Fantastic dives from UAE

[Oldbear]

I used Al Boom’s mini-bus twice and it was ok. Divers Down arranged a driver to pick me up at my Hotel and we rode in a much more comfortable car from Dubai to Faj. The cost was a few dollars more than the mini bus but the trip was well worth it for the comfort.

 

[Diver Nicholas]

Yes same operator, they also operate from a port nearer Muscat at the Wave I think.

Thanks,

Depending on the dates you are planning to dive, there are a few of us in Dubai that frequently drive over on Fridays and occasionally Saturdays too. I have no clue about taking a bus to Fujairah, although I've seen a Dubai bus there on occasion.

That's good to know, my diving dates aren't concrete yet, i'm thinking the Christmas weekend 28th-31st would be a good time for me. Although my flight lands in Abu dhabi in the very early morning of December 21st and then I depart on the 6th of January, so I am fairly flexible .

Still deciding between Fujairah and Oman though.

 

[Diver Nicholas]

While it has been quite a few years since I have been diving in UAE. When I did Gordon (Searcaigh) was a great source of information...and a good night drinking Guinness’s

I was traveling to Dubai monthly and Divers Down turned out to be the best fit for me at that time.

Thanks for the recommendation I really like that they have the option of fitting in 4 dives in a day.

 

[Searcaigh]

Unfortunately I'll be in Bonnie Scotland from the 20 Dec to 6 Jan, so no chance of meeting up.

I'm sure you'll have a good time anyway, and I hope you get a chance to meet up with some of the reprobates from here that frequent this forum.

 

[Diver Nicholas]

Fantastic diving from UAE? Well I guess it depends.... We do have some good dive sites, but I don't know, if I would call the fantastic (but certainly better than Denmark, Turkey or Greece).

I would really love to visit Egypt, but I have to visit family so that's what the location is based on. And yes I've heard that Turkey and Greece isn't that good.
I used to be based in Australia but now i'm back in Europe so I'l have to deal with what's here, I did a couple of dives this year in Ibiza (just to keep the rhythm of it in my head) it was actually interesting as I'd only been used to diving in the pacific, so seeing the Posidonia oceanica sea grass there was really cool.

Do you do much diving in Europe where do you like to go? I've heard the Medes islands are good, and Malta if you are into wrecks.

Thanks for the recommendations.

 

[Diver Nicholas]

Dibba/Mussandum: if you are staying in Fuj, you can taxi up to the border. Drive takes about an hour, not crazy expensive. The border system is such that on arrival you park up and call the dive centre/hotel and they send a driver to come and collect you/escort you to the hotel/dive centre. If you do taxi, get the driver’s name and number and you can call him when you want to return.

That seems like a good plan, weighing up all the options doing this or going to Fujairah seem to be cheaper than flying out to Muscat.

 

[Attonine]

Important to note: you need to book in advance as the centre/hotel need to register you and obtain a document giving you permission to enter and stay in Mussandum, without this document you’re not getting in. Having said this, arrangements for this border and region change almost daily, so regardless of any advice you’ve been given in the forum, it could be completely different by the time you want to dive, so please check with your dive centre/hotel before you travel, and make a booking!

 

[diveUAE]

Dibba north is a good choice- I heard you may be able to cross, without sending copy of passport, but we’ve always arranged it prior and been asked to submit a copy minimum 3 days ahead.

I did not mean to say the diving in uae is bad - in fact it is good, even in December, and if you don’t go Dibba north, Dibba rock, inchcape or car cemetery are good - even at 3 rocks we always find something special

Diving in Europe: we started our diving “career” in Turkey (Marmaris) back in ‘95, where our instructor always found some fish and octopus, later went back and everything was more or less gone. We later went on holiday in Greece (Crete) and of course wanted to do a bit of diving, but it was a bit boring... I did my AOWD in Norway (Oslo) in October (freezing and in dry suit), surprised to find very pretty “reef”, not so many fish, but worth a try. As we’re Danes 2 years ago we decided we wanted to be able to say we did dive in Denmark, so had 1 dive in “Lillebælt” - kind of interesting.

We’ve been to Malta 2 times, and I must say I liked the diving, even though I’m not really into wrecks, Um El Faroud is a must, and so is the stunning “blue hole“.

We’ve been to the Red Sea 3 times: 2 times Egypt and 1 Sudan, and must say: viz is amazing and reefs are colourful, but it’s not even close to my favorite dive destination, hard to explain.... I find the diversity better in UAE, so don’t be sorry you can’t travel to Egypt on this trip

 

[Searcaigh]

A point to note is the crossing time between Oman Dibba and UAE Dibba.

Last Saturday it took over an hour for my daughter to get back over to UAE after their dhow trip, so bear that in mind should you be on a schedule. Time delays for no obvious reason are part of living in the Middle East.

 

[Diver Nicholas]

Anyone diving with Barracuda Dive this weekend (21/12/18 and 22/12/18) in Fujairah? I'm thinking of coming along.