Dan
Contributor
I used Camel Divers, pretty good shop, well organized.
Dive shops in Sharm El Sheik
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Camel is probably a good choice, Sinai Divers was too used to operating on 'the old fashioned Germanic tradition' the last time I used them 21 years ago.
Michael
Michael
tmrqs
Contributor
Camel seems to be a popular choice, a little farther from the hotel I intend to stay at however - and I’m unsure what the cab situation is like in Sharm El-Sheikh.
The shops close to the Renaissance hotel are:
- Blue World Red Sea
- Reef Oasis Dive Club (Beach Resort)
- Diving & Discovery
- Nemo Dive Club
Does anyone have experience with any of these?
The shops close to the Renaissance hotel are:
- Blue World Red Sea
- Reef Oasis Dive Club (Beach Resort)
- Diving & Discovery
- Nemo Dive Club
Does anyone have experience with any of these?
tmrqs
Contributor
Thank you for offering your help, a few things I am trying to understand:
1. I am used (be it in the US or abroad) to dive centers offering 2 dives in the morning and 2 dives in the afternoon (and/or 1 night dive).
From what I could gather so far, it seems the shops in Sharm offer only 2 dives per day, with the boat leaving in the morning and coming back end of day. And there is an option to pay for a 3rd dive during the day trip.
Outside of going to the Thistlegorm wreck which seems quite far, do all dive locations really require a full day for 2 (or 3 with extra $)?
2. There is some confusion on the visa vs fees for parks. For the Thistlegorm wreck again, it seems one needs the full Egyptian visa.
For day dives, there seems to be a $5 to $8 daily fee to get access to the parks (Ras Mohamed or Tiran): if I already have the full visa, do I still need to pay for the fees?
3. I own a yoke first stage and it seems they all offer DIN tanks: should I find a DIN <> Yoke adapter to bring with me or are they able to work with my gear as is?
4. Any idea how many divers they assign to a given guide? Is it super crowded or do they stick to say 4 divers?
That’ll already be super helpful!
I contacted 5 centers this weekend and so far, only 2 replied (Camel and Diving & Discovery).
Hello! I'll do my best to try to answer your 4 questions to the best of my knowledge:
1. In the good old days you typically had the chance to ask for a third dive (often at a local site on the journey back to port) after lunch and if there were enough divers who asked for it, then you'd get it. A guide/dive master would "poll" the divers on board and make the decision after the second dive. This used to be an impromptu thing: when you left in the morning the plan was always to have a two-tank dive and return after lunch (NOT at the end of the day). But a third dive (which was charged on top, of course) meant extra cash with no significant extra expense and most dive operators would offer it. HOWEVER, whenever visitor numbers are down in Sharm, you often find that several dive shops will go out on the same day boat (I've seen as many as 3 different operators on a single boat), which will also be doing some "discover scuba" experiences with uncertified divers AND may have a number of snorkellers onboard, too. This complicates matters and I get the feeling some snorkellers and more casual divers are not too keen on the idea of such a long day at sea. Therefore, under those circumstances you may not be offered a third dive at all. This is hard to anticipate and you won't know until your trip is underway. Due to covid and the general travel difficulties, I believe this is the scenario you should expect presently.
Something you should also note is that most day boats in Sharm are comfortable and spacious, but SLOW. That's why the 2-3 dives per day scenario is the most convenient. For 4 dives, you'd need to look at liveaboards. Having said that, there are a few dive operators, for example at the Four Seasons resort, that use fast rib-style speedboats. But they are generally small and unsuitable for a full day of diving. They use them mostly for 1-tank quick dive trips.
2. Not sure about this. Please note that Tiran is NOT a Park, only Ras Mohamed is. One thing is a tourist visa, which allows you to travel beyond the Sinai area (for instance, to dive the Thistlegorm) and something different is a park fee. I believe one does not exempt you from the other. Dive operators will add the park fee to the price of your diving day for trips to Ras Mohamed (it's well worth it).
3. There will be adaptors on board BUT I bring my own (my reg is yoke, too). I find the adaptors are often poorly maintained and prone to leaking. I realise this is a sweeping statement and possibly not very fair, but I decided to always bring my own (cost is negligible) because I hate having to change tanks/adaptors when I'm preparing for a dive.
4. This may vary a lot. Some ops like Subex adhere to a maximum number of divers per guide, others won't openly say. For what it's worth, I've never been in a situation where there were more than 4-6 divers to a guide in Sharm. Often, fewer. Do NOT expect a cattle boat experience like you can get in the Caribbean in the current climate in Sharm. That's one good thing about this sorry state of affairs.
I hope this is useful. Let me know if you need any other info.
My advice regarding tanks having recently done a day boat to the Thistlegorm (two weeks ago).
Bring a couple of adaptors plus an Alan key as what may be available may not be in good condition. Some spare O-rings too. Experience from some people in my group.
If you plan to dive Nitrox, then bring your own analyser as there might not be one available on the boat!
Bring some basic tools and spares. I had to change a battery on my Petrel after the first dive on the Thistlegorm.
The day boat I was on had 31 divers on board.
Thistlegorm is three hours from Sharm. Generally two dives on the wreck and then a third at Ras Mohammed, which is an hour from Sharm, so you'll get a two hour SI between dives two and three.
If you want more than two dives per day then go to Dahab where there is shore diving and it's done in a very relaxed manner. However some sites can only be dived during high tide so they need to be planned properly.
Bring a couple of adaptors plus an Alan key as what may be available may not be in good condition. Some spare O-rings too. Experience from some people in my group.
If you plan to dive Nitrox, then bring your own analyser as there might not be one available on the boat!
Bring some basic tools and spares. I had to change a battery on my Petrel after the first dive on the Thistlegorm.
The day boat I was on had 31 divers on board.
Thistlegorm is three hours from Sharm. Generally two dives on the wreck and then a third at Ras Mohammed, which is an hour from Sharm, so you'll get a two hour SI between dives two and three.
If you want more than two dives per day then go to Dahab where there is shore diving and it's done in a very relaxed manner. However some sites can only be dived during high tide so they need to be planned properly.
Sunn
Contributor
tmrqs said: Thank you for offering your help, a few things I am trying to understand:
1. I am used (be it in the US or abroad) to dive centers offering 2 dives in the morning and 2 dives in the afternoon (and/or 1 night dive).
From what I could gather so far, it seems the shops in Sharm offer only 2 dives per day, with the boat leaving in the morning and coming back end of day. And there is an option to pay for a 3rd dive during the day trip.
Outside of going to the Thistlegorm wreck which seems quite far, do all dive locations really require a full day for 2 (or 3 with extra $)? [\QUOTE]
nearly all nice dive spots are +/- 30 min to 50 min from Sharm, so you may count :
departure 9:00
onsite 10:00
briefing + dive 11:30
lunch 12:30
moving to 2nd site 13:30
2nd briefing + dive 15:00
back to Sharm 16:00
2. There is some confusion on the visa vs fees for parks. For the Thistlegorm wreck again, it seems one needs the full Egyptian visa.
For day dives, there seems to be a $5 to $8 daily fee to get access to the parks (Ras Mohamed or Tiran): if I already have the full visa, do I still need to pay for the fees?[\QUOTE]
a country visa never includes national park fees ! Ras Mohamed is a national park, so you'll have to pay fees to enter it
the strait of Tiran is not a park, but some dive centers count an extra fee, as it may be far for them, depending on where they depart from....
3. I own a yoke first stage and it seems they all offer DIN tanks: should I find a DIN <> Yoke adapter to bring with me or are they able to work with my gear as is?[\QUOTE]
all dive centers and boats have adapters on board, just tell them when you arrive
4. Any idea how many divers they assign to a given guide? Is it super crowded or do they stick to say 4 divers?[\QUOTE]
it depends... I've seen groups of 8 or 10...or more... but I usually dive alone with my buddy
that's something you have to tell them when you arrive if you don't like big groups ; the 1st dive will be a check dive, but if the divemaster considers that you may go alone, he'll let you go (alone = min. 2, of course)
the briefing will show you the topography of the place, how you should dive it, etc...
1. I am used (be it in the US or abroad) to dive centers offering 2 dives in the morning and 2 dives in the afternoon (and/or 1 night dive).
From what I could gather so far, it seems the shops in Sharm offer only 2 dives per day, with the boat leaving in the morning and coming back end of day. And there is an option to pay for a 3rd dive during the day trip.
Outside of going to the Thistlegorm wreck which seems quite far, do all dive locations really require a full day for 2 (or 3 with extra $)? [\QUOTE]
nearly all nice dive spots are +/- 30 min to 50 min from Sharm, so you may count :
departure 9:00
onsite 10:00
briefing + dive 11:30
lunch 12:30
moving to 2nd site 13:30
2nd briefing + dive 15:00
back to Sharm 16:00
2. There is some confusion on the visa vs fees for parks. For the Thistlegorm wreck again, it seems one needs the full Egyptian visa.
For day dives, there seems to be a $5 to $8 daily fee to get access to the parks (Ras Mohamed or Tiran): if I already have the full visa, do I still need to pay for the fees?[\QUOTE]
a country visa never includes national park fees ! Ras Mohamed is a national park, so you'll have to pay fees to enter it
the strait of Tiran is not a park, but some dive centers count an extra fee, as it may be far for them, depending on where they depart from....
3. I own a yoke first stage and it seems they all offer DIN tanks: should I find a DIN <> Yoke adapter to bring with me or are they able to work with my gear as is?[\QUOTE]
all dive centers and boats have adapters on board, just tell them when you arrive
4. Any idea how many divers they assign to a given guide? Is it super crowded or do they stick to say 4 divers?[\QUOTE]
it depends... I've seen groups of 8 or 10...or more... but I usually dive alone with my buddy
that's something you have to tell them when you arrive if you don't like big groups ; the 1st dive will be a check dive, but if the divemaster considers that you may go alone, he'll let you go (alone = min. 2, of course)
the briefing will show you the topography of the place, how you should dive it, etc...
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