Is Red Sea Diving Seasonal?

[occrider]

Is there any particular time of the year to avoid going to the Red Sea? Like avoiding the Carribean during hurricane season or avoiding the Galapagos during non migratory parts of the year? I guess I should ask when is the best time of the year to go the red sea.

A friend and I are in the initial planning phase of making a Red Sea trip. We were thinking about going the month of April. Also is it worth it to do a liveaboard over boat diving from either Sharm or Dahab? I'm beginning to become very familiar with the Carribean, but I know almost next to nothing about Egypt other than it being a world class experience below the waves and above.

 

[Red Sea Shadow]

You can pay the Red Sea a visit any time you want.
Liveaboards don't embark out of Dahab. As it is your first time in Egypt, I recommend doing a land based trip in order to have the full Egyptian experience.

 

[swisstrav]

i would recommend a lob when you want to get the most out of your diving. usually 4 dives a day are offered.
in the northern part of red sea water is still cold 24°c that means for me 5mm full suit.

further down the water gets warmer already. say 26/27°c at the maximum. in fall and winter the winds pick up. this means, comming out of the water it can be chilly for a while. i was diving there in summer. beeing on a day or lob boat you will not feel the heet. there is always a breeze going.

although i like dahab very much i don't think shore diving gives you a special feeling with the exception that everything ist sandy by the time you do your seccond dive.

in the region of marsa alam you have beautiful diving resorts.

safaga gives you a pretty good idea about diving in the red sea. you have full day boats with good service. between 4 an 5pm you're back at the hotel.

how to book a trip? seems like uk ist quite expensive too. have a look at german sites like diversheaven.com or orca.de

 

[Christian]

If you want to get most out of your diving, go with a liveaboard. And for Egypt I would reccomend to go in summer time (june-august) when water is warmer, weather calmer and marine life is more active. In some places, like Ras Mohamed, it makes quite a big difference.

I know many americans fly to London and then go with UK operators to get better deals.

good luck

/christian

 

[occrider]

Thanks for the tips everyone.

If you want to get most out of your diving, go with a liveaboard. And for Egypt I would reccomend to go in summer time (june-august) when water is warmer, weather calmer and marine life is more active. In some places, like Ras Mohamed, it makes quite a big difference.

I know many americans fly to London and then go with UK operators to get better deals.

good luck

/christian

I actually will be flying into London to stay with a friend. Do you know of any good UK operators offhand that I can look into? Or is it better to just book with a red sea liveaboard directly? Thanks!

 

[MarkUK]

I just took seven American friends out on a liveaboard in July, out of Sharm, diving Straits of Tiran, Ras Mohammed, Thistlegorm, etc. Great diving, but not a patch on the Deep South, but as a first experience of the Egyptian Red Sea for my mates, it was great.

Good UK tour ops are Longwood Holidays (www.longwoodholidays.co.uk) and Goldenjoy Dive (www.goldenjoydive.com). I went out with Longwood on VIP One, and I got a great deal, but normal prices for a week-long liveaboard (accom, all food, coffee/tea/water, 4 dives a day), transfers, last night accommodation half-board in a hotel in Sharm and return flights from Gatwick will set you back £900 or so. Only thing you pay extra for are soft drinks like Coke, etc, and beer/wine/liquor.

The Red Sea rocks – I am going on a two-week liveaboard out of Port Ghaleb in the Deep South in January which goes through Fury Shoals and into Sudanese waters, so avoiding any of the crap getting into and out of Sudan via land. Excellent!

Mark

 

[TimIng]

For more UK operators search for Oonasdivers, Tony Backhurst, Explorers Dive

Tim

 

[Fionab]

And for Egypt I would reccomend to go in summer time (june-august) when water is warmer,
/christian

And you will fry I would recommend April or September for a liveaboard and I wouldn't go out of Sharm, although if you have been before then I suppose it's OK.

I would also recommend Tony Backhurst @ www.scuba.co.uk.

Oonas, Regal, Explorers and the the newest boat in the south Royal evolution.

 

[occrider]

Wow this is great info so far. So if I do decide to do a liveaboard it looks like I have two choices, I can either dive the Northern sites: Ras Mohammed, Thistlegorm, The Straits of Tiran, and Abu Nuhas reef.

Or I can do the Southern sites: the Brother Islands, Elphinestone, Daedalus and St John’s reef.

Is there any substantial difference between the two in terms of the quality of the diving particularly in the month of April? Also why do people recommend staying out of Sharm? Once again thanks everyone!

Edit: Also it seems like the Sourthern dive sites have a 50 dive minimum ... is there any flexibility in that? I should have close to 50 (maybe around 45 or so) by the time I go, and I have no bouyancy problems and a good SAC rate.

 

[Fionab]

Is there any substantial difference between the two in terms of the quality of the diving particularly in the month of April? Also why do people recommend staying out of Sharm? Once again thanks everyone!

IMO yes the quality of the diving is better in the south by far, Asser might think otherwise but then again he is based in the north.

I have done 3 liveaboards out of Sharm and 4 in the south and I wouldn't go to sharm again, the dive sites are far more crowded. Although there will be a lot of boats at the Elphinstone site at the start and end of the week. On our St Johns trips I rarely saw another boat except at the end of the week.

I would say you would be OK with 45+ dives but you could always mention it to the tour operator if you are concerned. The Brothers have some very strong currents which is why it is more demanding.

There will also be sharks are Elphinstone and when we were at Deadalus in April 2004 we saw about 40+ hammerheads.