Trip Report BDE Trip Report, 21-28 December, 2019

[Dan]

We have seen Threshers frequently at Big Brother South, but it seems they tend to be shy if to many divers are in the water. But - now you have something to come back for

What time of the year do you go there? I wonder if Spring is better than Winter time.

 

[Mod63]

What time of the year do you go there? I wonder if Spring is better than Winter time.

Mostly ChristmasNew Year for 2 weeks, as it is nice to be almost alone at every dive side and you can really get around (we did Ras Mohammed to Abu Fandera one year) and can adapt to conditions and sightings (cutting short one place and extending another).

and checking my gril friends log, we had Thresher everytime, either at Brothers or at Deadalus
at other dates: None in April, one in Oktober

 

[mcohen1021]

Interesting. First I recall hearing of a live-aboard where they do both diving from the main yacht and zodiacs. Roughly what % were from each?

On RSA1, we did a mix also between the boat and the dinghys. It depended on where we were moored and where we wanted to dive. A few times, we had 5+ other boats moored, and once, we were tied off to another boat like it was the local party cove tie up. @ Socorro, it was 100% off the dinghys.

@Dan Great videos, you got close to a lot of great animals!

 

[bshort4]

Interesting. First I recall hearing of a live-aboard where they do both diving from the main yacht and zodiacs. Roughly what % were from each?

About how many days did you spend getting to and from there? Longest continuous flight? I take it English-only speakers would be fine going on your trip?

If you consider your trip cost, round trip airfare, any hotel stays or similar (often good to get there early for live-aboards in case of flight delays or late baggage), the total trip cost, how does it compare with other destinations?

It's pretty easy to figure out what a Belize Aggressor III or IV, or a Cayman Aggressor V trip would cost a U.S.-based diver in time and money; some of these more 'far flung' trips can be tougher to figure.

drrich2--I was on a Red Sea liveaboard at the end of this last September and all but two of our dives were done from the back of the boat. Our two dives from the RIBs were both done at Elphinstone. We were on the St Johns itinerary. I went as a solo diver and as a English speaker only I had NO problems in Eygpt at all--like Don said--they were very happy to see an American of which I was the only one on the boat. Figuring up all my costs for flights, liveaboard, tips, port charges etc. the total cost was around $2,500 and I had upgraded to a main deck cabin. I did do five days of touring the cultural sites in Eygpt after my liveaboard and the memories of that part of my trip will stay with me long after the memory of my dives there have intermingled with all my other dives--not to be missed! The five days touring for a single added about $1,100 plus tips to my total cost--well worth it.

 

[Dan]

I mentioned briefly about doing a land tour to Luxor on the way back home. Since the return flight was around 3AM on the next day after disembarkation in Port Ghalib, I had over a day in Marsa Alam, so I decided to have this Luxor tour on my way back to Hurghada. I would highly recommend it for those who haven’t been to Luxor.

Here are some detail and tips about the tour & logistics. It’ll be a long day, but you can always take a nap in the car on your way to Luxor & on your way to Hurghada after the tour, as the view out the window is either desert or dark. There are some interesting view of the rural area as you get closer to Luxor, around 9AM. You can ask the driver to wake you up as you get closer to Luxor.

It’s about 5-hour drive from Port Ghalib to Luxor. So you’ll leave Port Ghalib around 4AM. In Luxor you will visit three tombs in the Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon and then lunch in an oriental restaurant. Then enjoying a boat trip on the Nile for around 45 minutes till the car make it back to the city around the bridge. Next, you will explore the vast Temple of Karnak, then can have a walking tour around the town center. Afterwards, around 5PM, the driver will take you to Hurghada airport, arriving there around 10PM.

I arranged my group transportation & land tour with marsaalam.com.

 

[dflaher]

@Dan the shots of the Scuba Scene in your video looked pretty good. Is she still sailing and if so would you recommend her?

 

[Dan]

@Dan the shots of the Scuba Scene in your video looked pretty good. Is she still sailing and if so would you recommend her?

She’s history, unfortunately. It burnt down few months ago.

 

[Dan]

Here’s more info about Scuba Scene fire: Another fire on a Red Sea LOB

 

[dflaher]

Sad. She looked like a nice boat, although I didn't see much chatter about her here on SB.

 

[Scubajeg1]

Thank you for your well done report.
May I ask where you found such good music to add to your video, was it free to use?