New to scuba (PADI OW Cert) - desperate to go to Red Sea in Oct, but not in Egypt?

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In Kenya we've got the possibility of going to a Safari, chilling on the beach and going for a few dives each day. The boat trips are approx 15-20 mins according to most dive web-sites for beginner dive sites, so that should hopefully lessen the travel time out.

Mozambique might be more to your liking then.

Kenya--in fact, all of East Africa--is a fantastic place to travel and I've never been anywhere on this earth that impressed me more or made me feel so "off the grid" as I felt there. There are problems (also political ones) but the people will get into your very soul and change you. Travelling for 6 months in east Africa is like getting a tattoo on your soul that you carry with you for the rest of your life.

If you're going to be in the general area then I would recommend diving in Lake Malawi. Getting to Africa you can fly to Lilongwe instead of Nairobi and take the chance to dive in Lake Malawi, which aside from being warm and one of the biggest inland lakes on the continent, is also home to a variety of species of cichlids (colourful fresh water tropical fishes that are popular in aquariums) that only live wild in this *one* single place on earth.

I remember my first dive in Lake Malawi as well as I do my first dive in the Red Sea. They're very different but gave me equally fond memories.

R..
 
My buddy is still running live-aboard trips to Egypt and I've been considering heading to Marsa Alam (about 800km south of Cairo) in maybe Feb next year.

Traditionally, attacks on tourists are rare in Egypt and attacks outside of the main tourist hubs are virtually unheard of. The problem with the Red sea is that you're pretty much stuck going to either Egypt, the Sudan or Saudi Arabia.

Given the options, I'd still opt for Egypt but people I know who have been on the Saudi side say the diving is outstanding. Just don't be gay a woman or American and you might even have a good time.

R..

​Good luck getting a tourist visa for KSA.
 
Mozambique might be more to your liking then. If you're going to be in the general area then I would recommend diving in Lake Malawi. Getting to Africa you can fly to Lilongwe instead of Nairobi and take the chance to dive in Lake Malawi, which aside from being warm and one of the biggest inland lakes on the continent, is also home to a variety of species of cichlids (colourful fresh water tropical fishes that are popular in aquariums) that only live wild in this *one* single place on earth.

Hi Diver0001,

Our thoughts exactly! Thanks for the recommendation, I'll definitely look it up - however it seems it's a while away from Mombasa and that's where the more affordable holidays are. If we're going anywhere far then we may look at going to Pemba Island :)

But I think I'll look into landing nearby if the transfer to Mombasa isn't too grueling, by the sounds of it Lake Malawi may be worth it!
 
Hi all,

We're actually considering Kenya now as we're fair weather (and fair politics) divers!

After having looked into it I'm a bit concerned about going to Jordan as it seems we'd be diving *only*.

In Kenya we've got the possibility of going to a Safari, chilling on the beach and going for a few dives each day. The boat trips are approx 15-20 mins according to most dive web-sites for beginner dive sites, so that should hopefully lessen the travel time out.

We'll probably return to the Red Sea in Egypt once things have (hopefully) calmed down :)

From London we can fly directly to Sharm and then transfer to Dahab, but the travel advice states that all areas in Egypt are off limits except for Sharm, which is a tiny spec compared to the rest.

I'm not paranoid but part of me wonders why during such political instability they 'agree' to not let it spill over to Sharm. I'm sure it'll be fine but we're not willing to take the risk :)

Thanks for the advice everyone!
Kenya has awesome diving and I was thinking about posting this here before seeing your post. I dove with a company who has a Livaboard and a land resort on Pemba Island. Actually, I think their land resort is near Mombasa. If you PM me, I could help you with a contact for the resort.

---------- Post added August 30th, 2013 at 08:10 AM ----------

Do make sure, if you dive Pemba Island, that you do a night dive. One of the most fascinating, and more unusual things to see there is the Spanish Dancers. It's the world's largest nudibranch and to see them free swimming at night is a rare treat.
The person who put together our trip has been diving for about 45 years all over the world and set up the trip to Pemba Island specifically to see/film Spanish Dancers. He'd been to the Red Sea but kept missing them.
 
Hi all,

After having looked into it I'm a bit concerned about going to Jordan as it seems we'd be diving *only*.

Not quite sure what you mean by that statement, plenty to see in Jordan, very historical with Petra nearby and the Dead Sea, plus very hospitable people.

---------- Post added August 30th, 2013 at 08:14 PM ----------

people I know who have been on the Saudi side say the diving is outstanding.

In some areas it really is fantastic :D

Just don't be gay a woman or American and you might even have a good time.

R..

Believe me there are plenty of gays, women and Americans in Saudi ... in fact I have come across all three categories in one person in Saudi :rofl3:
 
Dahab and Sharm are so far removed from the troubles in Egypt, it's almost a different country. Don't write it off based on what's happening in Cairo. We're off in a few weeks, and looking forward to diving Canyon and Blue hole without the hoards :)


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The diving in Sudan is more spectacular usually than the Egyptian Red Sea. Jordan offer far less to see for the divers, there you can't expect too much pelagic encounters. I'd think about a liveaboard trip to Sudan if somebody don't want to travel to Egypt, there are liveaboard operators who send their boats to Sudan in the spring. I'd check out the Sudanese offers of Cassiopeiasafari for example.
 
Sudan is amazing. I spent a week diving on the Don Questo on 2007 at the end of 4 months backpacking through the Middle East. Despite what you hear/think, Sudan is about the safest and certainly the most hospitable country on the planet. You won't see much of it if you just fly into Port Sudan, but any safety concerns you may have should be put aside. It's the only place in the world I've had random locals pay bus fares for me and it's the only place apart from Lebanon where random locals have invited me to stay in their houses (I know, Lebanon...).

I was there at the time of the protests about the British teacher naming a teddy bear "Mohammed" and remember sitting in Internet cafes in Khartoum reading about the dire situation, rioting etc in Khartoum and the rampant anti-Western feeling. I'd then go outside and be accosted on the street by Sudanese desperate to talk to me, desperate to buy me tea etc. Great people.

Oh, I almost forgot, the diving is awesome. We saw one other boat all week. The coral is stunning and the abundance of marine life, at least in 2007, was incredible. Grey reef sharks on most dives, bumphead parrotfish, hammerheads (depending on time of year/water temp they may be deeeeeeep though), a couple of shipwrecks, and of course the wreck of Jacques Cousteau's Conshelf underwater research facility.
 
We've had friends in Egypt twice in the last month & our club is going in March. Foreign office recommendations are that the Red sea ports are perfectly OK destinations. Flights are a little more difficult but prices are slightly down and traffic at the famous dive sites is also down. No problem with either of those!

As I understand Jordan also has a lot to offer but I have no personal experience there.
 
I've just spent a week in dahab. There is absolutely no problem in going there.
If anything now is the time to go, its quiet and you'll have some dive sites to yourself.

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