6 Days in Sharm 7/13: Need Advice!

[ChappyDiver]

Hello fellow divers,

I just booked a long-awaited backpacking trip to North Africa, ending with 6 days in Sharm for diving! Super excited and looking for some info. Just a few questions for those of you with experience in the area:

1) I have just under 100 dives, but my travel partner has only gone diving a few times and isn't certified. Are there any dive ops that will cater to both of us? We don't mind being separated during the day, but he did express an interest in diving while we were there, so I wanted to check on the options for him. Does anyone know an operator with some sort of "discover scuba" program for novice divers?

2) If there are no viable options for the above situation, my travel partner doesn't mind me just going out on my own. Does anyone have any particular recommendations for a dive op that keeps group size small and allows max bottom time? I did a trip out in Thailand last year, and they made the entire group come up together... I came up with 1/2 tank on >5dives, so I'd like to avoid that situation again if possible.

3) Sort of off-topic, but a lot of friends and family are all telling me I made a mistake going to Egypt so soon after the uprising. I know safety is never guaranteed, but would anyone seriously advise staying out of Cairo this July? We're scheduled to be in Cairo for 6 days before coming to Sharm, and so far we don't have any packaged group tours booked (we were planning on just following a similar itinerary for sightseeing ourselves). I guess I'd just be happy to get a perspective from someone closer to the area.

Thanks in advance for all your help!!

 

[nomro]

1) and 2) Most dive shops in Egypt have discover Scuba - Intro dive programs , Sharm is usually a busy place , but after the up rising it's less busy for sure . Now depending on the type of diving u r doing and where you are going to dive , the numbers will differ , most dive operators would make divers come up together , however in a good dive center if you express your concerns in advance they can arrange to have a dive buddy with similar skill and to dive with a more experienced group . Also there is the option of having a dedicated guide but you'll have to pay more . (I recommend doing the Thistlegorm wreck and Ras Mohamed , you can have all in one daily trip 2 dives thistlegorm and 1 Ras Mohamed) and Um El Sid drift dive , u can have several dive trips to Ras Mohamed , a lot to see and several dive sites . If you go south to Marsa Alam , operators there like red sea diving safari (marsa-shagra.org) do buddy dives for easy dives and shore dives without a guide . In Sharm I tried moon divers they are a good operator with good prices on Um El Sid hill in Sharm , most operators in the 4-5 stars hotels are also good but expensive.

3)Ok it's not as bad as people think , and July would be a month after the presidential elections ,so I believe things would calm down a lot . Just take the usual pre-caustions when you're in a foreign country , don't participate in demonstrations , strikes , etc.... even as an observer (There aren't many these days , but just in case they usually occur on Fridays) . If you have an Egyptian friend who is willing to help you around in Cairo would be something I recommend , but make sure he's someone you know or registered with a travel agent .

I live in Cairo and it's too crowded even for me as an Egyptian (but this is where I always lived and worked) . So I would recommend you spend more time on the red sea beside Sharm there is El Gouna , Hurghada (north route liveaboards has a lot of wrecks), Marsa Alam , or to visit Luxor (a lot of site seeing there). You can visit most of the important siteseeing sites in 3 days in Cairo and spend the rest somewhere more relaxing

 

[Crowley]

To answer your posts and expand a little on nomro's reply:

(1) Pretty much every licensed dive operator in Sharm will be able to cater to both novice and advanced divers. I usually recommend the big-name centres for first time customers, not simply because I happen to work for one, rather that they have a vast amount of experience catering for divers of differing abilities and certification (or lack thereof). The "Big 5" (in no particular order) are Camel Dive Club, Ocean College, Red Sea College, Sinai Divers and Emperor Divers. Others are available. Contact the centres via e-mail in advance to discuss price and requirements. For other operators, you can find a list of licensed centres at Chamber of Diving and Water sports - Red Sea - Egypt:. I don't like to advertise on here but I'm certainly happy to give more info in private messages regarding my own as well as other operators.

(2) There are options available that will allow you to dive together. It's often possible (but not always) for the diving partner to accompany the student diver, as long as they don't interfere - which is where we have to separate some couples! Uncertified or Open Water student divers are NOT ALLOWED to dive in the National Park of Ras Mohamed or Tiran, with a couple of exceptions: inside Marsa Bareika in Ras Mohamed or South Laguna in Tiran, where there is very little to see. Once a DSD Discover Scuba Diving) program is completed, it might be possible with the right centre to do a Dive After DSD from the boat or shore, although there would be a premium to be paid for this as it involves having a private guide. Non-diving or snorkeling partners are, however, welcome to join the boat trips.

(2a) Group size and max. bottom time: It's not always possible for the larger centres to keep the groups small. We try to, but the maximum is 10 per guide and sometimes this happens. Smaller centres are often able to offer smaller groups simply because they don't have so many customers, but the downside is that they are not able to offer the same range of programs or boat trips on a daily basis. There are some good ones though.

I have to disagree with the previous post a little in that I know of no competent guide in Sharm who is not able to re-arrange the group underwater so that if some people run low on air early, they can be surfaced safely without inconveniencing the rest of the group too much. The better centres have a screening system which - whilst not perfect - means that divers who are not capable of getting a good 50 or 60 mins from their tank (standard 12litre aluminium or 15litre steel/aluminium for the air guzzlers),or are not comfortable in the water or have poor buoyancy control, whatever, will hopefully not even be there in the first place. If a guide surfaces an entire group when the first diver runs low on air, without good reason to do so, then you're diving with the wrong guide.

We do try to find insta-buddies of similar certification level and experience but that doesn't always work out... I have in the past dived with people who put (for example) 300 dives / Dive Leader on their check-in form to whom my first question was "how did you survive the other 299?"!

(3) Safety in Egypt: Your family and friends should not be concerned. There have been some very tragic, bloody riots, but they were far, far away from Sharm and most of the other tourist resorts, and it's important to remember that this is a political struggle between Egyptians, not a religiously motivated battle against evil western powers. At no point did any of us foreign residents feel at all threatened by the situation, and neither did our remaining few tourists. I have written a lot about this in prior posts (scroll down a few pages or read my blog) in an attempt to alleviate the worry/fear and - indeed - prejudice that many people have formed whilst watching Fox News from the comfort of their armchair.

There have been some problems, yes, let's be honest about this - also written about in a previous thread - one french man was accidentally - but fatally - shot during a failed bank robbery and there was the kidnapping of two American women and their tour guide (an Egyptian) by Bedouin Tribesmen who released them the next day. Again - politically, not religiously motivated, and the Bedouin are really nice people, actually, so although it must have been quite scary, they were probably treated very hospitably.

I have in the past recommended booking packaged tours through licensed operators and hotels and I still hold to that. The political situation is currently stable, but there has been a surge in tourist touts who are offering uninsured excursions, often involving unexpected extra charges after departure, with no backup should anything go wrong. These people need to be put out of business, and the only way to do that is making sure they don't get any. On the other hand, a savvy traveler with a copy of Lonely Planet should equally be able to find their way around without too much undue stress.

Hope that helps,

Cheers,

C.