Eilat diving

[DCDivenut]

Hey folks... I did some searching and did not come up with much about Eilat. I will be in Eilat for 3-4 days around New Year's and want to go diving. I will be there with a non-diving, Israeli girlfriend so unfortunately I will not be going to Dahab or Sharm and all day trips are probably out of the question.

I am a fairly experienced diver and greatly prefer smaller (6 pack) boats with operators that let you dive your limits, not theirs. I would prefer to pay a little more to get away from the hordes and I will be bringing my own gear so don't care about rental.

Any tips on ops, dive sites, or general suggestions?

 

[Jupiter31]

Hey folks... I did some searching and did not come up with much about Eilat. I will be in Eilat for 3-4 days around New Year's and want to go diving. I will be there with a non-diving, Israeli girlfriend so unfortunately I will not be going to Dahab or Sharm and all day trips are probably out of the question.

I am a fairly experienced diver and greatly prefer smaller (6 pack) boats with operators that let you dive your limits, not theirs. I would prefer to pay a little more to get away from the hordes and I will be bringing my own gear so don't care about rental.

Any tips on ops, dive sites, or general suggestions?

The good news.....its very easy beach diving and not bad - I dove there about 6 years ago for 3 days, with a friend (he is Israeli) - we did 2 - 3 a day all from the beach.

Easy entry, nice sites and you could not beat the convenience. Be sure to take your C card because they will not rent you tanks unless you have your card w/ you.

The water was cool (as I recall in April it was +/- 72 degrees, so I needed a full wetsuit) and the viz was maybe 50'

It was good diving ( I too brought all my equipment but the trip was not a dedicated dive trip per se) but nothing - I'm told - compared to the southern Red Sea sites - I hear that you need to go to even south of Sharm el shek these days for the better Red Sea sites and Eilat is as far north as you can go and still be on the Red Sea.

I think you might be disappointed if you planned a trip to Eilat for just the diving but if your there, go for it.

There were a number of operators that I'm sure could arrainge boat diving (check the regulations; its in that part of the world that there could be rules against it for security reasons; however I never felt unsafe at any time in Israel) but the shore diving was so easy - pick up a tank, walk across the road, short beach walk and you are there - we just did that.

Have a good trip - Israel was great.

 

[Jai Bar]

Indeed, one can do most dives from the shore. And, if you buddy with someone you don't even need to depend on any particular operator and plainly dive your limits with your buddy. Most dive sites are easy to dive and easy to access from shore.

Boat diving: Some sites like the "Japanese Gardens" are better reached with a boat. All dive clubs will take you there- but you may face the opposite problem (not enough "hordes")- there might not be enough divers to fill the boat (typically 6 divers) on a winter's day... Eilat in the winter tends to be deserted, especially if it is not a weekend.

Forget about the "hordes". Again, during regular weekdays in December, you may have to leave several notes at the various dive clubs looking for a buddy!

Besides your c-card bring your logbook (you'll be asked to show a dive within last 6 months, or you'll be required to take a refresh dive) and *insurance* (can be bought at any club's counter).

Water temp is going to be something around 21 degrees, adding some fairly strong winds it is going to be cold out of the water until you change to dry clothing. Bring enough towels

Sites: the "Sufa" missile ship (25m depth, located about 100m from the "village beach") is a nice day/night dive. Actually you can ask in any club's counter for a map of dive sites and choose any- all of them are 5 minutes away... Some clubs can offer transportation to/from dive sites.
All the cost is about 10Km long, and only a fraction is diveable (port, military base etc. etc.).
You can dive with dolphins in the "Dolphin reef" too.

Night dives: You need to coordinate with the Israeli Navy (5 minute phone call stating the site, time of entry, number of divers, phone number etc. etc.)- ask the dive club for assitance.

It is not Sinai nor southern Egypt. On the other side it is easy, accessible and with quite a lot of things to see (topside too).

Have a good trip- Isreal is great

 

[Paco II]

Does anyone have a recommedation for a dive op do to boat dives with?

 

[Jai Bar]

Does anyone have a recommedation for a dive op do to boat dives with?

Most clubs can arrange boat dives to a few dive sites. The most popular boat divesite is the "Japanese Gardens" which is not accessible from the shore. Other boat divesites are the sunken amphibian vehicles, Pyramid and the fish farms. The latter sites are not so popular, though, so most clubs will go out there only once in a while (usually conditioned by at least six divers).

These are small boats, don't expect a liveaboard vessel

Most of the Eilati divesites are shore-based, and a boat may not enter the area at all.

"Aqua Sport" dive club can arrange a boat through their Taba branch to nearby sites in Sinai.

 

[ofleisher]

There is one new option recently....
Liveabord, a 3 nights return trip from Taba to Dahab on a boat named "Coral Dreams"
Can be booked from Coral Sea Divers in Eilat.

 

[Red Sea Shadow]

Just for info, how much does it cost?

 

[Jai Bar]

Just for info, how much does it cost?

I think that the quoted price is 395$.

 

[ofleisher]

Correct $395 includes 3 nights & full board.
Cheers

 

[nuballawalla]

Besides your c-card bring your logbook (you'll be asked to show a dive within last 6 months, or you'll be required to take a refresh dive) and *insurance* (can be bought at any club's counter).

I am moving to Israel in March '07 and I plan to dive in Eilat and farther south on the Red Sea. My OW, AOW, and Gold Master Certs are with YMCA. YMCA is not an internationally recognized organization. Are YMCA c-cards recognized in Israel and elsewhere in the Middle East? I have specialty certs with IANTD (Nitrox, Cavern) and NAUI (drysuit).