Best spots at Red sea

[Juha_Kristian]

Hi there,

We are planning our next trip to red sea. What do you think what is the best place for diving? We like to do some rough travel so we are thinking to go to Sudan or Eritrea. I have been reading that corals and other sealife is really good at southern parts of Red sea because of lack of tourist and that fishing is nor so industrialize. Do you have some experiences about southern countries?
Other hints are also more than welcome.

Ps. Here's few pics from our latest trip to Sharm wich is quite tourist trap eyebrow .

'

 

[ron_cooper]

My girlfreind and I just got back from Egypt. We had taken and adventure tour and during the trip we were in Dahab for three days. Through the tour group I was able to get an incredible price for diving, which included transportation, all equipment and quide. I was able to dive the Canyon, Blue Hole and Bell, as well as the outer walls of the reef. I felt very safe the whole time and was quite impressed with the service I got. The best part with staying there was that the prices for everything was not over inflated for the tourists. I did notice that depending on the time of day, if there was groups braught over from Sharm the prices increased. Hope you have a great time.

 

[Christian]

Hi Juha

Sudan is generally considered to have the best diving in the Red Sea, and some of the best diving in the world. I haven't been to Eritrea, but a quick look at a sea chart is enough to understand that the Dalakh islands sits in relatively shallow water and does not have proximity to the really deep waters of the Red Sea, like the Sudanese coast and many reefs in Egypt do. That means no nutritous updwellings and lower visibility, which gives less coral growth, comparatively lower fish spieces diversity and also fewer pelagics. But there are a couple of spots in Eritrea that seem to be interesting, I am mainly thinking of the reefs to the north called Saunders Reef and Fawn reef and the diving around Dissei Island is also supposed to be good with big quantities of fish. You should check with a guy from Switzerland named Rembert for more information. He has good knowledge about Eritrea and is usually active here on SB.

Good luck and congrats to the hockey silver medal in Torino

/christian

 

[Diver0001]

Hi Juha

Sudan is generally considered to have the best diving in the Red Sea, and some of the best diving in the world. I haven't been to Eritrea, but a quick look at a sea chart is enough to understand that the Dalakh islands sits in relatively shallow water and does not have proximity to the really deep waters of the Red Sea, like the Sudanese coast and many reefs in Egypt do. That means no nutritous updwellings and lower visibility, which gives less coral growth, comparatively lower fish spieces diversity and also fewer pelagics. But there are a couple of spots in Eritrea that seem to be interesting, I am mainly thinking of the reefs to the north called Saunders Reef and Fawn reef and the diving around Dissei Island is also supposed to be good with big quantities of fish. You should check with a guy from Switzerland named Rembert for more information. He has good knowledge about Eritrea and is usually active here on SB.

Good luck and congrats to the hockey silver medal in Torino

/christian

Of course, that also means going to the Sudan, which politically is one of the most unsavory places on Earth....

There are also places in the southern parts of Egypt like Marsa Shagra and Wadi Lahami -- both from Red Sea Diving Safari's (http://www.redsea-divingsafari.com) that offer excellent diving on your own terms at reasonable prices. It basic and there's more or less zero night life but it just gives you all the more reason to focus on the diving....

R..

 

[Christian]

R

I know what you mean. And it is a delicate question. Some say it is better to boycot, others (me included) think it is better to keep a link open to the rest of the world.

/christian

 

[Diver0001]

R

I know what you mean. And it is a delicate question. Some say it is better to boycot, others (me included) think it is better to keep a link open to the rest of the world.

/christian

Yeah, it's a tough question and certainly it's a personal choice.

To me it's a little more than just a bad regime. I've traveled in other places in Africa with bad regimes too like Malawi and Zimbabwe. But I avoided Angola and Uganda which at the time were both war zones. In my mind, the Sudan is so unstable that the current situation is really a low level civil war. For my own safety I'm not sure I would want to put myself in that situation.

R..

 

[Christian]

Also regarding personal security, I wouldn't advice anyone to go or not to go, they have to decide for themselves. But some facts are that Sudan is the largest country in Africa and the danger areas are actually very far from Port Sudan.

I've been to Sudan several times, both during the civil war and when the problems in Darfour started. Never had any issues or felt unsafe. And I have never heard of any incidents involving visiting divers (don't know how many, but there are easily more than 500 visiting divers each year). The people are very friendly and welcoming. Frankly, I felt more uneasy on Sipadan Island of northeast Borneo, Malaysia, and my last visit there was before the Abu Sayaff kidnappings in 2000.

Anyway, like you say R, it is an unstable corner of the world. So anyone chosing to visit should of course check the current situation with their foreign affairs department.

cheers

/christian

 

[mania]

Northern Sudan seems to be perfectly safe place. It's the south that is unstable and risky.
Still you have to be carefull there - no question about it.
Mania

 

[FishFinger]

I spoke to the MD of Emperor on this very question, reports are that Sudan Diving is very seasonal and the quality of the operators in the area are still below par.

If you want high quality Diving in the Red Sea it's not just question of where, but when. Personally I recommend Sharm during the summer months is amazing since you get to see a bit of everything.

Southern Red Sea also good, Marsa Alam seems to be the "in" place at the minute.

 

[Red Sea Shadow]

I spoke to the MD of Emperor on this very question, reports are that Sudan Diving is very seasonal and the quality of the operators in the area are still below par.

If you want high quality Diving in the Red Sea it's not just question of where, but when. Personally I recommend Sharm during the summer months is amazing since you get to see a bit of everything.

Southern Red Sea also good, Marsa Alam seems to be the "in" place at the minute.

Marsa Alam is good but its best sites are abailable only via liveaboards, and this what makes Sharm unique. Ras Mohamed, Tiran, and even Gubal are accessible by daily boats from Sharm.