How many dives can one do in the Red Sea?

[RedSeaDiver2]

Shore diving or boat only?

Boat only unless you stay at Abu Soma. Personally I prefer the boat dives

 

[LeggoDiveyDivey]

Thank you all for replying! So there is the option of Marsa Alam, Safaga, Hurghada (with Northern Itinerary including Ras Mohammad), marsa shagra or lahami village. Can anyone expand or recommend more on these locations?

Based on the answers i think in terms of best diving its:
1) Hurghada LOB (love diving but also considering comfort and wondering if there are short LOBs)
2) Safaga (Chilled resort town but unsure of dive quality)
3) Marsa Shagra (unsure)
4) Lahami Village (unsure)

My LOB is from Marsa Alam, i currently have a transfer booked back to Hurghada but i think some changes can be arranged or i can scrap it and change it to something else.

 

[MB NZ]

Nothing is easier than liveaboard diving to my mind. Comfort is not an issue on the bigger, better boats. It's the only way I would do a diving holiday. Villages are great, but book a chalet rather than a tent.

 

[RedSeaDiver2]

Safaga has the wreck of the Salem Express, Panorama Reef, and Abu Kafan - which can be mind-blowing some days

 

[LeggoDiveyDivey]

Nothing is easier than liveaboard diving to my mind. Comfort is not an issue on the bigger, better boats. It's the only way I would do a diving holiday. Villages are great, but book a chalet rather than a tent.

Indeed though when searching for mini safaris (3-4N) , there seems to be only a few operators leaving Hurghada

 

[LeggoDiveyDivey]

Nothing is easier than liveaboard diving to my mind. Comfort is not an issue on the bigger, better boats. It's the only way I would do a diving holiday. Villages are great, but book a chalet rather than a tent.

I quite agree here though some of the sailing can make for poor sleeping (esp that 12hr B-to-D sailing. But thats how you get to the good sites so its a trade off

In general, after BDE would you do:

• BDE again
• St Johns + Fury Shoals
• Daedalus, Zabargad & Rocky Island
• Stay at a resort (Coraya) and chill out

 

[MB NZ]

I did St Johns and Fury Shoals a while back. While the coral was fantastic, probably the best in the Red Sea, my memory was of flatter topography than places like the Brothers for example. I love the latter for those high current, deepish adrenaline dives, not knowing what you're going to encounter as you turn the corner.

 

[LeggoDiveyDivey]

I did St Johns and Fury Shoals a while back. While the coral was fantastic, probably the best in the Red Sea, my memory was of flatter topography than places like the Brothers for example. I love the latter for those high current, deepish adrenaline dives, not knowing what you're going to encounter as you turn the corner.

BDEs fantastic, but even with that preference would you recommend doing St Johns and Fury Shoals after BDE? Or do 2x BDE?

My guess is that St Johns and Fury are probably less crowded, and the richer corals might have some interesting critters around them

 

[scubadada]

I quite agree here though some of the sailing can make for poor sleeping (esp that 12hr B-to-D sailing. But thats how you get to the good sites so its a trade off

In general, after BDE would you do:

• BDE again
• St Johns + Fury Shoals
• Daedalus, Zabargad & Rocky Island
• Stay at a resort (Coraya) and chill out

I did back to back St Johns Fury Shoals and BDE in 2016. Of course we spent a full day at Big Brother and a full day at Little Brother.

Trip Report - Red Sea Aggressor April-May 2016

I dived the southern route and then the northern route on the Red Sea Aggressor (RSA) in back to back weeks between April 24 and May 6, 2016. This was my 1st experience with the Aggressor Fleet Reservations and logistics: I was living in Basel, Switzerland when I made this trip. I made my own...

scubaboard.com

If I were to go back, I would do either of these 2 routes plus deep south, Zabargad & Rocky

 

[MB NZ]

BDEs fantastic, but even with that preference would you recommend doing St Johns and Fury Shoals after BDE? Or do 2x BDE?

My guess is that St Johns and Fury are probably less crowded, and the richer corals might have some interesting critters around them

Either would be a good choice

If you repeated BDE, you might see critters that you missed on the first week. I think your assumption about St Johns and Fury Shoals are correct, but I wouldn't go there for big animal encounters (although anything is possible). I would also look at it from a practical viewpoint. It would be less hassle staying on the same boat. You'll know how the boat works and understand the rhythm of each day. I did this in the Solomon Islands. Everyone else was sad because they were leaving, but I got to do it all over again! On the downside, if you don't like the crew or boat, you're stuck with it for another week.