Blacktip reef sharks
Small groups circle the reef by day.
Wongleejean — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Flounder Lee — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bahnfrend — CC BY-SA 4.0 · AdinaCo — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bahnfrend — CC BY-SA 4.0
Snoopy Island, also called Al Aqah Island, is a rocky islet about 200 m off Al Aqah's Sandy Beach Hotel on Fujairah's Gulf of Oman coast. About 100 m long, it rises some 19 m, and nautical charts name it Jazirat al Ghubbah. Inside the Al Aqah Marine Protected Area, its waters, at most about 7 m deep, draw snorkellers and shore divers. Three rocks, said to trace the cartoon beagle Snoopy lying on his back, give it its name. The hotel facing it began in 1978 as ten chalets let to divers. Blacktip reef sharks set it apart: groups of three to ten, up to 1.5 m long, circle the reef by day all year, and in 2023 IUCN shark specialists named its waters an Important Shark and Ray Area. Boulders and brain corals lie at 2 to 3 m on one side; on the other, a rock wall drops to 5 or 6 m. Trumpetfish, sergeant majors, triggerfish, parrotfish and turtles live here, with rays such as the Gulf torpedo, an electric ray. Kayaks and paddleboards make an easy crossing; dive centres run five-minute boat trips. It is about two hours' drive from Dubai and, as the crow flies, 40 km north of Fujairah Fort, 15 km north of Khor Fakkan and 6 km north of Al Bidyah Mosque. Visitor guides describe swimming out from the public beach nearby; the hotel's closer beach needs a day pass. Come from October to May, and snorkel only in a calm sea: waves can throw swimmers onto the sharp rocks.
Small groups circle the reef by day.
Brain corals, parrotfish and turtles.
A short crossing from the beach.
Off the Sandy Beach Hotel, Al Aqah beach
Blacktip reef sharks are timid, usually swim off when approached and seldom threaten people unless food is around. Worldwide, most recorded bites were on the legs or feet of people wading in shallows, so swim rather than wade near the reef, and never feed them.
Visitor guides describe a man-made sand path that almost reaches the island at low tide, and the hotel says you can walk across then, but the rising sea covers it again, so swimming or paddling out is the safer choice. The same guides say walking around the island is not allowed, to protect the reef, so keep off the coral.