Liveaboard V. Land Based and other questions

[tendi]

My husband and I are thinking about a trip to Egypt the last week in Nov for 8-14 days. We are both AOW with 100+ dives....all warm water. If we go to Egypt, we don't plan on going back again any time soon so I want to do everything and do it right.

Possible activities on the list right now:
1. Dive 4-6 days (3-5 dives per day)
2. Side trip to Jerusalem/Petra
3. Fly to Cairo a few days before we head home to see pyramids and possibly do a Nile River cruise.

We want to make sure we are doing the best diving. We love all diving but wrecks are probably last on the list. We'd love to see things we haven't seen a lot of before - hammerheads, oceanic whitetip, mantas. We have seen plenty of turtles. So, the question is, if we do land based, where do we stay? Sharm? Can we do the best diving if we're staying in Sharm? We've never done a liveaboard so we don't know exactly what to expect but would be willing to try it if it meant we would go to the best sites and be with more experienced people...not really interested in diving all the sites the Discover Scuba sites (yes, we have become snobs like that).

Can we travel to Jerusalem by land right after diving or is there altitude to worry about? I'm sure we'd need off gas time before flying to Cairo.

Is the Nile River cruise worth it? It seems like the shortest ones are 3 nights and that eats up a lot of our trip.

 

[Red Sea Leonfish]

In my view only, the best dayboat diving is out of Sharm. If you go with a good operator who can guarantee you plenty of 2 or 3 dive daytrips to Ras Mohammed and Tiran then I suggest that would be your best option.

Alternatively, if you realy want the best diving experience then you should book a liveaboard. Something like Blue O Two's "Best of the Best" or "Northern Reefs" tours from Hurghada would suit you perfectly (don't worry, they end up at Ras Mohammed anyway).

These are each a straight 7 days and return to their starting port but if you're clever with your flights you could do 6 days liveaboard cruise, one night to 'decompress' and then go overland to do the valley of the kings and the nile. It would mean only 6 days of actual diving but with 3 or 4 dives a day (incl several night dives) you can get more diving done in those six days than you might otherwise in 13 days of shore or dayboat diving.

 

[Crowley]

I agree with Leonfish - the best land-based diving is out of Sharm. The best safaris are in the South, with more chance of seeing bigger fish - it's really late in the season for the north and whilst we've had a good summer, Hammerheads and Oceanics are rare at the best of times, and can never be guaranteed.

Jerusalem and Petra are easily accessible from Sharm, either by flight or by bus - in fact most hotels run "day trips" which are yes - very long days - but it's not a very long way. If you're based in Hurghada, then you will have to fly. It's a short trip, but more expensive. There are surface interval recommendations prior to the drive from Sharm, though - the mountain pass between Sharm and Dahab is 800m high but three hours before traveling is plenty, just to be on the super safe side.

If you can stretch out your holiday to 14 days and have a bit of spare cash, you might consider doing both - A South Safari and a bit of land based diving from Sharm and maybe Dahab - that way you get the best of the Red Sea diving and also have the time to visit Jerusalem and Jordan, and maybe some Pyramids before you fly! If you don't like wrecks, that's fine, there's plenty of choice, but the SS Thistlegorm is a must-see!

If it is a once-in-a-lifetime kinda thing, then that would be my sort of plan. You might not see any sharks, but you will dive some of the best coral reefs on the planet. For detailed info on the South Safari, send samaka a message, since he's one of the most experienced guides working at BlueO2, who have received some very favourable trip reports on here, and who produces the Equalizer magazine (click my signature)

For more Sharm info, ask away!

Cheers, and wherever you go, I hope you enjoy your time here,

C.