Diving within reasonable reach of the UK

[1976]

Hi, looking for advice on a dive trip later this year (probably November but a bit flexible). Ideally would have gone to Sharm but obviously that is not feasible at the moment. Only have 1 week so looking for something with simple, and not excessively long travel arrangements (e.g. a direct flight to an island if possible). Several Caribbean islands fit the bill travel-wise, but not sure about diving quality. Cozumel is also a possibility (although no direct flight). Am I right in thinking, if ruling out the Red Sea, that area is the closest we can get for warm water diving at that time of year (don't have dry suit cert)? September or October might be possibilities if that opens up Mediterranean destinations.

We are AOW and have previously dived Maldives, Cuba, Dahab, Aqaba, Cayman, Mexico (mainland only), Belize.

Not overly limited by budget but probably looking for something more economical than Maldives or Cayman this time.

Suggestions gratefully appreciated

 

[Dickiesprettythings]

Malta?ive never been but told its great and not too far from the uk. No idea about temps/conditions that time of year though.

 

[Doc]

Everyone has their own metric for decision making, and I'm only guessing about your "obviously not feasible at the moment", but I'll soon be going to Sharm to dive. (What? You were planning to live forever?) SCUBA divers by research are more prone to be "risk takers", thus: Fortune Rewards the Brave.

It is also further perplexing that although you're not sure about "several Caribbean islands" being a quality issue, you're willing to consider Cozumel which is arguably on a par with some other Caribbean destinations.

Because of where you stand, on the "prime meridian" (aka Grenwich 0° Longitude), the world looks different to you than it would to the vast majority of SB readers. We look at the Caribbean as our back yard, for you it's the Red Sea. As we look at Maldives or Seychelles as some kind of unattainable holy grail, you might class the Galapagos in a similar category. It all depends upon where one begins the journey.

If you want to try the Caribbean, consider the islands that seem to have regular airline bus routes that flow from GB, you've already been on one of those trolleys as you went to Belize. Other inexpensive airfares direct from Gatwick etc. arrive often on Tobago (disgorging mostly Brit birders), Grenada, and San Salvador. The most interesting diving of the lot is San Sal, but for some reason the Brits are agog over Grenada's Bianca-C Wreck Dive and who doesn't love the crazy currents of Tobago (which make Cozumel look like a Summer's Breeze).

You can't swing a dead cat in the Philippines lest you hit somebody sipping Earl Grey Tea. The Filipino kids can speak with a British Accent, it's that pervasive. That entire zone is full of John Bull pub-like signage, shacky places to drink beer, albeit cooler than you might like.

Do some basic research.

You will quickly figure out a lot of answers, not the least of which is that in terms of weather, you can not do much worse in the Caribbean than to arrive in November. It is the height of Storm Season.

Of your list, I would get back to Cuba and dive it before we Colonists arrive and bring all the things that the British love to hate about their Yankee Cousins, that being McDonalds and other Earthly delights. The only good thing that will occur when we start diving there is that the Cuban local dive-op infrastructure will have to come into the 20th Century. (Yes, I know we're in the 21st Century, it was sarcasm)

 

[George Ivanov]

Israel may be? You've been to Aqaba, try Eilat now.

 

[Tippytoes12]

What about a liveaboard from Hurgada..
We have done trips with Blue O 2 and in a week on Simply the Best seen many mantas, hammer heads,Oceanic white tips , grey reef sharks, thresher sharks , turtles and masses of wonderful coral. This is easily done in one week from the UK.

 

[KathyV]

...Do some basic research...You will quickly figure out a lot of answers, not the least of which is that in terms of weather, you can not do much worse in the Caribbean than to arrive in November. It is the height of Storm Season...

September is actually the height of storm season in the Caribbean. November is the end of the season and the storms are tapering off by then but they can still happen, see the link below.

Hurricanes and Storms

 

[KathyV]

A friend told me that the Canary Islands were great but I have never been there.

FYI, this dive op posted a comparison between the Red Sea and the Canary Islands:

Red Sea and Egypt vs The Canary Islands for Divers and Families

 

[scubadada]

What about a liveaboard from Hurgada..
We have done trips with Blue O 2 and in a week on Simply the Best seen many mantas, hammer heads,Oceanic white tips , grey reef sharks, thresher sharks , turtles and masses of wonderful coral. This is easily done in one week from the UK.

A liveaboard out of Hurghada sounds like a great option. I did two weeks out of Port Ghalib (Marsa Alam) in April/May and had a fantastic time. The prices appear to be very good currently. I saw a couple of the Blue O Two boats while I was out.

I lived in Basel at the time and flew nonstop from Zurich to Hurghada. The 3 hour drive to and from Port Ghalib was pretty grueling, offset by the 2 week stay

 

[Searcaigh]

UAE / Oman provide reasonable warm waters in November.

For UAE you can fly into Dubai and head over to Fujairah on the east coast where we have around 10 dive ops from the northern border with Oman (Dibba) to the southern border with Oman, then Oman itself, Google Damaniyat Islands and Musandam.

PM me if you need more information and check out the "Gulf" section in Regional Forums.

 

[1976]

Sorry for the delay in thanking (was not getting email notifications of replies for some reason so did not realise there had been any til the last one came through).

I'm a bit confused by some of Doc's post (thanks Kathy V for saying what I was going to about the storm season, and I have been to the Caribbean in November twice already, what is perplexing about my question on quality in the Caribbean, surely that's exactly what I'm asking?, what is the bit about the Philippines for, not within reasonable reach of the UK...), but to clarify what makes Sharm 'not feasible' for me, coming from the UK, is that there are no flights to Sharm at the moment

Anyway thanks all, some good ideas, looking into them now.