Ideas for 2 weeks between land tour & liveaboard

[fluff_astrid]

In mid-October I'm doing a 10-day land tour (organized by a friend who could only do that specific time period and who is absolutely not a water person), and then the only liveaboard I could get for my desired South and St. Johns itinerary (via Port Ghalib) departs 2 weeks after, leaving me with 15 days in between the end of the land tour and the start of the liveaboard. I am satisfied with the number of places we're hitting during the land portion of the tour so no desire to keep doing more internal land-based activities.

I am trying to decide on the best use of time for those 15 days. Option 1 is that I stay in Egypt and fly to Sharm/Dahab for northern diving & some resort chilling out near the end of October, then fly into Hurghada a few days early before transferring to the liveaboard. I have Marriott and Hyatt points I'd prefer to use for this to minimize my out of pocket costs, so I've been looking at e.g. the Renaissance Sharm & Sheraton El Gouna (or the Chedi as a Hyatt-supported property).

The other option, Option 2, is to leave Egypt to visit some friends in Europe (London) -- I live in Australia so since I'll already be "on that side of the world" I could combine the two, and fly into Hurghada for the liveaboard.

If it helps, I'm also solo female so considerations as to personal safety/language barrier would need to be in my mind.

I'm mainly weighing up which of the two choices will be less of a logistics hassle with risk of losing my scuba gear. On the one hand, staying in Egypt means not having to go in/out of immigration and customs twice, which probably (?) is a hassle. OTOH, I will have checked baggage -- I'm not going to be able to avoid it with the amount of gear I'll have along with personal effects -- and I wonder if internal Egypt flights on Egyptian airlines (from Cairo to Sharm and then Sharm to Hurghada) + the number of times my luggage will change hands is tempting fate a bit too much. Not to mention it just seems like internal flights from e.g. Sharm to Hurghada are almost nonexistent in late October (?).

Is the diving in Sharm decent in late October, or will most things be closed? And Hurghada?

In any case, curious what the group would do in a similar situation, thank you kindly!

 

[Parlem]

Hi!

Late October is an ideal time for diving/holidaying in the Egyptian Red Sea. The water is still very warm, but air temperature is manageable. Many would rate October-November as "diving high season".

If scuba is your main focus, why not go on a "warm-up" liveaboard, as you'll have done plenty of land-based sight-seeing with your friend? In my experience, this will likely provide the best value, most hassle-free experience.

Having said that, if you don't fancy the idea of being stuck on a boat so many days, Sharm has plenty of hotels and dive centres for every budget. You could try some shore-based diving off Ras Mohammed and even in Dahab. Circle Divers have a good local reputation and run dive centres in both resorts.

I'm sure you'll have a fab time.

 

[Mod63]

You could check with your LoB if they can arrange to store your dive gear and some luggage and then head to London, returning a couple of days before the LoB leaves.

 

[JustSurfaceInterval]

Things that comes to my mind:
- if you leave for UK in between, you will need another Visa on Arrival when you come back to Egypt. You are right, from Egypt, that is just around the corner. However, that will imply a complete different set of clothes and increase your luggage.
- it looks like you will stay a little more than 30 days. Keep in mind that the usual tourist visa is only valid 30 days from entry. Sometimes overstaying by a few days is not an issue, sometimes you get a small fine when exiting the country. Nothing tangible... it's Egypt.
- Immigration is not that bad and not to be compared to e.g. the US. You just get your visa on arrival, pasport check, luggage x-ray and you are done. No intense interrogation or alike.
- Where are you arriving? Cairo? Hurghada? it may be convenient to have your dive gear stored somewhere while doing your land tour.
- Dahab will be nice for diving and chilling. However, the flight schedules are usually via Cairo and not that convenient.
- Hurghada is the worst option for diving. Think of Soma Bay/Safaga, or even further South if you don't mind 2-4 hours by car/bus
- Luggage loss is as frequent as in other parts of the world.

 

[fluff_astrid]

Thank you! I hadn't considered luggage storage -- I'll explore if that's the option. I am arriving into the country via Cairo right before the land tour begins. I can also ask the land tour company if they'd be willing to store the luggage as we begin and end in Cairo.

Yes, I was a little worried about overstaying my visa (by just one day) and that's where I thought about maybe leaving the country and coming back and buying a second visa (or getting the multi-visit visa).

Noted: re: Hurghada. I was thinking maybe the Sheraton Soma Bay, if I do any add'l diving down there before the liveaboard.

 

[JustSurfaceInterval]

If you opt for the Sheraton, the recommendation is to dive with ORCA Dive Club Soma Bay, located near The Breakers. They share the bar (drinks and snacks) with The Breakers and have an extensive program of half day and full day trips, and a great house reef. Look here...
...
Re Visa: If i remember right, the multiple entry visa is more than 50 USD (2 x single entry).

 

[dflaher]

@JustSurfaceInterval would you recommend any of the RSDS operations for the OP? Oh wait now I recall she wanted to use Marriott points.

 

[JustSurfaceInterval]

@dflaher I would, of course, but they are in the Marsa Alam Area. I understood that is too far south and i don't know if fits for solo traveller.

 

[Tippytoes12]

The diving in Sharm is excellent, it’s a busy town but charming in its own way. The marine national parks like Tiran and Ras Mohammed are beautiful nd then you have the historic wrecks like the Thistlegorm and the Million Hope. We stay in Camel Dive Club which has a fantastic atmosphere, their own boats, excellent food, a restaurant, a rooftop bar, a pool and only 30 or so rooms. We stayed there the laypeople two weeks of October. Few years ago, it was getting a bit more windy but the water and air temperatures were lovely. Just a thought !

 

[Mod63]

@dflaher I would, of course, but they are in the Marsa Alam Area. I understood that is too far south and i don't know if fits for solo traveller.

as far as I read the OP the LoB starts in Port Gahlib, so RSDS would fit and if you just chill and dive it's always a goods place to be