bmaber
Registered
Just back from the Red Sea, though I might make a few observations. First if you concerned about Ramadan or security, dont be. Security in the hotels and the pier was as tight as airports: metal detectors, bag searches, armed police everywhere etc.
We dove with Emperor who were very accommodating. They were willing to get us at our hotel (Sol Y Mar Belvedere) even though it was miles away near the airport. We picked Emperor over our hotel operator Mr. Diver since they dont have a web site like Emperor. As it turned out Mr. Diver was a good operation too but the location in our hotel did not speak a word or English since our hotel was primarily Italian. Most of the customers of Emperor appeared to be Brits, the boats are well maintained, the gear is in mostly good shape (I did bust an old fin strap). Emperor offers a good daily rate and for a little more you can upgrade to Nitrox or big steel tanks (recommended if you are an air hog like me). They even offer tech diving if that is your thing.
It was very hot, you are in the desert, and from what I hear they are lucky if it rains twice a year. We did not see so much as one cloud in the sky. In October, it hits 43C (110F) by 2:00PM no problem. High season is Jan - March.
Sharam is VERY busy, this is low season and the dive sites are still full of boats. The two harbors are just jammed with dive boats as far as the eye can see. On one dive the line up of divers to do a swim through was so busy we skipped it.
The Red Sea requires an extra 2KG of weight because it is so salty. Technically the Dead sea is a lake so the Red Sea is in fact the worlds saltiest sea. Vis is amazing often 200 feet and we could see 3 huge Lion Fish just from our dock.
My favorite site was Jackfish alley, great corals and many big schools of Anthias (that many call gold fish). Drawn by big currents there is an amazing range of fish here in quite a range off sizes. I saw several huge Moray eels, stone fish and Barracudas.
Please be sure and tip your boat Captain, at least 20 Egyptian pounds a day, per diver. They work hard and the crews we had were great. Any questions I would be happy to answer if I know.
We dove with Emperor who were very accommodating. They were willing to get us at our hotel (Sol Y Mar Belvedere) even though it was miles away near the airport. We picked Emperor over our hotel operator Mr. Diver since they dont have a web site like Emperor. As it turned out Mr. Diver was a good operation too but the location in our hotel did not speak a word or English since our hotel was primarily Italian. Most of the customers of Emperor appeared to be Brits, the boats are well maintained, the gear is in mostly good shape (I did bust an old fin strap). Emperor offers a good daily rate and for a little more you can upgrade to Nitrox or big steel tanks (recommended if you are an air hog like me). They even offer tech diving if that is your thing.
It was very hot, you are in the desert, and from what I hear they are lucky if it rains twice a year. We did not see so much as one cloud in the sky. In October, it hits 43C (110F) by 2:00PM no problem. High season is Jan - March.
Sharam is VERY busy, this is low season and the dive sites are still full of boats. The two harbors are just jammed with dive boats as far as the eye can see. On one dive the line up of divers to do a swim through was so busy we skipped it.
The Red Sea requires an extra 2KG of weight because it is so salty. Technically the Dead sea is a lake so the Red Sea is in fact the worlds saltiest sea. Vis is amazing often 200 feet and we could see 3 huge Lion Fish just from our dock.
My favorite site was Jackfish alley, great corals and many big schools of Anthias (that many call gold fish). Drawn by big currents there is an amazing range of fish here in quite a range off sizes. I saw several huge Moray eels, stone fish and Barracudas.
Please be sure and tip your boat Captain, at least 20 Egyptian pounds a day, per diver. They work hard and the crews we had were great. Any questions I would be happy to answer if I know.
