Looking for Scapa Flow

[flw]

Add on the price of fuel and possible overnight plus the fact it takes effectively 2 days each way and thats way more than a flight to the red sea and far far longer.

From here assuming a perfect ferry connection and you dont stop you're looking at 14hrs. Realistically thats a full day, maybe 1.5

Fuel wise, conservatively £70 each way

Generally egypt return flight takes 4 hours. Call it 6.5 to allow getting to/from airport etc and costs about £80 return.

Scapa is far more expensive and far more time consuming.

Plus theres the fact the UK has the most dismal depressing climate on the entire planet so if going anywhere for a week its nice to get some guaranteed nice weather instead of drizzle,fog,wind which you get every single day the rest of the year!

Having dived both Eygypt and Scapa Flow, Eygypt was fun and warm, but after a week I'd seen enough fishies. Scapa Flow on the other hand ( ok it's close) I've dived several times a year for 10 years and still find things to interest me - it's perfectly possible to have a fantastic week and only dive the Markgraf ( and still not know it by the end!)
I've been sunburnt in Orkney, equally I've been snowed on in may - but ultimately I'm there to dive wrecks -and there are heaps of others outwith the Flow. The beers good, the company is usually good and the bars are fun. I foten go midwinter now, do one dive a day and then catch up with friends.
Comparing costs and times is silly - 2 totally different things.
If you are simply going to tick boxes, go elsewhere

 

[Hickdive]

I've been snowed on AND sunburnt in the same day in Orkney in May. Don't worry about the weather, if you don't like it will have changed in ten minutes!

I've yet to see a bad skipper in Orkney but from my reading of S/Board I'd say you should be prepared for some radically different ways of operating compared with US boats.

If you can't fill you boat with 12 divers let the skipper know. Most of them will be able to fill up spaces for you.

 

[flw]

- there's nothing wrong with a bit of variety in the weather! I spent most of this morning trying to get back to Shetland from Inverness ( having had to drive down a very slidy A9 yesterday) and it was alternating between brilliant sunshine and heavy snow showers - Kirkwall airport was closed due to snow on the runway at 10 and by 11 there was almost no snow and sunny - unfortunately it was windy enough to be stopping the ferries though, so diving this week is unlikely!