Recommendation for very shallow dives destination (junior open water)

[caz777]

Heya,

I am looking for some experiences/recommendations on excellent destinations in the Hurghada vicinity.

We are a family of 3. Mom and dad who has 150+ dives each, and then our 10 year old daughter who got certified as Junior Open Water this summer. Essentially this trip is to cater mainly to her, ensuring that she gets some more experience under her belt in easy conditions.

So recommendations with a number of good shallow divesites (12meter max for Junior Open Water) are very much appreciated.

The trip will be in February, and due to flight options and prices, we are planning to fly into Hurghada. We have previously dived a lot in the Marsa Alam region.

Currently we have looked at:
Makadi Bay (we were there 3 years ago for mainly snorkeling with our daughter, but unaware of the quality of shallow diving)
Coraya Bay (have wanted to visit their housereef for many years, but would prefer not having the 3-4 hour transfer from Hurghada)

However we do not have any experiences with all the other hurghada destinations (el quesir, soma, etc.). How do they compare to for instance Makadi Bay?

Regards
Casper

 

[scubajasonr]

I have dived quite a bit in Egypt with my kids. Coraya Bay is great and the dive centre is kid friendly. Several easy options for house reef diving. In February the weather can be a bit rough, but the bay tends to be sheltered. With a 10 year old I think they make you dive with a guide at all times, the exception maybe if you are a DM or instructor.

I stayed in Makadi Bay for a few days last summer, but didn’t think much of the snorkelling. We were on the south side of the bay, maybe the north side is better. We had just finished a live aboard, so didn’t do any diving there. I wouldn’t stay there to go diving.

Before you book somewhere it is worth checking what the dive centre policy is regarding kids diving. Most we have found fine, but some won’t accept under 12’s or insist on private guides which can become expensive. As an example at Magic Life Kalawy kids need to be over 12 to dive and they had a random depth limit.

We found diving.de very good with kids when they were at Sentido Akassia Beach (north of Port Ghalib) they are no longer at this hotel, but do have dive centres in other hotels. So I would suggest looking at hotels they are based at.

Another option could be one of the smaller setups. My friend runs DiveUK Hurghada and caters for small groups offering a slightly more personal service. He often has families diving with him, and knows the local sites very well.

The best diving we have done with the kids is on a live aboard. There isn’t an option for February, but in the summer Deep Blue cruises offer several Kids live aboard, which are really great for kids.