we stand for
The things we won't trade away.
Feeling over numbers
We teach calm first. Depth is a by-product of relaxation, not the goal you chase.
Small on purpose
Two students per instructor, and we intend to keep it that way even as we grow.
One place, one standard
Our own classroom and pool, and the hotel we're based in, so we set the standard, not a rental shop.
We protect the reef
We dive here every day. Clean-ups, no single-use plastic, and care for the water we love.
Come see for yourself