Hurghada Area Recommendations

[JustSurfaceInterval]

Does the resort have its own shore diving that is good for u/w photographer?

There are shore dive options at Fort Arabesque, yes. That looks quite interesting.

I was looking at Ft. Arabesque in Makadi Bay and I Dive, but do they go south to Panorama Reef and Soma Bay/Safaga sites? Their website only mentions 15 local Makadi Bay dive sites...

They also mention that they are diving the Salem Express which is near Safaga. If they do that, they have the capabilities to dive Panorama Reef and Soma Bay. I would assume they dive Salem Express first, and then have a second dive somewhere on the way back, that could be Panorama Reef.

 

[Parlem]

I was looking at Ft. Arabesque in Makadi Bay and I Dive, but do they go south to Panorama Reef and Soma Bay/Safaga sites? Their website only mentions 15 local Makadi Bay dive sites...

For what it's worth, our experience with iDive three years ago was far from positive. While things may have changed now, at the time their boat was extremely old and not in good condition. Possibly the worst I've seen in over 15 dive trips to Egypt.
We also took a PADI Nitrox course which was badly organised and delivered (changing instructors mid-course for no apparent reason, lacking preordered manuals, poor English language skills).
To top it all up, empty tanks were routinely stored with full ones, which led to stress, confusion and time-wasting. The Italian owner-manager seemed friendly but incompetent.

My family and I vowed to never dive with them again.