Red Sea Aggressor Trip

[Scott from LongIsland]

I would recommend to learn to dive... and to known one's own limits.

I am not sure how any amount of experience would help you when your boat sinks while you are diving but okay. You also have no idea what happened to those folks who drifted 24km. That's quite a bold assumption that all were inexperienced.

Kudos to you for the most ignorant comment of the week though! I assume you bring no signaling devices either bc ****, nothing could ever go wrong if you are a good diver.

The sea was very angry that day my friends, like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli.

**** happens when you are out to sea. You never know what may happen. No amount of dive experience overtake the power of the ocean. It is to be respected.

 

[Sunn]

Of course I don't speak about a boat sinking.

About people drifting away, of course **** can happen.
But every time I saw it, the main reasons were
1). not respecting the briefing of the divemaster
2). inadequacy between sea conditions and experience of the diver
3). inadequacy between sea conditions and security conditions, accepted by divers

 

[Christian]

Elphinstone may be "close" to shore, but it is in fact a fortress in the sea. A walk in the park on a calm day. But it can be a very difficult dive due to the combination of rough sea and swift currents. Extremely dangerous if you for some reason don't have a boat to pick you up. That it sinks is unusual. But inexperienced boat drivers that work for operators that try to cut corners has 'killed' people there. The boat driver didn't understand the current and went to the wrong part of the reef. The divers went off the reef and out to sea. One guy made it back. He swam all afternoon, evening and through the night and reached a small resort on the Marsa Alam coast in the morning. None of the others in his group were found. A few of them had been experienced divers.

 

[mcohen1021]

Question.... While we are not big drinkers, a cold Texas Margarita on the rocks would be a nice to have after diving...

Has anyone purchased alcohol duty free prior to landing in Hurghada (we're coming in from Istanbul)... I'm assuming if alcohol was available in Port Ghalib, prices would be sky high, right?

 

[FindingMenno]

It's been a while since I've been in Egypt and I'm more for a sunset beer....but I remember ordering a beer in a bar in Port Ghalib being cheaper than most Caribbean destinations!

 

[Christian]

They serve on the bosts, but selection might be limited. Bring your own tequila and mixer — think Istanbul tax free might be better than Hurghada. You can bring 1 litre per person if memory serves me right (never brought myself, but have been known to pillage others supply). Not sure what the supply of fresh lime fruits are like in Hurghada, but someone local could advice what’s available in shops.

 

[mcohen1021]

It's been a while since I've been in Egypt and I'm more for a sunset beer....but I remember ordering a beer in a bar in Port Ghalib being cheaper than most Caribbean destinations!

Especially any Caribbean island outside of Mexico... A corona in providenciales was $8!

They serve on the bosts, but selection might be limited. Bring your own tequila and mixer — think Istanbul tax free might be better than Hurghada. You can bring 1 litre per person if memory serves me right (never brought myself, but have been known to pillage others supply). Not sure what the supply of fresh lime fruits are like in Hurghada, but someone local could advice what’s available in shops.

Thanks - my thought was to buy 1 bottle of tequila and 1 bottle marnier duty free in istanbul, bring my own lime juice, and use sugar from boat or buy locally.

 

[Scott from LongIsland]

of course the beer is cheaper in egypt than the Caribbean! Egypt is much cheaper in general and is not an isolated island that needs to boat everything in.

 

[KathyV]

Question.... While we are not big drinkers, a cold Texas Margarita on the rocks would be a nice to have after diving...

Has anyone purchased alcohol duty free prior to landing in Hurghada (we're coming in from Istanbul)... I'm assuming if alcohol was available in Port Ghalib, prices would be sky high, right?

It's been a while since I've been in Egypt and I'm more for a sunset beer....but I remember ordering a beer in a bar in Port Ghalib being cheaper than most Caribbean destinations!

They serve on the bosts, but selection might be limited. Bring your own tequila and mixer — think Istanbul tax free might be better than Hurghada. You can bring 1 litre per person if memory serves me right (never brought myself, but have been known to pillage others supply). Not sure what the supply of fresh lime fruits are like in Hurghada, but someone local could advice what’s available in shops.

Especially any Caribbean island outside of Mexico... A corona in providenciales was $8! Thanks - my thought was to buy 1 bottle of tequila and 1 bottle marnier duty free in istanbul, bring my own lime juice, and use sugar from boat or buy locally.

of course the beer is cheaper in egypt than the Caribbean! Egypt is much cheaper in general and is not an isolated island that needs to boat everything in.

My memory of Egypt (Sharm and Cairo) was that alcohol is less commonly available than in the US or the Bahamas or the Caribbean and that it could be quite pricey. That may have been because my husband was asking for his favorite brand (Jack Daniels) so perhaps if you ask for local beverages it will be cheaper?

I believe that Egypt allows each adult the option to bring in one liter of alcohol duty-free, so you could plan to buy some liquor at the duty-free shop at the airport, after you have cleared US Security but before you leave the country, and bring it with you as a carry-on.

But you should find out if you will have to claim your baggage and go through customs and immigration after you arrive in Egypt, before taking a connecting plane to your final destination, and find out if you will need to go through Security again in Egypt before boarding your next flight. Some airports have international travel terminals and you won't have to go through Security again but some don't.

If you will have to go through Security in Egypt again, before traveling to your final destination, you may not be able to hand carry your duty-free liquor through. In that case you should pack it carefully in your checked luggage before rechecking. Amazon sells some soft, light-weight, leak proof, reusable bottle protectors that may be worth purchasing.

 

[FindingMenno]

To be honest, I'm more of a beer drinker than spirits, save the occasional rum 'n coke. And I usually like to just drink the local beers. IMO travelling the world is trying different stuff. Although Heineken is hard to avoid I've discovered in my travels.

So in Egypt I'm all about these

of course the beer is cheaper in egypt than the Caribbean! Egypt is much cheaper in general and is not an isolated island that needs to boat everything in.

That was kind of the point I was trying to make Also slightly to do with the target audience, places with a lot of US tourism tend to be more expensive as these (in general) travel on a higher vacation budget.