OP
L!$@
Guest
Thanks for the responses guys! I'm going to read this all through and start to brainstorm 
Know a good dive resort/liveaboard in Egypt?
- Thread starter L!$@
- Start date
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
We dove with Emperor Divers in Port Ghalib (locally - good local diving, that's where the Marsa Alam airport is located, not in Marsa Alam) and Golden Dolphin III liveaboard out of Marsa Alam (60 km south of Port Ghalib) Sept - Oct 2011. Local diving with Emperor was pretty much a cattle car operation - want a weight? we have 2kg weights, out of 1 kg weight, pick up 10 divers in Zodiac, just tossing tanks and gear on a heap carelessly. Golden Dolphin III was a great operation, good boat, good crew, food way too good, took the St John's route far south. Met a diver who had 500 - 600 dives in the Red sea and said the farther south you go, the better the diving - didn't like Hurghada diving, said more popular north has had way too much diving pressure for way too long.
We've dived mainly in the Caribbean, also Great Barrier Reef and Papua New Guinea. By comparison, Red Sea was rather plain. After my first dive in the Red Sea, I commented there were few fish and few species of fish and of coral, compared to other regions. Reefs in the South were in great shape, but not very colorful as there are VERY few sponges or colorful soft corals. Surprising to me, there were lots of liveaboards in the far south. I had expected to see few boats. Glad to have dived the Red Sea but it isn't on my list of places to dive again.
We've dived mainly in the Caribbean, also Great Barrier Reef and Papua New Guinea. By comparison, Red Sea was rather plain. After my first dive in the Red Sea, I commented there were few fish and few species of fish and of coral, compared to other regions. Reefs in the South were in great shape, but not very colorful as there are VERY few sponges or colorful soft corals. Surprising to me, there were lots of liveaboards in the far south. I had expected to see few boats. Glad to have dived the Red Sea but it isn't on my list of places to dive again.
NCBabs
Contributor
I'd recommend Emperor Divers they offer from budget to luxury liveaboards Red Sea Liveaboard Safaris - Emperors Divers' Superior Service and Specialist Cruises
Hurghada is a great marina with shops and resturants I have some photos and short video of Red Sea www.fishtalesproductions.com go to photo gallery click on tab with Egypt-Hurghada then click vidoe gallery Red Sea it's less than 3 min long
if you have any questions about the liveaboard let me know I've been there a couple of times
Hurghada is a great marina with shops and resturants I have some photos and short video of Red Sea www.fishtalesproductions.com go to photo gallery click on tab with Egypt-Hurghada then click vidoe gallery Red Sea it's less than 3 min long
if you have any questions about the liveaboard let me know I've been there a couple of times
Well, we did our second trip, and we had a blast. HERE's the report I wrote.
We did a mixture of northern and southern sites. We hit Elphinstone and Daedalus reefs, as well as some "habilis", which are submerged reefs that can't always be dived, unless the wind is mild. I was kind of disappointed, because somewhere I had gotten the idea that the southern sites were "fishier", but we didn't see any big schools of anything. The habilis were beautiful, though, with some of the most varied and colorful corals I've ever seen, and lots of reef fish. Elphinstone and Daedalus had dramatic structure, but weren't as pretty, and we saw no sharks at all (the whole trip).
The north part was what we had experienced before -- very pretty, lots of soft corals, interested wrecks, and a bit more current than we had our prior trip.
Once again, we thoroughly enjoyed the Tala and her madcap owner.
We did a mixture of northern and southern sites. We hit Elphinstone and Daedalus reefs, as well as some "habilis", which are submerged reefs that can't always be dived, unless the wind is mild. I was kind of disappointed, because somewhere I had gotten the idea that the southern sites were "fishier", but we didn't see any big schools of anything. The habilis were beautiful, though, with some of the most varied and colorful corals I've ever seen, and lots of reef fish. Elphinstone and Daedalus had dramatic structure, but weren't as pretty, and we saw no sharks at all (the whole trip).
The north part was what we had experienced before -- very pretty, lots of soft corals, interested wrecks, and a bit more current than we had our prior trip.
Once again, we thoroughly enjoyed the Tala and her madcap owner.
Lisa is not going to like that first comment considering one of her goals for the trip is to see sharks. Maybe we were spoiled when we did Blackbeards in the Bahamas just over a year ago (and some of us in the group are beginning to consider going that route again). What you say about the northern part of your trip is encouraging though, because an itinerary that might fit our budget is a northern route (which I found this morning thanks to NCBabs's post). Unfortunately budget has really become a factor, so unless the group is interested in the Reefs and Wrecks itinerary that Emperor Divers does (which hovers around the edge of the budget), it looks like a few of us are headed back to Nassau next summer.
No sharks at the Elphinstone and Daedalus? Surprising.
About the "fishier" southern spots, I don't know exactly your route, but if the guide knows the spots well sometimes can recommend places which absolutely worth visiting but only the minority of the boats visit. Like Marsa Shauna, it's close to Marsa Alam, it seems a boring shallow bay but there live dozens of huge turtles so my photographer friends made there plenty of nice photos. And depends on the luck. There is a typical spot for the first dives, the Shaab Marsa Alam where all the divers saw two baby sharks this summer. Usually there aren't that much to see but this made the day for everybody.
About the "fishier" southern spots, I don't know exactly your route, but if the guide knows the spots well sometimes can recommend places which absolutely worth visiting but only the minority of the boats visit. Like Marsa Shauna, it's close to Marsa Alam, it seems a boring shallow bay but there live dozens of huge turtles so my photographer friends made there plenty of nice photos. And depends on the luck. There is a typical spot for the first dives, the Shaab Marsa Alam where all the divers saw two baby sharks this summer. Usually there aren't that much to see but this made the day for everybody.
We just came back from a Wrecks and Reefs on Sea Serpent...it was our first every liveaboard and we really enjoyed it. I was unsure about it as I only snorkel and swim but my husband had open water PADI...he organised to do the advanced open water on the Sea Serpent.
There was a great mix of people on the boat. 4 inc my husband had only done open water and he was the only one upgrading to the advanced during the week. The others were very advanced divers, some of them tech with over 4000 dives !..Two couples went off themselves at the various sites and didnt follow the group as such.
The dives according to my hubby were all brilliant. We did 3 dives on the Thistlegorm which was the only site that was really busy. There were 12 boats and on the first dive in the afternoon, the divers were bumping into each other and some of the german divers were very aggressive and pushing others out of the way. They also did a night dive on it and early morning the next morning which were better. We didnt enjoy the night at the Thistlegorm site as all we could hear after dinner was the noise of the other generators..!!! Not quite what we thought it would be like. There was also some parties going on on other boats into the small hours which made it difficult to sleep as well.
Food was good, plenty of it and no one got sick. Cabins were very good altho small and air con was fab !....
Staff were really nice, and the two dive guides were excellent. A video was made during the week and we bought one at the end, it cost £25 and was well worth having as it makes you remember all the fishes and dolphins you came in contact with !
We saw Dolphins and mantas, but no sharks or anything like that. We mostly stayed in the northern red sea so we were told we prob wouldnt see any.
Sea Serpent was very good, we paid £870 each out of London. We had a problem on the last night, another group of divers from the Ukraine arrived and we were told we were staying in a hotel for the last night. So we figured, ok, they told us it would be 5 star etc...well it wasnt...it was the Ivory Suites, a hotel which was really basic, food terrible.staff surly..not full board like the boat...had to pay for all drinks...we all complained to Scuba Travel and they told us they knew about the last night change before we left Gatwick...so not impressed !..It did appear to us that the two dive guides were really pissed off at this, so we guess it was a management decision. Either way, not good business practice to take money from two groups for a night, toss one off to a hotel which only cost $25 a night !
Other than that Sea Serpent was very good and we would prob go back. As a non diver I would def do it again as the snorkelling was magic, and I grew up on boats so dont have a problem with them at all.....loved it
There was a great mix of people on the boat. 4 inc my husband had only done open water and he was the only one upgrading to the advanced during the week. The others were very advanced divers, some of them tech with over 4000 dives !..Two couples went off themselves at the various sites and didnt follow the group as such.
The dives according to my hubby were all brilliant. We did 3 dives on the Thistlegorm which was the only site that was really busy. There were 12 boats and on the first dive in the afternoon, the divers were bumping into each other and some of the german divers were very aggressive and pushing others out of the way. They also did a night dive on it and early morning the next morning which were better. We didnt enjoy the night at the Thistlegorm site as all we could hear after dinner was the noise of the other generators..!!! Not quite what we thought it would be like. There was also some parties going on on other boats into the small hours which made it difficult to sleep as well.
Food was good, plenty of it and no one got sick. Cabins were very good altho small and air con was fab !....
Staff were really nice, and the two dive guides were excellent. A video was made during the week and we bought one at the end, it cost £25 and was well worth having as it makes you remember all the fishes and dolphins you came in contact with !
We saw Dolphins and mantas, but no sharks or anything like that. We mostly stayed in the northern red sea so we were told we prob wouldnt see any.
Sea Serpent was very good, we paid £870 each out of London. We had a problem on the last night, another group of divers from the Ukraine arrived and we were told we were staying in a hotel for the last night. So we figured, ok, they told us it would be 5 star etc...well it wasnt...it was the Ivory Suites, a hotel which was really basic, food terrible.staff surly..not full board like the boat...had to pay for all drinks...we all complained to Scuba Travel and they told us they knew about the last night change before we left Gatwick...so not impressed !..It did appear to us that the two dive guides were really pissed off at this, so we guess it was a management decision. Either way, not good business practice to take money from two groups for a night, toss one off to a hotel which only cost $25 a night !
Other than that Sea Serpent was very good and we would prob go back. As a non diver I would def do it again as the snorkelling was magic, and I grew up on boats so dont have a problem with them at all.....loved it
MatD
Registered
Just reading through this thread, I always find there is some great advice and tips from the local instructors/guides on this forum.
Difficult to go wrong with the big dive centers in Sharm, and for me, as a vacation diver, diving with Crowley & co last year was an absolute pleasure.
The one pleace that I think gets overlooked on here quite a bit is Nuweiba, just a short trip up the cost from Dehab or Sharm by transfer.
If anyone is into some realy great shore diving in calm and relaxed conditions, diving with the guys at African Divers in Nuweiba is an absolute must.
This place is fabulous for photographers that want the relaxed pace to photograph the small things on the unspoilt reefs. Fantastic for casual divers like myself, with enough local sites to anyone busy during a vacation, although with so much to see on each dive there, I wanted to keep going back to the same sites each time. Anything from a huge variety of Nudibranches, Giant Frog Fish all the way upto huge green turtles and Rays.
They also offer Techinical diving for the more advanced, although my skills aren't at that level yet to comment on that side of things
MatD
Difficult to go wrong with the big dive centers in Sharm, and for me, as a vacation diver, diving with Crowley & co last year was an absolute pleasure.
The one pleace that I think gets overlooked on here quite a bit is Nuweiba, just a short trip up the cost from Dehab or Sharm by transfer.
If anyone is into some realy great shore diving in calm and relaxed conditions, diving with the guys at African Divers in Nuweiba is an absolute must.
This place is fabulous for photographers that want the relaxed pace to photograph the small things on the unspoilt reefs. Fantastic for casual divers like myself, with enough local sites to anyone busy during a vacation, although with so much to see on each dive there, I wanted to keep going back to the same sites each time. Anything from a huge variety of Nudibranches, Giant Frog Fish all the way upto huge green turtles and Rays.
They also offer Techinical diving for the more advanced, although my skills aren't at that level yet to comment on that side of things
MatD
Thanks for that Mat, it was a pleasure to have you guys here - was wondering where you disappeared to!
for oreocookie and Lisa - if you're still planning on heading to the Red Sea then feel free to drop me a PM for local advice.
Cheers
C.
for oreocookie and Lisa - if you're still planning on heading to the Red Sea then feel free to drop me a PM for local advice.
Cheers
C.
Depends on what kind of holiday you are looking for.
For liveaboards, it is really hard to beat Blue O Two - well-run, spotless boats that have a great reputation, particularly among UK divers. I was on a deep south trip last year and loved it. Their charters depart from either Hurghada or Port Ghalib (3-4 hours south of H.). Although I know you are in Canada, for reference you can find week-long trips for as low as 1,000 gbp/US$1,600, flights included (from the UK)....if you wait for discounted spots closer to the sail date.
Red Sea Liveaboard Scuba Diving Holidays | Egypt | Sudan | blue o two
For land based - do you want remote and quiet or with night life (Sharm)?
For quiet - Dahab or possibly a quiet lodge in the south:
I stayed at Red Sea Diving Safari with my family for a week a few years ago. They have a few locations in the Marsa Alam area - Shagra is the largest and busiest. We stayed at Nakari - much more remote, with really nothing around but desert and the sea. Lodging is very simple in tents or lodges. The itinerary is diving and snorkeling all day, quiet reading time in the late afternoon and early evening - very peaceful and relaxing. Meals were cafeteria style, with lots of simple but tasty food options - and the staff was really helpful in accommodating my daughter's vegeterian and wife's non-dairy eating preferences. Great dive staff who went out of their way to make sure our kids had fun (not really a kid destination unless your kids love being in the water all day). No TVs, no video games, no glitzy resort. High quality diving - shore, zodiac/RIB, off-shore on their larger boats, daily night dives. Snorkeling with dolphins at Samadai. Love the vibe there - kind of like being on a desert island in the desert
RED SEA DIVING SAFARI - The Eco-diving Adventure - Home
Dahab is a little more developed than RSDS, but also a quiet, smaller town. We stayed there for a week in 2009. Very good diving infrastructure with many, many dive ops and a wide range of hotels from very basic to luxury. Shore diving and boat diving options. The scenery around Dahab on the Sinai peninsula is beautiful and dramatic, with large mountains springing up right out of the sea around the town. Climbing Mt. Sinai, quad biking in the desert, side trips to southern Israel or Jordan (we did a LONG day trip to Petra) are all options.
Hope this helps.
Chris
i would agree with both recomendations have never been on Blue O two but have spoken to those who have and not heard a bad word. have also moored up next to them and been impressed. we have stayed at all of the Red Sea diving safari's camps many, many times and they are excellent as long as you don't want nightlife. Shagra is probably the best option for you as the house reef is amazing and it's right next to Marsa Alam airport and has an excellent buffet style restaraunt. Elphinestone is a 30 min rib ride from there and they are always the first in the water as they get there before the liveaboards so you have more chance of actually seeing a shark. Abu Dabab is also just up the coast and you can see turtles, guitar sharks and if your lucky dugong's ( it might not be open ATM however.) you can also do a day trip to see the dolphins from there as well but the chance's of there actually being dolphins is low. It can be a busy camp in peak season however as it can take upto 200 divers but with the size of the house reef you can still do a 90 minute dive and never see another diver.
I assume you are coming for two weeks in which case i would say do a week at Shagra first to get your self sorted and then a one week liveaboard to either the brothers/deadalus or a deep south trip to St Johns. port Galib is just up the coast from Shagra and closer to these sites than Hurgada so there is less sailing.
If you want a bit more atmosphere then i can highly recommend Posidon Divers in Dahab. Dahab has a fantastic laid back atmosphere and is still mostly divers but all the best diving can be done in about 1 week. if you do go the camel trip to Abu Galum is fantastic.
you could easily combine it with a northern livaboard as well.
I have been to Nuweiba but don't rate it at all, there's one good dive (the MFO Bouy) and the rest is Just mediocre and there's nothing to do there.
I personally don't like Sharm as it's to busy but the diving is good especially if you like wrecks.
Roddy
Similar threads
