Egypt - Marsa Alam

[jaak]

Hi!

We're planning a trip to Egipt in November but as we've already been to Sharm and Hurghada we would like to take on something new. So came up with this fairly new place called Marsa Alam.
The question is - has anyone been diving there? Is it worth the trip and could you recommend some divingcenter there?

Thanks,

Jaak

 

[Rubis]

Hi!

We're planning a trip to Egipt in November but as we've already been to Sharm and Hurghada we would like to take on something new. So came up with this fairly new place called Marsa Alam.
The question is - has anyone been diving there? Is it worth the trip and could you recommend some divingcenter there?

Thanks,

Jaak

There are now some liveaboards that leave from Marsa Alam. South Egypt diving is great. If you could get on a liveaboard it is better than staying at a hotel.
They have a deco chamber in Marsa Alam, which is also a good thing ...

 

[jaak]

There are now some liveaboards that leave from Marsa Alam. South Egypt diving is great. If you could get on a liveaboard it is better than staying at a hotel.
They have a deco chamber in Marsa Alam, which is also a good thing ...

How much did your livebaord cost? Is it cheeper than hotel + dives?

thanx

 

[ScubaWim]

Hi Jaak,
We dove twice around Marsa Alam. Once from the Kahramana Hotel which is close to the Marsa Shagra Tent Camp and once at Wadi Gimal.

The corals in the south are really very nice. If you stay ashore between the diving you shouldn't expect many big stuff. A trip to Elphinstone reef would make up for this though.

At Wadi Gimal the dives are boat dives. At Kahramana (or Marsa Shagra camp) you do shore dives. You will go to a reef by truck, gear up and walk your way into the water.

If you need to know more, leave a message.

 

[Rubis]

How much did your livebaord cost? Is it cheeper than hotel + dives?

thanx

usually not ...
When I was living in France, the whole trip would be around 750Euros for a week, all included (flight also), and around 600-650 Euros for the hotel.

I would usually use http://www.blue-lagoon.fr/
as a tour operator ... But they are french, so they offer trips leaving from Paris or Marseille. In France they offer the best deals quality/price for the Red Sea.

There are a lot of italian or german agencies too, but I do not know those ... All german centers are usually PADI ...

With the liveaboard we dove sites where there were no other boats. We were lucky, seas were flat and we dove Elphinstone Reef 3 times the same week. It was awesome. It is a majestic dive. In comparison the shore dives were very dull ...

 

[jaak]

Hi Jaak,
We dove twice around Marsa Alam. Once from the Kahramana Hotel which is close to the Marsa Shagra Tent Camp and once at Wadi Gimal.

The corals in the south are really very nice. If you stay ashore between the diving you shouldn't expect many big stuff. A trip to Elphinstone reef would make up for this though.

At Wadi Gimal the dives are boat dives. At Kahramana (or Marsa Shagra camp) you do shore dives. You will go to a reef by truck, gear up and walk your way into the water.

If you need to know more, leave a message.

How about the prices at Wadi Gimal???

Thanks

 

[ScubaWim]

Sorry, don't remember anymore. We booked a package trip for a week. But southern Egypt trips are usually more expensive than trips to Hurghada or Sharm El Sheikh.

 

[David B]

Just got back from Marsa Alam 3 weeks ago. Stayed at the Sol Y Mar Resort - not good - but the Kahramana seemed a nice hotel. Emperor Divers are based at the Sol Y Mar and I can highly recommend them. Marsa Alam is a very small place and there is nothing to do in the evening apart from eating at your hotel. Don't know which country you are travelling from so it is difficult to recommend a travel company.

We had a week on a liveaboard first and this was also with Emperor Divers. Thoroughly enjoyed this but unfortunately did not see any big stuff.

You must dive Elphinstone. It is a fantastic site. We went there three times as the diving was so good.

Have a look at the Emperor Divers web site for more info.

www.emperordivers.com

If you need any more info then drop me a line

Regards

David

 

[jaak]

Just got back from Marsa Alam 3 weeks ago. Stayed at the Sol Y Mar Resort - not good - but the Kahramana seemed a nice hotel. Emperor Divers are based at the Sol Y Mar and I can highly recommend them. Marsa Alam is a very small place and there is nothing to do in the evening apart from eating at your hotel. Don't know which country you are travelling from so it is difficult to recommend a travel company.

We had a week on a liveaboard first and this was also with Emperor Divers. Thoroughly enjoyed this but unfortunately did not see any big stuff.

You must dive Elphinstone. It is a fantastic site. We went there three times as the diving was so good.

Have a look at the Emperor Divers web site for more info.

www.emperordivers.com

If you need any more info then drop me a line

Regards

David

Thanks. Why is it that the south is more expensive than Sharm and Hurghada? I checked Emperordivers but wasn't quite pleased with their prices. 38 euro for 2 dives seems to be waay tooo much. Or am i just paranoid???

 

[stefo2]

Why is it that the south is more expensive than Sharm and Hurghada?

Less competition?