Hurghada 101

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Marek K:
Hi Mania (?) --

We're kind of neighbors... I'm an American with the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw.

I'm taking my family to Makadi Bay for two weeks at the end of July. Yes, I know, hot hot hot. Staying at Iberotel Makadi Beach, and diving probably with Easy Divers.

I've heard about the "no gloves, no knife" rule. Does that apply also at Makadi, 30 km south of Hurghada? I agree with the reasons behind it (don't touch the merchandise!), but I'm used to diving with at least reef gloves.

Regarding DIN vs. INT/standard tank valves down there... We have INT/yoke first stages, and DIN adapters for them just in case... but if INT valves are the rule there, we won't have to take the relatively heavy adapters. Do you think we can be pretty confident of that?

Czesc!

--Marek

Hi Marek!!!Finally somebody from Warsaw besides me!!!! I'm so happy to see you here, man, it's really great.
To answer your questions - no gloves, no knives apply to all Egypt and Red Sea reefs. Sorry for that - as i wrote the only exception you are allowed to have gloves are wrecks.
As the yoke (INT) is concerned - most of the tanks in Egypt are INT. DIN sometimes is more of a problem. So I wouldn't take DIN adapters - there is no need for them.
And yes it will be warm or should I rather say hot? Right now in Cairo there is 40 Centigrades...
Marek do you dive in Poland? If you would like to - let me know we can go to Mazury together. Send me a PM - maybe we can start a Scubaboard team here in Warsaw? What do you think about it???
Mania
 
Deana:
If you're in Hurghada some good places to go and hang out with cool music are The Chill, PAPA's Bar 1 (early to 1am or so) and Papa's beach club (till 4 or 5am) for the coolest tunes, thats if you're into partying and all that, but its a must see at least..

DEFINATELY check out the PAPA's bars! :wink:

If you buy a 'metre' of beer or a round of tequilas you get a free t-shirt! :11:

We ended up with about 12 t-shirts I think... :eyebrow:
 
Pay no more than one pound in ANY minibus. Do not haggle, just get in the bus and tell them where to go. When you get out hand them a pound and just walk away. DO NOT HAGGLE!!!!
DIN is not standard, most DCs use Int, so do not buy an insert. Any centre with DIN tanks will have them in already.
I lived there for a year as manager of a DC.
If you have time and fancy a laugh, then check this out

http://www.dunx.net/Stories/Civilization.htm
 
Mania--

OK, I won't pack knife or reef gloves.

I was PADI AOWD certified in 1987 (!!) with my wife, in North Carolina. But after about 50 dives I stopped about 14 years ago.

We've just started OWD classes for my son Michael who's, well, 14; here in Warsaw (Octopus Dive, at the pool in Zoliborz). I'm sitting in on the course, class and pool, as a refresher. He'll be completing his open water dives with Extra Divers in Makadi.

Wife got turned off from scuba because she got awfully, terribly sea-sick on boats. I mean, the boat crew and divemasters would say they'd never seen anyone that shade of green before. Scopalamine patches helped a lot; but she's got a bit of high blood pressure now, and apparently shouldn't be using scopalamine. Well, maybe I'll be able to convince her at Makadi to try it again, if the water is calm... or shore diving.

My son hates the classes (the instructor, unfortunately, is not quite fluent in English... we're working hard on his reading the manual), but absolutely loved his first pool session. He showed real composure, and even intuitive buoyancy control in 2 meters of water. I think we'll make a scuba diver out of him. I'd love to get together then, and see where we can go diving locally. Let's keep in touch.

Mania and Belushi--

I carefully checked on Extra Divers' web site from Makadi. They're a German operation (good thing I'm fluent in German, as well as Polish!), and they say that they use tanks with DIN valves. But they say they have INT adapters. I've e-mailed them to make sure.

--Marek
 
Marek
The adapters they are probably using - I've seen it many times - is a simple part that you screw in or out of the tank valve. It's easy to use and they have them on every boat. But if you are not sure - I can give some of mine adapters including the special tool you need to put them in or out. So as I wrote - send me a PM or an e-mail - mbnin@onet.pl
I'm really sorry to hear about your wife problems... Why don't you try Aviomarin - Polish medicine - or dramamine - you can get it in Egypt. As far as I know most of the dives are boat ones - Hurghada and Makkabi. Shore dives are done mainly in Dahab. As the sea - it shouldn't be too rough at that time of a year - but with sea you never know.
One more tip - as it was written here previously - be careful what you eat and what you drink - avoid drinks with ice, fresh fruits & veggies. And first thing you have to do is buy Antinal in a local pharmacy - it's good to have it. The different bacterias there cause stomach problems so it's worth avoiding it.
Hope you will have fun there and I'm sure that your son would love diving - Red Sea is probably one of the most beautifull places in the world.
Pozdrowienia
Mania
 
Mania--

Didn't your profile just show that you were from Gdansk?

I have DIN adapters -- we got two of them when we were living in Berlin before. They're just heavy as hell, for their size. I'd rather not have to take them. But maybe -- just in case. "Special tool" -- is that because your adapters are small enough to fit inside of the DIN valve? Ours are larger -- they have a large collar that can be tightened by hand.

Wife can't use dramamine, either -- it's related to scopalamine. Too bad... She had adhesive patches called Transderm Scop, that could be applied to her neck before boat trips. It would stay on underwater, too. Worked great for her, most of the time.

Until our last two dives in 1991, in Southern France. It was a German dive operation too, and they used small rubber boats. Water was a little choppy, but not too bad. After the dives, everyone on board -- I mean everyone, but us -- immediately lit up their cigarettes. That did it for my wife... :nosmoke: :looking_a :nosmoke:

Though not quite as bad as off the coast of North Carolina once. Medium-sized boat, with 3-foot (1-meter) waves; about 10 miles (15 km) off shore. She was using dramamine. That was when the divemaster made his comment about how green she was. She didn't dive -- they just threw her off the boat with her BC inflated, tied to a line, while the rest of us dived. She was actually praying for some sharks to show up and finish her off.

I don't blame her for her reluctance about scuba diving now. I just need to find a nice calm dive with nice reefs.

There are some house reefs at Makadi just off shore from the hotel, and a lot of the Germans were saying that they were just as beautiful as the off-shore reefs. Until maybe later in the afternoon, when swimmers have kicked up the bottom and visibility suffered. Also supposed to be great night dives there.

Good tip about buying the medication right away down there. I've also heard that only local medication works, against local bugs. We'll be staying at the 5-star Iberotel Makadi Beach hotel, which is run by either Germans or Austrians. I've been reading a lot of excellent reviews from Germans that have been there, and I didn't see any complaints of stomach problems; in fact, the Germans were highlighting that they had no such problems. We'll be careful, and see. (I remember once, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico...)

Avoid drinks with ice? :11: Yeah, I know... but I'm an American. Gotta have drinks with ice. Wonder if the refrigerator in the room has a freezer?

--Marek

--
mania:
Marek
The adapters they are probably using - I've seen it many times - is a simple part that you screw in or out of the tank valve. It's easy to use and they have them on every boat. But if you are not sure - I can give some of mine adapters including the special tool you need to put them in or out. So as I wrote - send me a PM or an e-mail - mbnin@onet.pl
I'm really sorry to hear about your wife problems... Why don't you try Aviomarin - Polish medicine - or dramamine - you can get it in Egypt. As far as I know most of the dives are boat ones - Hurghada and Makkabi. Shore dives are done mainly in Dahab. As the sea - it shouldn't be too rough at that time of a year - but with sea you never know.
One more tip - as it was written here previously - be careful what you eat and what you drink - avoid drinks with ice, fresh fruits & veggies. And first thing you have to do is buy Antinal in a local pharmacy - it's good to have it. The different bacterias there cause stomach problems so it's worth avoiding it.
Hope you will have fun there and I'm sure that your son would love diving - Red Sea is probably one of the most beautifull places in the world.
Pozdrowienia
Mania
 
Marek K:
Mania--

Didn't your profile just show that you were from Gdansk?--


Marek - I have no idea how come my profile shows Gdansk as I'm from Warsaw, sitting right now in my office in Warsaw Financial Center.
As the DIN adapters - I have something that I call "stone" - it's a small thing you screw into the tanks DIN valve. It allows you to install your INT first stage without any other additional adapters.

I'm again sorry to hear about your wife problems - but boats in Egypt are in most cases rather big and more stable than small rubber boat. I don't know if Polish Aviomarin is related to scopalamine- it's worth checking this in case it's not. I know this one works - I use it although rarely.
And sorry guys....you really should give up drinks with ice. Freezers in the hotel fridges do work - so maybe take this plastic bags for making ice and use mineral water. But don't take ice from bars or restaurants - even in the best hotels it's made off the tap water - and this is something you should avoid.

Pozdrowionka
Mania
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

Back
Top Bottom