Search results

+1 on @Curious_George 's recommendation of Bayahibe as a location over Punta Cana. It is a long transfer, though, depending on exactly where you're based in Punta Cana, and it seems to get longer the more times you do it. If you'd rather stay relatively local I can recommend SeaPro Divers...

Congratulations! Do post your actual winning picture(s) too - unless the "marine life" is that first one of the smug looking chap with the flag? :D

I've dived with a few Dutch lads in Sharm over the years, and it's fair to say they're a pretty mad bunch generally. I like them!

Yep, no argument there, and just for the avoidance of doubt, I wasn't "taking sides" earlier. However, as a general rule I suspect the behaviours @Cheizz described will be more likely to make a "European" uneasy than an "American". The stereotype of the surly French waiter is there for a reason...

And there's your transatlantic cultural difference right there.

Scottish - so probably both :cheers:

I've dived in Sharm in February in a 5mm wetsuit, no hood or gloves, and been just fine over a week of 3-dive days, but my cold tolerance is higher than average. (I occasionally dive a 7mm semidry in 8C water in the Isle of Man in winter, and in Sharm I'm in a shorty by April :cool:). I think...

I've always found a 5mm suit perfectly fine for the Red Sea in February, even for a full week or more of 3-4 dive days. If you know you're susceptible to the colder water and can only pack one small item of dive gear, a hooded vest - or even just a hood - wouldn't hurt. As @JustSurfaceInterval...

I truly hated the suspiciously-stained and somewhat holey rental shorty I was given on my first trip to Egypt after qualifying, before I'd bought all of my own gear, although that was more on aesthetic grounds than anything functional.

Having been in February too, I can well believe that! By mid/late April it's usually warmed up considerably, but mid-March is still a whole lot closer to winter.

I've done three dives a day, five days running, on more than one occasion in the Red Sea in April, and felt overdressed in a 5mm shorty. All being well I'll be in Sharm this Easter, and I'll be taking a 3mm shorty. That said, on those past trips some others were in a full 5mm throughout...

January's not a bad time for the Maldives. Take your pick from several hundred idyllic desert islands.

If you're not dead set on a longer liveaboard then a land-based option around Marsa Alam / Port Ghalib might be an option. EasyJet (definitely not "luxury") have a 4-hour direct flight to Marsa Alam from Venice. There are lots of good local day boat options around that area with a variety of...

It's probably just me, but since the last time this cropped up I've noticed that I tend to vary it myself without thinking, depending on whether I'm referring to one or more than one person. E.g. "I dived there yesterday" versus "we dove there yesterday". Except for the times when I do it the...

But what do I do for the remaining 59 minutes of my one hour dive?

Oh yes. I just wish these fin ladders were mandatory, they make getting back on board that much quicker, easier, and safer. Fins aside, it never ceases to amaze me how many people I see going up any kind of ladder with their mask off and reg dangling.

+1 for Naama Bay and Emperor, a hugely professional and friendly shop, and generally good value. They had their own place when I last dived with them in Sharm, prior to their forced consolidation, so I have no experience of their current ground-sharing scheme. (Can't be all bad, though, as the...

If you're dead set on Riviera Maya then I can heartily recommend the Excellence Playa Mujeres. The AI choice is extensive, with plenty of variety. It's not hugely convenient for diving, but handy for a jaunt to Isla Mujeres. Only downside is that, while there IS a dive shop on site, it's Aqua...

I hear that! And happy Halloween when it comes. (It's not until Wednesday in the UK, although it seems to start in September stateside ;-)

Love the pictures! Speaking as an incredibly amateur underwater photographer who will never get my head around the likes of LightRoom, I don't know if you've seen the Dive+ app being talked about on another thread? Literally one click gives this: