Diving in Red Sea from Israel ??

[WendySH]

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I will have a business trip to Israel in mid December 2005. I am thinking to take 1-2 days vacation and dive in Red Sea. Can anyone help to provide me some information:

1. Will it be too cold to dive in Red Sea in December? What will be the water temperature? Is 3mm wet suit enough?
2. I understand that I need to go to Eilat if I want to go diving. How can I travel from Beer Sheva to Eilat?
3. Normally, how much a 1-2 days dive trip cost?
4. Any recommendation of good dive operators?

 

[G@Diver]

1.It's never too cold to dive in the red sea, the water temperature is 20C-25C all year,
in Decmeber the water temperature is around 22C.
2. From Beer-Sheva its 2.5-3 hours drive to eilat, you can take a bus, taxi or rent
a car.
3. Most of the dives in eilat are shore dives so you can go to any diving center and find a buddy to dive with, or you can take a guided dive.
2 guided dives with full equipment should cost you 40$. you can find accommodation
for any budget (20$-1000$ per night).

Here some web sites of diving centers in eilat, check them for more details
1. www.coralsea.co.il/english.htm
2. www.redseasports.co.il/main.php?lang=en
3.www.aqua-sport.co.il/

 

[DivesWithTurtles]

For good dive centers in Eilat, I'll add:

Lucky Divers
and
Marina Divers (Their website is all Hebrew, but everyone there speaks English as well. Call them at 08-6376787 [you might want to ask for Tomer].)

Lucky Divers did a wonderful job with my sister on a couple of introductory dives. Very personable, and very personalized service.

I did a three-day guided liveaboard safari in Sharm with a group from Marina Divers in September. I had a great time, and they did a fine job of arranging and guiding us through the travel. The diving was incredible. Light-years better than anything that Eilat has to offer.

 

[Jai Bar]

1. Will it be too cold to dive in Red Sea in December? What will be the water temperature? Is 3mm wet suit enough?

Water temp is around 21-22 degrees. However, the combination of wind, wetsuit and air temperature can be quite cold at December, especially at night. I think a 5mm suit is a better option for this season.

2. I understand that I need to go to Eilat if I want to go diving. How can I travel from Beer Sheva to Eilat?

You can travel by bus or rent a vehicle, whatever suits your needs.

3. Normally, how much a 1-2 days dive trip cost?

Depends on your choice of hotel, whether you bring your own gear or rent one, taking guided dives or looking for buddies, etc.

4. Any recommendation of good dive operators?

All the clubs offer more or less the same services (and prices...). You can try "Manta" dive center (near Ambassador hotel, also called "Red Sea Sports Clubs"), "Meduza", "Aqua Sport" etc. etc. Most of them are in front of each other. "Aqua Sport" have a branch in Taba and they also offer daily boats to nearby sites in Sinai which are better than Eilat's dive sites.

Don't forget to bring you logbook with proof of diving within the last 6 months, or you'll be asked for a check-refresh dive.
You also need diving insurance, can be purchased at any dive club for ~20 USD.

 

[WendySH]

Since I am not a good driver, I think it is better for me to take bus. Where can I take bus from Beer Sheva to Eilat? Are the buses frequent? Do I need to book in advance?

How about the transportation from Eilat to Tel Aviv? How long does it take? What is the recommended mode of transport?

Regarding accommodation in Eilat, any good and safe suggestion if my budget is around US$40-50 per night?

 

[DivesWithTurtles]

Since I am not a good driver, I think it is better for me to take bus. Where can I take bus from Beer Sheva to Eilat? Are the buses frequent? Do I need to book in advance?

How about the transportation from Eilat to Tel Aviv? How long does it take? What is the recommended mode of transport?

http://www.egged.co.il/Eng/

 

[G@Diver]

Since I am not a good driver, I think it is better for me to take bus. Where can I take bus from Beer Sheva to Eilat? Are the buses frequent? Do I need to book in advance?

How about the transportation from Eilat to Tel Aviv? How long does it take? What is the recommended mode of transport?

Regarding accommodation in Eilat, any good and safe suggestion if my budget is around US$40-50 per night?

You can take a bus from the central bus station of Beer-Sheva. since December is not the busy season in Eilat you don't have to book in advance, but if you want to be sure you can book 1 day in advance.
from Eilat to Tel Aviv it's about 4-5 hours by bus.
and about the accommodation - you can try Eilat youth hostel - www.iyha.org.il/english.html, or Spring hostel - www.avivhostels.co.il/.
both places are nice and not expensive if you're looking for only a place to sleep.

 

[WendySH]

I read from the web site of the dive operators that there is both shore dive and boat dive. If I have 2-3 days, which one is better in Red Sea? Any recommendation about the "MUST GO" dive site in red sea?

 

[Jai Bar]

I read from the web site of the dive operators that there is both shore dive and boat dive. If I have 2-3 days, which one is better in Red Sea? Any recommendation about the "MUST GO" dive site in red sea?

Is crossing the border to Sinai or Aqaba is an option?
I think 3 days can yield a nice weekend in Dahab or in sites closer to Nuweiba (such as Ras Mamlach and Ras Abu Galum). Another option is Aqaba. Both places have dive sites by far better that Eilat's. You can arrange beforahand all the logistics and take an organized weekend so you don't waste time on arranging transportations, looking for buddies etc.
If you have only 2 days then Aqaba is still a good option. For Sinai it is perhaps too tight. You can ask in Aqua-Sport if they are taking boats to nearby sites in Sinai such as the Coral Island.

If you can't cross the border, you can try the following sites: Japanese Gardens, the "Sufa" missile boat, Paradise, the caves (shallow site, nice night dive), Moses rock (also nice night dive), Coral Beach. Ask the desk in any dive club for information about these sites (and others too).

 

[djkpsu]

I don't really have too much to add because everyone has already covered everything pretty well.

But I can agree with what Jai Bar said as to crossing the border. If you have the time, you will get much better diving in either Egypt or Jordan, but if you are also looking for nightlife Eilat would be the choice.

BTW - the easiest/quickest way to get from Beer Sheva to Eilat is be nice to me!! :05: