Egypt in January

[nila]

Hmm, it's sounding a bit like Egypt in Jan might not be the diving heaven I was hoping to encounter.
I looked up Palau and it's pretty far away so would cost a fortune to get there I'm guessing.

Any suggestions of what might be a good spot for me to hit in January if I want some really cool diving with hopefully a lot to see (wrecks, cool fish - call me a big girl but I like the cool coloured ones, etc)

Thanks for the help guys

Oh yeah - and any comments on that mask - a friend got it and I tried it on and its a really comfortable fit.

cheers.

 

[Eau_Girl]

Hi Nila,

Looks like you might be reconsidering Red Sea for January. As other have advised check the minimum numbers of dives required by some of the liveboards especially in the south I think it's minimum of 50 dives for several of them -- the resaon being you have to do negative entries to get down past the current as soon as possible.

If you're looking for something closer to home, what about the Canaries? I did one of my first trips to Tenerife with a small dive op owned by three Brits. It was pretty inexpensive and I had a great time. PM me if you want to know more.

 

[300bar]

What 300bar really means is bring your drysuit unless you don't have one.

That's what I wrote at 1st, but saw nila was a new diver and not very likely to have a drysuit YET.

Nila: Palau will indeed cost a fortune, you might want to look at the Dutch Antllies.
Not "close" but affordable for most.

 

[Dadali]

Can not say much about visibility in January. But I dove during the summer and the vis was excellent. I would def. suggest diving in Sharm where you can also dive Thistlegorm. One warning though they really want to see if you can dive well before they let you dive at the good places. They are pretty strict with perfect bouyency. I dove with Egyptian Divers they were "Ok" but just from what I have heard there are better ones out there. BTW just out of curiosity did anyone dive in Egypt with Nitrox? and if you did, did they even let you test the tank? I asked for a tester and they didnt have one. Hmmmm just interested if ya'll had the same experience...

 

[Lorenzoid]

Someone above mentioned the Dutch Antilles (e.g., Bonaire) in the Caribbean. KLM has flights from Amsterdam that are reasonably priced to both Bonaire and Curacao (I think Curacao flights may even be daily and a bit cheaper). If you're considering the Caribbean, then consider Barbados, as there may be reasonable flights from London. Good luck! We who don't live in the tropics but enjoy tropical diving sure did pick an expensive pastime, didn't we?

 

[LenzPA]

Egypt is great, but don't forget that it can get (relatively) cold. Make sure you pack some kind of windproof jacket that you can wear before and after the dive. Also, take some warmer cloth for the evening...

 

[tarekaly]

Hi,
If you are worried about the cold so go south Marsa Alam
Shore dives there are great, also zodiacs are free in some dive villages.
There is a perfect spot for sharks there called Elphinstone you can see on youtube.

Good luck and dive safely

 

[Misa]

i`ve just came back from Egypt. Its my 3rd time there this year. May, October, November. May - daily trips, October - daily trips, November - safari. I`m a guy who loves to get burned at the sun and so i did. Sun in May was great, in october great also but in November it was ok. Just 30 C degrees, water 26 C but a wierd stupid wind screwed me in the 2nd day. I was either hot / wet and in windy areas on boat or zodiac so i`ve got the flu in the 3rd day. Its not the water or the sun that will kick your ass...its the wind. Staying in wind while wet is not good. If you want to go during winter in egipt i recommend you not to stay much @ sun, but inside the ship...also get some sweaters to warm up after dives, everything you think is ok to warm up...even drinks

 

[oldogre]

I got back from 2 weeks in Tenerife on 1 Dec., water 23C @ 30m. 7mm. wetsuit was very comfy.Excellent service from Aquamarina in Las Americas.