DIY/unguided diving in Egypt

[Nicx]

Hi all,

Are there good locations where I can do more or less "DIY" shore diving in Egypt?
In my experience there are two main types of shore diving at dive destinations. (Let's just say for the sake of illustrating this difference that a "normal" dive costs €30.)

1. I travel with all my gear and they just hand you filled tanks. Diving is done without a guide/divemaster. Brings costs per dive down from €30 to <€10.
2. I get a small rebate for having brought all my stuff, say €25 instead of €30 per dive and I/we dive with a guide/divemaster.

Just to be clear, it's #1 above that I'm looking for (as I don't think #2 is that hard to find).
What about areas such as: Sharm el naga, Elphinstone (or the general Marsa Alam - Port Ghalib stretch)? Suggestions for any other area is most welcome as well!

ps. Are there commonly recognized terms for #1 and #2 above?

 

[JustSurfaceInterval]

You can find #1 at nearly every dive shop in Egypt.
You check in with your equipment, get a tank and some lead, absolve a check dive with a local DM, get clearance to dive without guide and off you go. Either non-Limit per day (e.g. Marsa Shagra) or per dive (many other, usually with some discount when buying in advance). Zodiac/Boot trips (e.g. Elphinstone) will come with a charge.

 

[Chris-Wood]

You won't get a rebate for bringing your kit. The price is excluding kit rental.

As far as I'm aware you are limited to the dive safari / eco village types, or some hotels with house reefs.

One example that's not Marsa Shahgra , Sinai Dive Club in Sharm has unlimited shore dive packages, which would be El Fanar reef.

 

[Nicx]

You can find #1 at nearly every dive shop in Egypt.
You check in with your equipment, get a tank and some lead, absolve a check dive with a local DM, get clearance to dive without guide and off you go. Either non-Limit per day (e.g. Marsa Shagra) or per dive (many other, usually with some discount when buying in advance). Zodiac/Boot trips (e.g. Elphinstone) will come with a charge.

Ah, really? Sounds almost too good to be true. I'm heading for Sharm el naga to the south of Hurghada this spring for a couple of weeks and have been looking forward so long to go diving on the cheap. For this specific trip, we'll be 2 people diving so no solo dives a such. I assume they might want a little for the weights but that's all right.

You won't get a rebate for bringing your kit. The price is excluding kit rental.

As far as I'm aware you are limited to the dive safari / eco village types, or some hotels with house reefs.

One example that's not Marsa Shahgra , Sinai Dive Club in Sharm has unlimited shore dive packages, which would be El Fanar reef.

Ok, not sure which specific place you're referring to regarding the rebate because if you mean "in general" when it comes to Egypt, then I suppose it's in opposition to what JustSurfaceInterval wrote(?) Please correct me if I misunderstand.

Otherwise, yeah, I guess I'm curious about any practical examples of "hotels with house reefs.". Any suggestions appreciated.

Both of you talk about "limits" and I don't understand what it refers to in this context. I mean, I personally never go for more than 3 divers per day so if they charge let's say €80 for a day of "unlimited diving" then that's just not what I'm looking for here..


My upcoming trip will be my first time in Egypt in >10 years btw (been diving in Sharm and Hurghada previously). However on my latest trips to Asia I've been seeing folks pick up filled tanks for €5-€10 a bottle, and going (even solo) out on the jetties and into the reefs there. And for prolonged stays, keeping the running daily diving costs <20€ pp helps quite a lot. Hence my somewhat clueless post here on SB to see if there's anything like that in Egypt..

 

[JustSurfaceInterval]

Ah, really? Sounds almost too good to be true. I'm heading for Sharm el naga to the south of Hurghada this spring for a couple of weeks and have been looking forward so long to go diving on the cheap. For this specific trip, we'll be 2 people diving so no solo dives a such. I assume they might want a little for the weights but that's all right.

For Sharm el Naga, see price list here (i guess that's the dive shop you will be diving with).

Ok, not sure which specific place you're referring to regarding the rebate because if you mean "in general" when it comes to Egypt, then I suppose it's in opposition to what JustSurfaceInterval wrote(?) Please correct me if I misunderstand.

I was only discusing option #1. I found #2 not worth mentioning because it will not be applicable to Egypt.
Of course, you can build up an #2 if comparing the prices for guided and unguided dives and taking the difference as a rebate.

Otherwise, yeah, I guess I'm curious about any practical examples of "hotels with house reefs.". Any suggestions appreciated.

What do you mean with "practical"? personal?
There are certainly a few hundred hotels on the Red Sea cost with house reef. Chiose will depend on your preferences re sleeping, eating, diving, ...
Sharm el Naga will be a very good place for diving, that's for sure. Panorama Reef per Zodiac will be a must.
If you fancy wreck diving, check whether they are doing the Salem Express. If not, and as you say you will stay a couple of weeks, you may go for one day with the Orca Dive Club, located at The Breakers, 10 km south.

Both of you talk about "limits" and I don't understand what it refers to in this context. I mean, I personally never go for more than 3 divers per day so if they charge let's say €80 for a day of "unlimited diving" then that's just not what I'm looking for here..

Taking the price list above: you can see that a single dive is at 25 EUR, 2 are at 40 EUR. The Unlimited offer is at 60 EUR per day. So if you know that you will do 3 or more dives in a day, it will be cot effective to tkae the Unlimited package.
Note that often dive shops will bill in your favour: i.e. when they see that you did 3 dives in a day, they will automatically bill you an Unlimited packages instead of 3 single dive (or 2 +1).

My upcoming trip will be my first time in Egypt in >10 years btw (been diving in Sharm and Hurghada previously). However on my latest trips to Asia I've been seeing folks pick up filled tanks for €5-€10 a bottle, and going (even solo) out on the jetties and into the reefs there. And for prolonged stays, keeping the running daily diving costs <20€ pp helps quite a lot. Hence my somewhat clueless post here on SB to see if there's anything like that in Egypt..

Yes, but Egypt is not Asia. In your "pick up a tank" scenario, you will get a tank for 25 EUR.
Once you are cleared for diving without guide, most dive ops have a more or less convenient way to provide tanks. But there should always be some kind of monitoring in place: not only for billing reasons but also for the dive ops to know who is in the water and since how long.

 

[Nicx]

Ah, the second and third quotes above was for Chris-Wood, not for you JustSurfaceInterval.

Ok, thanks for the price list! It says 2021 but looking at the URL I suppose it's the one currently in use.

I can't figure this out really. Do they give you filled bottles for €25? What is the reason for such a high price? Even my local dive shop here in Europe does it for €5-€10€ per tank, so at roughly the same price point as I've been seeing in Asia. But again, I might be might be missing something obvious here..

In my experience getting a normal guided boat dive somewhere in Asia is perhaps €35 per dive and you get perhaps €5 off if you brought your own gear. Seems the rental bit is a lot more substantial here.

As a general indication, would you say this price list is typical of the Egyptian dive shops?

 

[JustSurfaceInterval]

I can't figure this out really. Do they give you filled bottles for €25?

Yes. And lead.

What is the reason for such a high price?

It's Egypt. And they provide the facilities to store your equipement and the infrastructure. Including personel to maintain all that.

Even my local dive shop here in Europe does it for €5-€10€ per tank, so at roughly the same price point as I've been seeing in Asia. But again, I might be might be missing something obvious here..

Yes, it's Egypt. See above

In my experience getting a normal guided boat dive somewhere in Asia is perhaps €35 per dive and you get perhaps €5 off if you brought your own gear. Seems the rental bit is a lot more substantial here.

Yes, Egypt is not Asia, Egypt is not Europe.
Have you had a look at prices in the Maldives?

As a general indication, would you say this price list is typical of the Egyptian dive shops?

Yes, it is. Here a few to compare for 1 dive / tank:

Exta Diver Sharm el Naga = 29 EUR​

Orca Dive Club Soma Bay = 36 EUR​

Ducks Diving Safaga = 25 EUR​

Extra Divers Equinox (Three Corners Equinox) = 27 EUR​

Marsa Shagra = 35 EUR​

That said, you may (and in most case you will) have to add surcharges for night, early morning, boat trips, specific dive spots, taxes, environmental fees, ....
And you will have to take into account different prices for dive packages or bundles.

​