Best House Reef for single diver

[JustSurfaceInterval]

Even with only 3 dives a day or more than 2 dives per day of your stay, RSDS has great value for money: 63 EUR per day.
Breakers vs RSDS will depend on how lively you would like it. If you want to meet more people, then Breakers (you may remember the round table for up to 8 persons). RSDS has no night live at all: kind of "lights off at 22:00" location. But hey, what a great opportunity to finally read the books you always wanted to read....
Location wise: ORCA has more dive spots in distance of day trips, RSDS has several great dive spots in Zodiac distance, incl. Elphinstone and 6 house reef profiles, partly with Zodiac.

 

[fatgeorge]

My daughter travels there frequently for work, the country has changed a lot over the past six or so years. I spent 11 years in the kingdom before moving to the UAE, and had a pretty adventurous time there with no regrets despite the restrictions during the late 80s and 90s.

I second that. Also there's a big difference between Jeddah and other cities, including the capital. Lots of tourists in Jeddah wearing short skirts/shorts, no tourist wears hijab. Visa is rather expensive though.

 

[Christian]

Are these the same people that own Marsa Shagra resort?

Not the same. Shagra is Red Sea Diving Safaris—Hossam Helmy. He pioneered shore diving in the south of Egypt in the 1980’s and opened shop in the 1990’s with the vision for guests to experience the Red Sea like in the ”old” days, in Sinai.

EDIT: RSDS also run Nakari and Wadi Lahmi camps. Nakari same type of operation as Shagra, Lahmi a little different, not having the easy accessible shore/house reef. There is supposedly a new camp in the works even further to the South. Have no details ... just something I heard one evening after dinner at the Shagra camp a couple of months ago. Also want to add that food has always been good, varied and plentiful, but inmo--it has really stepped up.

 

[Germie]

If you want to dive solo, you are not allowed to do nightdives in the Red sea diving safari places. But you do not get any discount on your 'unlimited' diving day. So you will miss a dive per day.

Also the day of arrival is very expensive, you have in most cases to do 2 dives with a guide. But the diving day normally starts at 6 in the morning. But the first brieving is at 9, the first dive with a guide at 11 and the second at 2. So normally you will have done already 2 dives before lunch and now only 1 is possible. And the 3rd you normally start before 2. So if you have to do the 2 dives with a guide, the first day of your holiday is absolutely not unlimited diving. Happely we did not need to do it, but I have heard from others they do insist in doing that.

I preferred the Wadi Lahmi camp, no housereef, and the nightdive is quite boring (every day the same), but you can ask if they want to do 2 dives in the afternoon and no nightdive. Then you get 4 different spots in a day. The reefs near Lahmi are very nice.

 

[JustSurfaceInterval]

But you do not get any discount on your 'unlimited' diving day. So you will miss a dive per day.

How can you miss a dive per day when you do not pay per number of dives per day but a flat rate per day regardless of the number of dives per day?

 

[Germie]

How can you miss a dive per day when you do not pay per number of dives per day but a flat rate per day regardless of the number of dives per day?

As you can dive with a buddy from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. But if you dive solo you have to quit between 4 and 5 p.m. So you will miss a dive. This is not fair to the solotravelers who dive solo.
My experience is that it is very hard to find other solo travelers to buddy up. Most people come with 2 or more already.

 

[Christian]

Not that many operations allow solo diving — at all. Just saying. Have never had to do two guided dives. One, if you haven’t been before, is normal. Where did you have to do two guided dives? And what was the motivation?

 

[Germie]

We didn't, but I know from others that they insisted that they do the 2 guided dives. It was in Marsa Shakra.

 

[Christian]

We didn't, but I know from others that they insisted that they do the 2 guided dives. It was in Marsa Shakra.

Never heard or seen that. Do you know why? It must have been a special case with an explanation. You have to do a orientation dive if it’s the first time there, which is pretty normal for dive operations.

 

[Germie]

Never heard or seen that. Do you know why? It must have been a special case with an explanation. You have to do a orientation dive if it’s the first time there, which is pretty normal for dive operations.

It is written on the websites of the touroperators that sell this trip too. And I know from others that even if they have been there several times they lost the first day 2 dives because of this crap **** and they did not get any discount.
I will also refuse to do these dives when I come there again. But I have already been there, so then I expect not needed if they care about customersatisfaction too. But as said, if you want that 2 dives on day 1, it is nice that they offer them. But please don't make them mandatory as you will loose too much divetime without any discount.