Personalized Dive Center in Sharm El Sheikh

[Agility]

I stayed at Hurghada with subex, a swiss company, they have a dive center at Sharm el sheik, too.
I was very satisfied; small groups, early out of the harbour to be alone at the first dive site, very good guides and instructors.
DIVING FOR ALL TASTES | SUBEX - The ART of Diving

 

[diverLux]

@ Xcavator, what it's like diving from a RIB ? sorry just couldn't resist, look here
me (long suit) - - ScubaBoard Gallery

 

[Crowley]

If you don't mind RIB diving - see above.

If you prefer not to have your breakfast bounced out of your stomach on the ride out - and it's a long way to Ras Mo and Thistlegorm by RIB - and prefer the comfort of a big boat, then your 2-dive half day options become very limited - and Ras Mohamed or Tiran is, in most cases, a full-day excursion. For a small, family run business that I can recommend, have a look at Elite Divers, run by a lovely Welsh couple, Alun and Moira Evans.

Always happy to help if you have more questions,

C.

 

[Xcavator]

Thistlegorm is a must. There are trips that go out and do Dunraven on the way out, a night dive, then get onto Thistlegorm early in the morning. Dunraven is similar to diving in a shipping container. I've never seen the attraction and on my last Northern wrecks liveaboard I chose to sit it out. I certainly wouldn't pay extra for it.

http://www.easydiversredsea.com/diving/dunraven.jpg

If you're not set on Sharm what about Hurghada. You could stay in El Gouna which will insulate you from the 'real' Egypt and do some great wreck diving. You could do the four wrecks on Abu Nuhas and get onto the Rosalie Muller, which is a great wreck. Dive Connections is a German run dive centre in El Gouna that could organise your diving for you. Alternatively there is a respected tech instructor out there with his own rhib who could organise your diving for you. If you're interested let me know.

I am already set in Sharm for 7 nights now. I will be diving around 5 days. I have read the review on El Gouna, Dahab which I don't think its suitable for me. Anyway, thank you for your recommendation. I am not a fan of wreck but if the wreck are good, I would like to dive to. Does Thistlegorm on the same level as Liberty wreck in Bali?

Hi Xcavator, I agree with the earlier suggestion that diving by speedboat/RIB in Sharm would enable you to meet your requirements for a more personal service, and half- rather than full-day diving. There are a few speedboats running in Sharm, mainly to coastal sites and the world-famous Straits of Tiran. The company I work for offers guided diving via speedboat with a maximum of five divers per trip. Our speedboat reaches Tiran in 20 mins and runs several times per day to different sites in the area. Free transfer to/from your hotel are included. Just PM me your email address if you'd like more info on that. Wishing you a great holiday

PM sent. I would like to hear more details from you through email.

I stayed at Hurghada with subex, a swiss company, they have a dive center at Sharm el sheik, too.
I was very satisfied; small groups, early out of the harbour to be alone at the first dive site, very good guides and instructors.
DIVING FOR ALL TASTES | SUBEX - The ART of Diving

Thank you, I will take this DC for my consideration. Currently I have 2.

@ Xcavator, what it's like diving from a RIB ? sorry just couldn't resist, look here
me (long suit) - - ScubaBoard Gallery

Is that a RIB? While I love giant stride more than back roll, I don't mind if it could save some of my time. What is exits method available on RIB?

If you don't mind RIB diving - see above.

If you prefer not to have your breakfast bounced out of your stomach on the ride out - and it's a long way to Ras Mo and Thistlegorm by RIB - and prefer the comfort of a big boat, then your 2-dive half day options become very limited - and Ras Mohamed or Tiran is, in most cases, a full-day excursion. For a small, family run business that I can recommend, have a look at Elite Divers, run by a lovely Welsh couple, Alun and Moira Evans.

Always happy to help if you have more questions,

C.

Thank you. I will take a look at this DC. Haha, your description on RIB was too scary

---------- Post added January 20th, 2013 at 11:20 PM ----------

If you don't mind RIB diving - see above.

If you prefer not to have your breakfast bounced out of your stomach on the ride out - and it's a long way to Ras Mo and Thistlegorm by RIB - and prefer the comfort of a big boat, then your 2-dive half day options become very limited - and Ras Mohamed or Tiran is, in most cases, a full-day excursion. For a small, family run business that I can recommend, have a look at Elite Divers, run by a lovely Welsh couple, Alun and Moira Evans.

Always happy to help if you have more questions,

C.

I have contacted them through their website. Seem like they are into my criteria with better prices than Sinai Blues. Do you any details about them? For example, about how many people in the boat and how many diver per dive guide? Are they running everyday trips?

 

[Crowley]

I'm currently sitting in the pub with one of their employees who is a good friend of mine... "D

So - Elite's maximum divers per guide is 8, as opposed to ours which is 10 - that's kinda the norm for Sharm, but Elite are usually 4 - 6 max. They boat share at the moment cos it's quiet, so there might be 20 or more folks on the boat, but that's fine, it's a big boat...! I used to freelance for them and as I know you will be well looked after.

They run dive trips every day, the only thing they can't guarantee is availability of every location every day, so it might be Ras Mo on Tuesday, Tiran on Wednesday, Local on Friday, that sort of thing, as opposed to the big centres who can usually do all three at the same time.

Cheers,

Crowley (and Hollie)

 

[Xcavator]

I'm currently sitting in the pub with one of their employees who is a good friend of mine... "D

So - Elite's maximum divers per guide is 8, as opposed to ours which is 10 - that's kinda the norm for Sharm, but Elite are usually 4 - 6 max. They boat share at the moment cos it's quiet, so there might be 20 or more folks on the boat, but that's fine, it's a big boat...! I used to freelance for them and as I know you will be well looked after.

They run dive trips every day, the only thing they can't guarantee is availability of every location every day, so it might be Ras Mo on Tuesday, Tiran on Wednesday, Local on Friday, that sort of thing, as opposed to the big centres who can usually do all three at the same time.

Cheers,

Crowley (and Hollie)

Thank you. I got a fast reply from them. Which DC you are working with? They are pretty much fit into my criteria. I guess I will have a private guide then since the price are right and affordable. They are only 1 dive boat is it? I know that for Thistlegorm, they are using speed boat. How was diving with the speedboat? How bout entry and exit from speedboat?

 

[diverLux]

@ Xcavator, this is actually a RIB ( rubber inflated boat ) it is used for small trips a couple of minutes or so and everybody is in full gear,
RIB - - ScubaBoard Gallery
and this is the speedboat, note for longer trips divers are not kitted up (the gear is lying on the floor ) this is done at the dive site,
Speedboat - - ScubaBoard Gallery
getting back on the boat is the hard part, especially if the sea is rough, remove the BCD hand it over to the crew, you keep your fins on, take a dip and kick hard and you should make it over the side wall, otherwise the crew and other divers pull you in ( like a sack of potatoes )

 

[Xcavator]

@ Xcavator, this is actually a RIB ( rubber inflated boat ) it is used for small trips a couple of minutes or so and everybody is in full gear,
RIB - - ScubaBoard Gallery
and this is the speedboat, note for longer trips divers are not kitted up (the gear is lying on the floor ) this is done at the dive site,
Speedboat - - ScubaBoard Gallery
getting back on the boat is the hard part, especially if the sea is rough, remove the BCD hand it over to the crew, you keep your fins on, take a dip and kick hard and you should make it over the side wall, otherwise the crew and other divers pull you in ( like a sack of potatoes )

Great, thank you for the details. As getting back to the boat, its same here in Peninsular malaysia which they are using small fiber glass boat. Hard kick and crawling to the boat. Thats not the best part though I should avoid RIB I guess. From your picture, RIB and speedboat are almost identical. I wish to have speedboat like in Thailand.

---------- Post added January 21st, 2013 at 10:02 PM ----------

Comparison between my choice of DC right now :

Sinai Blues (Four Seasons)

DIVING PACKAGES:
3 Days Diving Package (2 dives p/day) $440
4 Days Diving Package (2 dives p/day) $540
5 Days diving Package (2 dives p/day) $640
(Diving packages prices does not include night dives.) Prices include tanks,
weights, belts, and Dive guide. Prices exclude diving equipment hire and Ras Mohammed
National Park Fees ($5,- where applicable). Lunch is available onboard
daily boats for a supplement of $50.- per person.($25.- For children between the
age of 5-12 years). Soft drinks are available onboard daily boats For RIB trips,
minimum 4 guests to guarantee RIB departure. For daily boat trips, minimum 8
guests to guarantee boat departure.

Elite-Diving

Dive Pack Prices

Our dive pack prices are as follows, when pre-booked and pre-paid for to our UK office:

· 1 Day dive pack £40.00 per person
· 2 Day dive pack £80.00 per person
· 3 Day dive pack £110.00 per person
· 4 Day dive pack £140.00 per person
· 5 Day dive pack £150.00 per person

Dive packs include two guided dives per day, air tanks, weights and hotel transfers per day. If you choose to do a third dive, this costs €20 per day and is added to your bill to be paid at the end of your holiday. Food and drinks on the boat cost 50 Egyptian pounds per person, per day - which includes water, tea and coffee, soft and fizzy drinks and a buffet lunch.



My calculation (2 Pax) 5 Day diving :

Sinai Blues : USD 1280
Elite-Diving : GBP 300 + Euro 250 (Private guide) = USD 810

 

[Gasper25]

You could also rent a private boat? Other option is to go on public boat, but private guide... If you're interested let me know for further details...

 

[diverLux]

..... dugh, RIB ( rigid inflatable boat )