dive insurance in israel

[peachyjuban]

anyone know if diving is good anywhere else in israel apart from eilat? what about haifa or akko? unlike back home in the philippines, i have been told that israel law requires dive insurance. where do i get it? any feedback on DAN dive insurance?

 

[DandyDon]

You'll get better answers if you post those questions in the local geographic forum here....

don

And don't be shy about posting. Click Forums above, tour the long list of choices, and jump in anywhere you're qualified. PM me with any questions, and I'll try to find a pretty good answer.

 

[H2Andy]

welcome aboard

no idea about Israel diving, but try contacting Dan Israel for the insurance
question:

https://www.diversalertnetwork.org/news/article.asp?newsid=161

 

[djkpsu]

Yes, insirance is required in Israel. DAN is accepted most places, but you should check with the shop you will use first. If they won't accept you current insurance you can always buy the local dive insurance for around $20/year.

As far as dive quality goes, I can't tell you about the north as I have never been diving there, but I can tell you that Eilat is not that good. I only use it for a training ground, but from Eilat Taba, Egypt and Aqaba, Jordan are both easily reachable and can be done as a day trip. The quality of diving in those two locations (IMHO) blows Eilat away. There are far less divers, thus the coral is much less damaged. Plus both locations have much more fish life then Eilat.

 

[Jai Bar]

It is mandatory by law, and you will be asked for it in every diveclub counter.
If you don't have one, you can buy at every diveclub/diveshop at the time you go diving (you pay and get the insurance on spot). Some offer DAN, some offer other local insurance companies. DAN insurance sold in Israel is through a local company, and costs ~30 US$. You can buy also DAN Europe at ~65 Euros.
I think that some clubs offer an AIG insurance that is valid for 60 days and is cheaper than annual insurance.

Although Jordan and Egypt offer better dive sites, more colorful and more fish, There are *good* dive sites in Eilat, and with a trained eye one can see more fish and species than imagined. A few examples of things you have chances to see are Eagle Rays, Turtles, Dolphins (Guaranteed if you dive at Dolphin Reef ), Stingrays, Barracudas and lots lots lots of other species. Three years ago we had a close encounter with a huge and fat shortfin Mako...

In the Med Sea there are several great wreck dives (for example the "Scire" WWII Italian submarine at 30m near Haifa, two Missile boats and many others), and also some good shore dives such as the grottoes of Rosh Ha Nikra which are spectacular.

 

[DesertEagle]

DAN insurance is the best option. It is accepted just about everywhere.

The insurance sold at most Israeli dive centers is good for one year in Israel, Egypt and Jordan. It costs about $20.

Eilat has some very good dives (Moses Rock has lots of fish, the wreck of the Satil is very nice). But Jordan has much better wrecks. In Egypt, Taba has a great dive just south of the Hilton. It's called the Canyon (not to be confused with the one in Dahab). It is better than anything in Eilat. Aqua-Sport has centers in Eilat and Taba.