New Blue Hole of Dahab Egypt Entrance Fee

[divezonescuba]

Has anyone heard of this? Has it had any effect on the number of tourists?

 

[Adr1an]

Is this supposed to be very new as in last few months? I was in Dahab this January and there was no entry tax at the Blue Hole, just the usual money you pay to the terrace/bar where you leave your stuff while diving. It also counts as some sort of minimum consumption fee, meaning you get a coffee or a juice or whatever in return.

 

[divezonescuba]

It just started.

I was able to confirm it with TeamBlue Immersion. $10 us or 9 euros for tourists. Egyptian residents pay about $1.

There are the usual teething problems with something as dramatic as this.

 

[Adr1an]

This is as anti-economic as the Taba tax (the only place in Egypt where you pay some 400LE local tax to enter the country - on top of the visa if you need that). Probably all those Blue Hole terraces will go bankrupt in 6 months (they weren't exactly crowded even without the tax, the whole area was hurt badly after the Russian and the UK charters stopped flying to Sharm). I couldn't believe how empty Dahab was at the height of the winter holiday season...

 

[divezonescuba]

When I was there in June, the Blue Hole area was flooded with buses from Sharm. I counted upwards of 30 buses in the area one day.

There were so many snorkelers and swimmers hanging around the entrances that it was difficult to get in and out of the water. A lot of people just stood around and never even got in the water. They just blocked the walking paths. The flip-flops left abandoned in the walking paths was particularly troublesome as they presented tripping hazards. I almost took out several people a couple of times, but the density of people was such that I could not fall down.

I think that a lot of those people didn’t eat in the restaurants either. From what I saw, it was mostly foreign divers and freedivers that were eating and drinking.

I am also curious as to what the entrance fee money will be used for. A deck around the edge of the reef would better preserve it while also reducing the congestion.

 

[Adr1an]

Interesting, maybe the Egyptians come in large numbers in summer in Dahab. In January the only place where I saw a relevant presence of Egyptian tourists was King Chicken.

 

[divezonescuba]

Too cold in the winter for the swimmers and snorkelers.

 

[Adr1an]

Maybe for the locals But yes, if there's wind you need a wetsuit to feel comfortable. I don't have any economically viable flights for Sinai in summer so haven't seen how the area looks during the hot months in a long while.