First time going to Sharm

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Sorry I haven't replied recently. I didn't get the email notifications for the last several replies oddly.

So I'm currently looking at 3 days of diving in Dahab and 3 days in Sharm. Still working on the small details. In Dahab it is tempting to do one of those camel safari dives where you ride camels to the dive site (might as well be an extreme tourist that day). The thing in Dahab that really has my interest is the fluo diving at night. Certainly would make for a nice new twist on night dives. My plan is to stay at the Le Meridien and dive with Sea Dancer.

As for Sharm, I'm thinking 2 days of Ras Mohammed and 1 of Tiran. I'm looking at it this way, while it would be a shame to miss the Thistlegorm, it would be an even bigger shame to only have a single day at Ras Mohammed. For hotels, I'm looking in the Shark's Bay area right now since quieter and great snorkeling I've read. Several hotels in that area, so not sure which yet. Leaning towards the Baron Resort. And still undecided on dive shop. One that does one of the fast boats to Tiran is tempting. Camel Dive Club is one I'm looking at but they are in Naama Bay (not a big deal, and honestly closer to Ras Mohammed).

And amusingly out of everything, the dive shop I plan to do a single dive with in Eilat, Israel has been the biggest pain dealing with. After 2 weeks of and a total of 6 messages from me just trying to find out when a boat gets back to the dock normally, they finally at least told me how long the boat is normally gone for, but not when it departs. Luckily I don't really care much about diving there, and may just go with a different shop across the street. The two Egyptian shops I've mentioned have been great at answering any questions quickly.
 
So I am starting to regret my plan of splitting time between Dahab and Sharm. The dive shops in Sharm are either non-responsive or requiring I do an orientation shore dive before doing Ras Mohammed or Tiran. Considering I'll just be going down to Sharm long enough for those dives, an orientation dive would mean me giving up a day at Ras Mohammed. I'm still trying booking directly, but I may just have to go through my Dahab shop to have them book for me even though I will be in a Sharm hotel those days. I get the safety argument for someone who hasn't been diving in awhile, but my last dive will have been the day before. Very frustrating.
 
. . . I get the safety argument for someone who hasn't been diving in awhile, but my last dive will have been the day before. Very frustrating.

Did you tell them that? This is Egypt--everyone is trying to earn a little extra. Be firm. It's not like the dive ops in Sharm are swimming in clients these days. That said, even on a liveaboard they want to see you do a "checkout dive" before taking you to the main sites, and I suspect telling them you just did a dive yesterday would not suffice.
 
Yay I JUST got an email back from the lastest shop saying it will be ok. I had explained the Dahab part the first time, but I think they just read over it. So sounds like all is well. Yay!

I think I'm extra frustrated due to a dive shop in Eilat. It took over 2 weeks of back and forth emails (at least 6 or 7 from me) for them to give me even a half answer on what time the boat returned from a particular dive site (I'm going from there to Dahab) they advertise (in fact the only one they go by boat to). I finally got the duration, but no start/end time. Ok whatever I decided to book with them anyway. What was their reply? They don't even go to that site they feature. So I think I'm just in a pissy mood wanting to vent because of that haha.

One thing I am REALLY not used to and fear about Egypt will be having to negotiate things like cab prices. I can't barter to save my life. I think for my current car, which was purchased used, the best deal we could get was a free tank of gas. Yeah...my family sucks at that.
 
. . .
One thing I am REALLY not used to and fear about Egypt will be having to negotiate things like cab prices.

You can probably Google what cab fares in a certain city such as Sharm should cost, so you can have a ballpark idea. Also ask at your hotel desk what the fare should be to your destination. Based on that intelligence, you can haggle the fare if necessary. I doubt the driver will try to gouge you for an astronomical amount. He doesn't know if you just stepped off the plane or you've been in Egypt for a month. Also, keep in mind that prices in Egypt are already low; when the driver states the fare, stop and think for a second if you want to even attempt to haggle a lower fare if the difference is just a few US dollars.
 
Haha yeah I was thinking about that. When I've read things like tip so-and-so 5-10 LE, and then I think to myself that is basically 25-50 cents.

Thank you for your help!
 
Haha yeah I was thinking about that. When I've read things like tip so-and-so 5-10 LE, and then I think to myself that is basically 25-50 cents.

Thank you for your help!

The hardest part for me was maintaining a sufficient stash of those 5-10 LE notes. Everyone gets a little something. When we checked into our hotel room, we saw they had not put the two beds together to make a queen-sized bed as we had requested, so the bellman ran to the front desk, and another guy returned with him to put the beds together. I tipped each a whopping 20 LE, and they looked like they were going to faint from the generosity. Tiny tips, distributed liberally, seems to be the thing to do.
 
So here is a question. If one stays in Dahab, how realistic would it be to drive down to Sharm for a single day's diving? I'm sure it would be an early morning cab ride, but would be better than moving hotels.

In June I did 5 days in Dahab (travelled down from Jersualem, crossing at Taba). I used one of them to dive the Thistlegorm out of Sharm. Long day, but do-able.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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