Hi everyone! Seeking Advice for upcoming trip to the RED SEA

[seatide]

Having dove the Red Sea numerous times, I would suggest a definite 7 mil and a hooded vest.
Water temp at depth will be right around 70 F this time of year. Your 7 mil will compress to 3.5 or less depending on how deep you are.
Eilat is a better place to be and if you are going on a live aboard, I suggest an Israeli operation.
I used Poolster Charters, but I have no idea if they are still there.
Choose shallow easy dives that match your level of experience, it is easy to venture deeper due to the clarity of the water.
There is a reserve right in front of the Princess Hotel and is accessible only by boat. You can book a day boat to dive it, it is phenomenal.
Have a wonderful time.

 

[hotsxychiq]

Thanks so much for the advice! The reserve sounds amazing, would love to check that out. IS the princess hotel in Eilat or somewhere else? Everyone else says the red sea is much better diving but I'd like to check out both if I can. I want to check out the blue hole and would rather do a liveaboard in Israel if the diving will be just as good or nearly as good. Also I'm wondering if anyone has any idea if it's cheaper diving in Israel vs Egypt? Thanks!

 

[seatide]

Yes, the Princess hotel is in Eilat and Eilat is on the shore of the Red Sea.
You can also dive from Sharm El Sheik which is much farther south on the Red Sea than Eilat.
For that I would suggest a complete live aboard. I know that Peter Hughes has a boat there and so is the Aggressor fleet. However, they are expensive and the next best thing would be an Israeli boat. They do go out of Sharem.
If you want to do Eilat and Sharem, you will have to deal with the border crossing and will need transportation to Sharem, which is about 3 hours away.
The crossing is a huge drag, the Egyptian inefficiency is monumental.
What ever you do, if you want to do both, it needs to be arranged in advance.

 

[DomaNitrogen]

Analeah;

If ur doin a liveaboard i would advice a 7mm with a Hood in jan water temp is around 19 - 21 deg with a min of 3 dives a day you will get ur *** freezing off.
I just arrived from Dahab it was 23 deg i had 5mm with a 3mm vest with a hood i was pretty cold at the end of the dives.
I would say do normal day diving is better to gain more experiance before going on a liveaboard. I would suggest go to dahab and then sharm do some shore and daily boat diving. And you can go out at night. You can still do 3 dives a day but make sure you inform your operator before hand. And you will have the time to go to Cairo

Hope that Helps

 

[alicatfish]

Hi Hotsxy - I've been diving in the Red Sea for the past 1.5 years - learned to dive in Eilat. So here is my experience:

Get a 5 mm wetsuit. I dove with a 5 mm wetsuit in the summer and was comfortable, not too warm at all. In the winter, there is no WAY I'd dive with less than a 5 mm. All the other women I've talked to agree - 3mm is too thin.

With just 25 logged dives I took a mini-safari from sharm el sheik and enjoyed the heck out of it! The more experienced divers were awesome; I learned a ton. A couple of the dives were challenging d/t currents much stronger than I'd previously experienced, but those were my most memorable and fun dives of the trip! Really, it depends mostly on your level of comfort in the water and how conscientious of a diver you are.

I went with this boat Tornado Marine Fleet - M/Y Tempest and would recommend them. Only thing is that the rental prices were so high and we wished we had just purchased our own equipment beforehand.

BTW, we purchased dives computers for $225 which also do nitrox. They may not have all the bells and whistles but they work just fine and have served us well. Scubatoys.com is selling one for $199.

I'm actually thinking about a brothers week-long liveaboard now - which is what brought be to these forums today. Good luck whatever you decide and enjoy Israel!

-Ali

 

[alicatfish]

One more thing = I highly recommend crossing the boarder to Sinai rather than staying in Eilat. Eilat is a flippin' zoo with loud people, disorganization, and kids that think nothing of bumping in to you (they rule the country after all). Sinai is peaceful, though leave your watch at home.

I've dove with Aquasport (both in Eilat and Taba), Seaworld (Taba Heights) and some German outfit that shuttled us down to Dahab. I'd dive with any of them again.

 

[hotsxychiq]

Awesome thank you so much for all the wonderful advice. I may have 2 more people meeting me in cairo so I think I'll wait before I book a liveaboard. I'd like to spend some time diving in Eilat before going into Egypt or maybe on the way back but then again once I've been diving in the sinai may not be much of a point in going to eilat for diving? Is there anything special or particular that would be worth going to more so than in sharm or places in sinai? I was thinking dahab where the blue hole is would be really great. Any other places in that area anyone would recommend? I'm swapping my 3mm for a 7mm today and was thinking of returning the 4/6mm hooded vest I have as I don't want to bring too much. However I would like even less if I were cold the whole time and being a woman who is very often cold I'm thinking I may want to bring it. What do you think?

 

[alicatfish]

Personally, I think a 7mm is overkill, and I get cold easily. I'm comfortable with my 5mm. I tired on hooded vests and felt they were choking me. Also, another woman diver I talked to said her's fills with air and looks like she has a bubble on her head. Not sure about the hoods...

Bells to Blue Hole was an awesome dive. The blue hole itself was underwhelming, but going down the Bells chimney and the wall dive were amazing. THe other dive I did in Dahab was the Canyon. We got there very early and were the first divers in so it was a very peaceful and fantastic dive.

I can't think of anything in Eilat that you won't find the same of or better in Sinai. I'm not a big fan of Eilat, (can you tell?) although I have many positives things to say about Aquasport.

 

[Razmataz78]

I've dove with Aquasport (both in Eilat and Taba), Seaworld (Taba Heights) and some German outfit that shuttled us down to Dahab. I'd dive with any of them again.

Perhaps you're thinking about Sinai Divers? (Diving Sharm el Sheikh Dahab Hurghada Sinai Red Sea Egypt) They are owned by a German couple, as far as I know. I dove with them in Dahab this summer and they were great! (In all honesty, I have to say that they are the only company I have tried (just got my OW this summer ))

If you are going to Dahab, be sure to check out "The Islands". On paper it may not seem like a very spectacular dive - max depths is something like 12 meters - but it was probably the best dive I had in Dahab - it's a really beautiful coral landscape! (Again, bearing in mind that my experience is only 12 dives)

 

[Red Sea Shadow]

Razmataz,
The Islands maximum depth is 17 meters. And yes, it's one of the best in Dahab, IMHO.