Buying dive gear in Dahab

[nikkiviper]

hi all. have been a semi-regular diver for the last few years (AOW with 100+ dives) but have never invested in my own dive gear, rather renting each time I travel. I've decided to bite the bullet and get my own gear as I think the investment will pay for itself over time. I'm thinking of heading back to Dahab in the next few months and wanted to ask - is it much cheaper to buy your gear in Egypt than the UK/Ireland? I know the computers are definately cheaper, but what about wetsuits, fins, BCD etc. Also - is the quality reliable / real? (Similar to purchasing "North Face" gear in Kathmandu which isnt always the real deal.)

For obvious reasons I dont want to mess around with quality, but at the same time, the prices I'm looking at here in Ireland even just to get started seem extremely high.

From previous visits I recall there being infinite dive shops in Dahab - is there anywhere that anyone can recommend or has bought equipment from already?

Any and all advice really greatly appreciated - thanks!

 

[Solly]

I can't give an advice about the prices as I do not know what are the prices in UK/Ireland
Quality, if you go for well known brands in a reliable shop then you are safe.... In dahab I can recommend one of two: Scubatec dahab and TVR Amir

Scubatec is near the start of the walk only area in dahab while Amir is in the lighthouse disctrict

TVR Amir Dahab
Light house St. (al Malil St.) - in Front of Mirage Resort & Diver Lodge
Dahab - Sinai - Egypt

P.O.Box 27 Dahab
Phone: 002 012 440 886 5

you can't go wrong with any of these 2 in my opinion.

 

[buddhasummer]

hi all. have been a semi-regular diver for the last few years (AOW with 100+ dives) but have never invested in my own dive gear, rather renting each time I travel. I've decided to bite the bullet and get my own gear as I think the investment will pay for itself over time. I'm thinking of heading back to Dahab in the next few months and wanted to ask - is it much cheaper to buy your gear in Egypt than the UK/Ireland? I know the computers are definately cheaper, but what about wetsuits, fins, BCD etc. Also - is the quality reliable / real? (Similar to purchasing "North Face" gear in Kathmandu which isnt always the real deal.)

For obvious reasons I dont want to mess around with quality, but at the same time, the prices I'm looking at here in Ireland even just to get started seem extremely high.

From previous visits I recall there being infinite dive shops in Dahab - is there anywhere that anyone can recommend or has bought equipment from already?

Any and all advice really greatly appreciated - thanks!

I can't speak to the prices in Egypt but here in Japan and NZ the prices are a joke. I buy from Scubastore.com certainly compared to Japan and NZ the prices are very good. Have a look at their site. Good luck.

 

[Crowley]

It's not *that* much cheaper here in Egypt. I use Scubatec in Sharm and the Tusa shop - which has a different name but everybody calls it the Tusa Shop, although it sells other brands - and both of these exist in Sharm and Dahab - In Sharm, Scubatec is located on Peace Road at the top end of the road leading to old Market, and the Tusa shop is in the Tiran centre opposite the Iberotel Palace in Old Sharm. In Dahab, they are both situated near lighthouse.

Staff get a 10 - 15% discount so it might be possible to get a friendly instructor to help you out but in my personal experience, you'll find that the prices are not so far away from everywhere else in the world. Egypt has high import taxes which level out any regional discrepancies.

If you buy from a reputable shop, then you will be getting quality gear exactly the same as you would anywhere else; there's no market for cheap, knockoff imitations. If you PM me a list of stuff you want to buy, I can try and find out for you. Dahab tends to be a little bit cheaper than Sharm but the cost is often offset by the simple fact of getting there and/or paying baggage allowance in the airport. I get to go for free when I'm working but as a tourist you have to pay to get from one place to the other.

Let me know, I'll see what I can do.

Cheers

C.

 

[Red Sea Leonfish]

In my experience, the prices in some but not all shops in Egypt can be cheaper than shops in the UK. However, for key kit (regs, BCs, wings, plates, stab vests, etc) they are still more expensive than buying online in the UK. For one thing, the costs of export to Egypt - especially for parts - are high for the actual level of demand for one-off items.

Take a look at Scuba Diving Equipment | Simply Scuba (and well-rated Amazon marketplace sellers) for an idea of prices - I doubt that you would find them cheaper from retailers in Egypt (especially Dahab which is smaller than Sharm). By way of example, I doubt that you would find anywhere in Egypt selling an Aqua Lung Pro QD i3 BCD for £299.00 (reduced from £429.95 - see Aqua Lung Pro QD i3 BCD | Simply Scuba UK).

In fact, where-ever you decide to buy your kit, I highly recommend reading their kit buying guide (Simply Scuba - Help With Selecting New Dive Equipment, Scuba Masks, Scuba Fins, Scuba Regulators, Scuba Diving BCD's, Dive Computers.) which is a pretty comprehensive roundup of everything you should consider before purchasing your own new kit.

EDIT - I posted this before I saw Crowley's post (above).

 

[alsamalsa]

you wont find lots of models here in dahab as in uk, but its probably much cheaper than uk. the quality will be the same as any place in the world.
have u thought about buying them from uk and asking about excluding the VAT because you will be taking them abroad.
make sure u pack light otherwise u have to pay for extra weight

 

[macrobubble]

Hey, alsamalsa, you´re a year late!

 

[alsamalsa]

lol