Elphinstone - what is it like in late october?

[BoltSnap]

sorry to say that egypt roads are conparable to Autobahn standard ... nonway.

Hahahahahaha

I am sure that Sisi feels proud now hahahahaha

 

[Adr1an]

What is the issue? ExtraDivers is a perfect example of transparancy, the cleary state what is not included at that is exactly what the charge you. If I don't need a visa, the the don't charge me for that (like every other operator I used in the last 20 years). The local fees vary depending on the trip and duration (and the fact that the Egyptian government is sometimes very creative). And there is no haggling. the reputables charge you what they advertise.

Nothing wrong with asking some premium prices and delivering correct services to those who agree to pay those prices. The discussion however was about the behavior of companies who charge "market" prices. What I pointed out was that ExtraDivers belong to the category of companies that charge premium prices and are not a good example for the second category. That's all.

 

[Dan]

Extra Divers have resorts all over the world (I have stayed in their Tobago & Nabucco). So, they have reputation to uphold & maintain.

 

[Christian]

Just came home after my return trip to Egypt, first time back since 2018. Dived with RSDS organization and stayed at Shagra. Reason: Elphinstone is easily accessible. Normally do liveaboards but my travel company "wasn't up for a live aboard"... So what do you do. For the record I first started going to the Red Sea in the 1990:s and have dived all areas from Sinai to Ras Banas and Elba (is it Egypt or is it Sudan?). I have also dived in the Sudanese Red Sea and done three 14-day safaris Port Sudan-Port Sudan and one 21-day cruise Ras Ghaleb (it was Ras back then and not Port)-Port Sudan-Ras Ghaleb. I have observed extensive bleaching in the Maldives and some other Indian Ocean destinations. From what I have seen in the Red Sea, there's not any bleaching to greater extent that has lead to massive coral death--there are patches and parts with beaten up coral due to rough sea and crown of thorn infestations. Coral bleach to protect themself, but if it's not over a too long of a period, they're able to recover. Bleaching is normally more severe in the shallows, say 10 m and up, than at depth, so that's where you'd find it most frequently. Around Shagra and on Elphinstone, tbh, I could not notice any great differences in the shallow coral, 1994-2004-2014 or 2024. One area that actually looked better, was the first 5-10 meters of the Elphinstone South plateau, which was in a horrible state ca 2008-2010 (diver damage) and now has re-generated pretty well. What's very different is the number of divers and huge liveaboards taking 25-30 divers each. You really have to plan the timing of your dives carefully to avoid bubble fests on places like Elphinstone. I'd suspect it's the same for Brothers and Deadfalus these days. Tourism seems to be on a rise in Egypt. I noticed loads of construction truck traffic on the recently finished highway going from Hurghada to Marsa Alam. Took the old road on my way back up to Hurghada, going through little sleepy towns like El Quesir and El Hamrawein. Stopped at the road café in Hamrawein and enjoyed some coffee and a hookah I shared with my driver--talking about how it used to be in the old days. And Elphinstone? Yes we had OWT sharks on every dive, out in the blue. They checked us out but never came closer than 4-5 meters.

 

[BoltSnap]

Just came home after my return trip to Egypt, first time back since 2018. Dived with RSDS organization and stayed at Shagra. Reason: Elphinstone is easily accessible. Normally do liveaboards but my travel company "wasn't up for a live aboard"... So what do you do. For the record I first started going to the Red Sea in the 1990:s and have dived all areas from Sinai to Ras Banas and Elba (is it Egypt or is it Sudan?). I have also dived in the Sudanese Red Sea and done three 14-day safaris Port Sudan-Port Sudan and one 21-day cruise Ras Ghaleb (it was Ras back then and not Port)-Port Sudan-Ras Ghaleb. I have observed extensive bleaching in the Maldives and some other Indian Ocean destinations. From what I have seen in the Red Sea, there's not any bleaching to greater extent that has lead to massive coral death--there are patches and parts with beaten up coral due to rough sea and crown of thorn infestations. Coral bleach to protect themself, but if it's not over a too long of a period, they're able to recover. Bleaching is normally more severe in the shallows, say 10 m and up, than at depth, so that's where you'd find it most frequently. Around Shagra and on Elphinstone, tbh, I could not notice any great differences in the shallow coral, 1994-2004-2014 or 2024. One area that actually looked better, was the first 5-10 meters of the Elphinstone South plateau, which was in a horrible state ca 2008-2010 (diver damage) and now has re-generated pretty well. What's very different is the number of divers and huge liveaboards taking 25-30 divers each. You really have to plan the timing of your dives carefully to avoid bubble fests on places like Elphinstone. I'd suspect it's the same for Brothers and Deadfalus these days. Tourism seems to be on a rise in Egypt. I noticed loads of construction truck traffic on the recently finished highway going from Hurghada to Marsa Alam. Took the old road on my way back up to Hurghada, going through little sleepy towns like El Quesir and El Hamrawein. Stopped at the road café in Hamrawein and enjoyed some coffee and a hookah I shared with my driver--talking about how it used to be in the old days. And Elphinstone? Yes we had OWT sharks on every dive, out in the blue. They checked us out but never came closer than 4-5 meters.

Thank you for the report!! You are probably on first name basis with the fish in the Red Sea