Advice needed End of Feb short trip to Red Sea

[victor]

Hi
Due to a unforsean circumstances it looks like the wife and I will get away for 5 days at the end of Feburary.

I dive, she does not, hopefully will learn later this year.

I hope to get a couple of days diving in but mainly this is for some rest and recuperation in the sun.

Looking for recomendations on where to stay and who to dive with pls. Not much time to organise and so many places to checkout.

Thanks in advance

 

[Allen Herron]

I have had the fortune to dive the Red Sea from Israel(4 dives), Jordan(2 ) & Egypt(2).
My favorite dive was the Missle Cruiser in Elot Israel which was sunk to reduce the divers on the reefs. The nicest resorts were in Egypt. We stayed at Fort Arabesque in Horgata Egypt. By far the nicest all inclusive I have ever been to, including several in the Carribean! I was disappointed in the rental gear from both Jordan & Israel but Egypt was OK. The vis was good everywhere. The reefs are teeming with colorfull fish, especially lion fish & parrot fish. All the dive operations seemed safe. The only condition that I had a problem with was the Royal Dive Club in Aquaba Jordan dives from a dock next to where the jet ski dock was with no physical barrier. I just got in and huged the bottom until I got to eeper water. I was diving with some inexperienced divers & I really feared for their safety.
Have fun.
Allen

 

[Red Sea Shadow]

For a more relaxed laid back environment, try Dahab. Else try Sharm.

If you need any help in organizing your trip, drop me a line.

 

[nuballawalla]

I have been diving in the Eilat and Taba area, Nuweiba, and Dahab.

Nuweiba is by far the best destination for solitude and diversity underwater. There is not much to the town, but the diving is orders of magnitude better here than in Dahab or the Eilat/Taba area. So far I've made 5 trips to Nuweiba to dive with African Divers Nuweiba. The owners, Daniel and Sarah, are great people, great divers, and great dive guides. It is very uncommon to encounter another dive group underwater in Nuweiba, and I like this very much. I have seen the most in Nuweiba and I have seen it consistently. On one dive I saw 4 different species of nudibranchs, frogfish, octopus, cuttlefish, eels galore, crocodile fish, shrimp, cleaning stations, huge sting rays, beautiful soft coral, and the list goes on. This is not to say that such things cannot be seen elsewhere, but the combination of relaxed personal service, secluded dive spots, pristine habitat, and species diversity makes Nuweiba top on my list. You can also live like a king at a cushy resort for peanuts. Check out the Swiss Care or the Elaria.

There are a few treasures left in Eilat. I would avoid the Satir (the missile cruiser mentioned in the above post). I dove it yesterday and it is covered in a gooky green algae. The surrounding reef is also covered in algae and is in quite poor condition. Further south in Eilat is nice. Dive the lighthouse or the caves or down near the border. If you dive near the border expect crap from the Israelis but you can still dive there.

Aquasport runs a nice boat trip from their dive center in the Taba Hilton. The boat is nice and comfortable, the crew very pleasant, and the diving was excellent every time I have gone (about 6 days over the last 6 months). The price was reasonable as well. I believe it cost $99 for 3 dives, including tanks, weights, border exit tax, transport, and a nice hot lunch on the boat. Equipment costs extra but I lug mine around.

I like the town of Dahab but the diving sucked. I originally intended to do 4 days of diving, but I stopped after 2. Granted, if you've never been somewhere like the Red Sea you will probably think its amazing.

Have fun and watch out for tricky thieving bedouins.

 

[Red Sea Shadow]

I have been diving in the Eilat and Taba area, Nuweiba, and Dahab.

Nuweiba is by far the best destination for solitude and diversity underwater. There is not much to the town, but the diving is orders of magnitude better here than in Dahab or the Eilat/Taba area. So far I've made 5 trips to Nuweiba to dive with African Divers Nuweiba. The owners, Daniel and Sarah, are great people, great divers, and great dive guides. It is very uncommon to encounter another dive group underwater in Nuweiba, and I like this very much. I have seen the most in Nuweiba and I have seen it consistently. On one dive I saw 4 different species of nudibranchs, frogfish, octopus, cuttlefish, eels galore, crocodile fish, shrimp, cleaning stations, huge sting rays, beautiful soft coral, and the list goes on. This is not to say that such things cannot be seen elsewhere, but the combination of relaxed personal service, secluded dive spots, pristine habitat, and species diversity makes Nuweiba top on my list. You can also live like a king at a cushy resort for peanuts. Check out the Swiss Care or the Elaria.

There are a few treasures left in Eilat. I would avoid the Satir (the missile cruiser mentioned in the above post). I dove it yesterday and it is covered in a gooky green algae. The surrounding reef is also covered in algae and is in quite poor condition. Further south in Eilat is nice. Dive the lighthouse or the caves or down near the border. If you dive near the border expect crap from the Israelis but you can still dive there.

Aquasport runs a nice boat trip from their dive center in the Taba Hilton. The boat is nice and comfortable, the crew very pleasant, and the diving was excellent every time I have gone (about 6 days over the last 6 months). The price was reasonable as well. I believe it cost $99 for 3 dives, including tanks, weights, border exit tax, transport, and a nice hot lunch on the boat. Equipment costs extra but I lug mine around.

I like the town of Dahab but the diving sucked. I originally intended to do 4 days of diving, but I stopped after 2. Granted, if you've never been somewhere like the Red Sea you will probably think its amazing.

Have fun and watch out for tricky thieving bedouins.

You're the only one who said so. Actually diving in Nuweiba is not to be compared to Dahab. Dahab has several world class sites, and that's not my personal opinion. On the other hand, Nuweiba is not one of the hot diving spots in the Red Sea.

Having bad or good experience depends on many reasons, the most important of which is the dive operator.

 

[nuballawalla]

You're the only one who said so. Actually diving in Nuweiba is not to be compared to Dahab. Dahab has several world class sites, and that's not my personal opinion. On the other hand, Nuweiba is not one of the hot diving spots in the Red Sea.

Having bad or good experience depends on many reasons, the most important of which is the dive operator.

Dahab has "world-class" dive sites by reputation alone. Dahab is dived so much that the reefs are very stressed.

Luckily, Nuweiba is not one of the hot spots in the Red Sea so it is not inundated with divers who cannot control their buoyancy and end up damaging the reef.

I dove with Sub Sinai in Dahab and I wouldn't recommend them. I dove during the slow season so it was just the dive guide and me and he was never closer to me than 20 m, except during the descent and ascent. He would just jet away and leave me if I stopped to take photos. This combined with the fact that every "world-class" dive spot in Dahab is over-run with divers makes it worth skipping. Spend your money elsewhere and have a better experience.

 

[Red Sea Shadow]

Dahab has "world-class" dive sites by reputation alone. Dahab is dived so much that the reefs are very stressed.

Luckily, Nuweiba is not one of the hot spots in the Red Sea so it is not inundated with divers who cannot control their buoyancy and end up damaging the reef.

I dove with Sub Sinai in Dahab and I wouldn't recommend them. I dove during the slow season so it was just the dive guide and me and he was never closer to me than 20 m, except during the descent and ascent. He would just jet away and leave me if I stopped to take photos. This combined with the fact that every "world-class" dive spot in Dahab is over-run with divers makes it worth skipping. Spend your money elsewhere and have a better experience.

Actually over diving in Dahab indicates that the sites are world-class. Else no one would bother diving there.

If you want to know more about Dahab's repetition, start a poll over here

 

[Jai Bar]

I have been diving in the Eilat and Taba area, Nuweiba, and Dahab.

Nuweiba is by far the best destination for solitude and diversity underwater. There is not much to the town, but the diving is orders of magnitude better here than in Dahab or the Eilat/Taba area. So far I've made 5 trips to Nuweiba to dive with African Divers Nuweiba. The owners, Daniel and Sarah, are great people, great divers, and great dive guides. It is very uncommon to encounter another dive group underwater in Nuweiba, and I like this very much. I have seen the most in Nuweiba and I have seen it consistently. On one dive I saw 4 different species of nudibranchs, frogfish, octopus, cuttlefish, eels galore, crocodile fish, shrimp, cleaning stations, huge sting rays, beautiful soft coral, and the list goes on. This is not to say that such things cannot be seen elsewhere, but the combination of relaxed personal service, secluded dive spots, pristine habitat, and species diversity makes Nuweiba top on my list. You can also live like a king at a cushy resort for peanuts. Check out the Swiss Care or the Elaria.

There are a few treasures left in Eilat. I would avoid the Satir (the missile cruiser mentioned in the above post). I dove it yesterday and it is covered in a gooky green algae. The surrounding reef is also covered in algae and is in quite poor condition. Further south in Eilat is nice. Dive the lighthouse or the caves or down near the border. If you dive near the border expect crap from the Israelis but you can still dive there.

Aquasport runs a nice boat trip from their dive center in the Taba Hilton. The boat is nice and comfortable, the crew very pleasant, and the diving was excellent every time I have gone (about 6 days over the last 6 months). The price was reasonable as well. I believe it cost $99 for 3 dives, including tanks, weights, border exit tax, transport, and a nice hot lunch on the boat. Equipment costs extra but I lug mine around.

I like the town of Dahab but the diving sucked. I originally intended to do 4 days of diving, but I stopped after 2. Granted, if you've never been somewhere like the Red Sea you will probably think its amazing.

Have fun and watch out for tricky thieving bedouins.

First time in my life that I hear that Nuweiba offers better diving than Dahab. I have been diving in this "neighborhood" for almost 20 years and I cannot understand how you got to this conclusion. I can think of only a few sites in Nuweiba (in my humble opinion) that can be compared to Dahab's- Ras Mamlach and Ras Abu Galum. They are not really in Nuweiba, but close enough.

As for the Satil / Eilat: it gets covered by green algae during the coldest months (water temp in Eilat is now 20-21 degrees, in Summer up to 26-27). However, in a typical dive in the Satil you have good chances to meet 2 Frog Fish who make a living on the two chairs on top of the bridge, 3-4 types of nudibranches (especially during the "algae season" ), two types of octopuses (one of them is a tiny species that likes to dig himself in the sand), 1-2 species of cuttlefish, a regular school of several hundred Yellow Tailed Barracudas that live near the jetty (about 50 meter north to the stairways where you get into the water when diving in the Satil), crocodile fish (a huge one lives near the bridge, there are lots of small ones on the shore-satil stretch), ghostpipefish (just in front of the stairs in the only single rock at 10m), seahorses, stingrays (blue spotted and also the big ones- on the sandy patches), eagle rays, uncountable amount of moray eels and with luck- a turtle. the main tower is covered with beautiful soft coral- come see it at night..

On a night dive to the Satil you'll see more types of crabs, shrimp, octopuses etc that you'll ever seen in any other dive site in the area.

So, on a single Satil dive you have chances to see by far more things than most sites in the whole region. The diversity is huge. It lacks the big ones like dolphins (used to be, but they no longer visit the area), sharks, manta rays, Napoleons etc- but in "small stuff" it gives a good competence. Of course, you need not only luck to see everything but also a good eye if you want to find the frog fish or seahorses- but they are there

I invite you to a day/night dive to the Satil anytime in the year, and you'll have a hell of an experience (good one, of course).

And one has to remember that dive sites are living things- they change during the different seasons. I think you had a wrong experience in Dahab- but hey- it is a good excuse to come there again...

 

[Red Sea Shadow]

Ditto to what Jai bar said.

And regarding the green algae, yeah it's just wonderful in winter times. Since Dahab is colder than Sharm, it's more green in winter

Last year I dove Dahab in February and was really impressed. I never saw the Eel Garden like this before.