Red Sea diving vs. other parts of the world

[ocdiver1]

I think you have to go with the right attitude and expectations, part of what you're doing with some of the questions you're asking...but from reading your posts I think you've got to accept that you it's more than likely you're not going to see a lot of pelagics in the Red Sea and just set your itinerary based on the best overall diving the region has to offer (with pelagics just being a plus). I'd say there is zero chance you will experience anything pelagic-wise that compares to the Maldives, Sipadan, and Galapagos, of the places you've visited before. Personally, I'd do something like Blueotwo's "Simply the Best" itinerary that takes in Brothers, Elphinstone, and Daedalus. You'd have the best chance for pelagics as well as far less crowded dive sites than in the north. Blueotwo is one of the better liveaboard companies I've dove with anywhere in the world.

Hello fellow divers, I am hoping to get some advice on Red Sea diving plans. We plan to go in late August. Would like to see the pyramids and then finish off diving. it will probably be our one and only trip to Egypt, so we need to plan well. The information about quality of diving there is very confusing. I feel that there is more masked promotion that true descriptions on the net. We dove in South Pacific, Australia, Maldives, Caribbean, Galapagos, Sipadan... but not Red Sea yet. Therefore we will see things in comparison. What I understand the North Red Sea routes are mainly wrecks, Thiselgorm as a must do. The South is promoted as pelagic site. Now, the bad descriptions by experienced divers say that the North is busy as a shopping mall and quite depleted of coral and fish compared to other parts of the world. The South is also described as not too colorful and some people do not even see a single shark.

The main question I am hoping to get an answer, what would be better:?
-liveaboard to the North, where the wrecks are always there, and bite the bullet diving at busy locations, not expect much of coral and marine life
a possible failure - the sites are too busy to enjoy, the wrecks are over hyped, marine life is too depleted
-liveaboard to the South, hoping that there will be white tip, hammerheads, dolphins etc. following us on each dive (can it compare with Wolf/Darwin?)
a possible failure - no pelagics, dull diving, pretty much wasted opportunity to dive Thislegorm etc

A possible recommendation for a luxury liveaboard with less people on a boat and more space?

Many thanks to all who answer!!!
Vladimir, Canada

 

[ElChe]

I think a real diver should choose a liveaboard trip in Egypt. You can't compare it to a shore based daily boat dive trip. I like the spacious liveaboard boats (there are many!), and I like the cheap prices as well. Certainly there are trips where you can see the best of the Red Sea from north to south: a group of friends organized a 2 weeks long trip from Ras Mohammed to the St Johns with the Cassiopeia and they liked it very much. It's not typical at all, but I'm sure you'll enjoy any of the routes- and you never know what will see. For example I had more luck with dolphins in the north and sharks in the south.

I like the summer dive trips because the water is warm and the dive sites are less crowded. To be honest there are much less divers nowadays in Egypt than a few years ago, so I wouldn't worry about meeting too much other dive boats. A good guide can always suggest another site which is nice but not visited that often.

 

[Tigerman]

Two years ago there was MUCH less divers there the 2x2 weeks i was in Sharm, but last year it started to pick up a fair bit again, especially in september/october...
Not sure how this years been so far though as I wont go there more than 2 weeks in july this year. My new camera setup kinda put limitation on my holidays this year

 

[roppers]

We were thinking to fly to Cairo, then do the pyramids, a short river cruise and then a week of diving. Nightlife is good, but it comes at a price: large hotels with lots, lots of people everywhere (sorry, we are pathologists and over the years got to like quiet deserted places). If it was possible, we would rather do night trips for night life rather than day trips for diving .

We will have time only for one route, either North or South. Doing both. Now brainstorming the ideas again,
-North and the South seems impossible due to the 6-7 day route, we need to pick one route
-The best wording is probably to pick a route, which would be rather special and unique for Red Sea. Something like pyramids underwater. Would it be Thislegorm or something else?

I have been to Red Sea Diving Safari - Marsa Alam twice (Shargra camp) and if you want to avoid crowds that is a very good place to stay. There are only divers that stay there. There is no entertainment or swimming pool, but who needs one when diving. Elphinstone is only 30 minutes away on a rib. The camp has a great housereef and offers unlimited diving on it (rib in/out or swim in/out and any combination of those).

The best about the site is that it is totally focussed on the diving. Food and service you get from them is excellent in every way!!
There are no misbehaving russians, and nothing beats a chair next to the waterline without anything but the sound of the sea after and inbetween the dives. The only entertainment is a bedouin tent which is open in the evening where you can enjoy a beer and (if you smoke) a waterpipe.



Next week i leave for their most south camp Wadi Lahami. Never been there before, but it seems to be much smaller and more primitive.

 

[ENPDiver]

Hello All,

First off, great information in this thread, thank you to all.

I am currently planning a trip to Egypt and would really appreciate any feed back on it.

Considering the following itinerary:

June 27th - July 28th

1. Cairo (2 nights) - Arrive June 28th @ 6:15 AM and leave June 30th @ 20:00 (Pyramids, Museum, Sphynx). Please add if there is anything else that is a must do. Suggestions are greatly appreciated.


2. Luxor (1night) - Arrive June 30th @ 21:00 and leave July 1st @ 21:50 (valley of the kings, baloon ride)

3. Sharm (6 nights) arrive July 1st @ 23:00. THis will include 5 days of diving and stay at Camel Dive.

ay 1: Local



day 2:



Ras Mohammed



day 3: Tiran



day 4: speedboat for hammerheads



day 5: Thistlegorm



day 6: dahab


This is what i have so far and am wondering if I am missing anything, should I change anything, skip some things ?

I keep seeing Brothers site coming up and starting to consider it. Where how could i get this in ? My understanding that as a day trip it is only available from Hurgarda (sp?)

I know this is a long post and am asking for a lot but any input would be greatly appreciated.

P.S I only have been certified for a year but currently have 60 dives logged in Cozumel, Bahamas, Bonaire and Roatan.

 

[Nasser]

The Red Sea is an amazing place to dive! I have grown up here and pretty much can tell you that I feel it is indeed world class diving. Having dived the Maldives, Thailand, Mediterranean, and the Caribbean, I have yet to find them comparable to the Red Sea. The trick is to know where to dive and when. North as in Sharm Al Sheikh is indeed VERY busy especially in the peak season... and unfortunately is over dived and very crowded. But further North in Nweibeh and Qabir Al Bint it's a little less touristy and there are some great not very well known sites.

Going South and Deep South of Egypt and even further down to Sudan and you will encounter spectacular diving. Spring is a great time as it's not too hot and the water temp. doesn't drive the large pelagics too deep. When you start to get into the late Summer and especially August then it's more difficult to encounter the larger fish on shallower dives and you need to go much deeper, but visibility is very good as it is too hot for plankton blooms. There are still some "undiscovered" more adventurous areas in the Red Sea like the Deep South of Sudan which is really something special but again the season and also the remoteness are factors. These areas (Deep South Egypt and Sudan North and Deep South) are generally dived from liveaboards... and probably the most economical for these areas are the longer two week trips as they then can justify the higher startup costs to get there. Not to mention Saudi Arabia and and especially Yemen but those are more difficult areas to get to so you will probably be restricted to the Egyptian-Sudanese side.

There are so many parts of the world that I would love to dive.. Indonesia, Galapagos, Papua New Guinea and Micronesia, etc.. but I can say that the Red Sea is a truly great place to dive.

cheers,
Nasser

 

[Solly]

1. Cairo (2 nights) - Arrive June 28th @ 6:15 AM and leave June 30th @ 20:00 (Pyramids, Museum, Sphynx). Please add if there is anything else that is a must do. Suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Add the citadel as well ... its a must see.

I keep seeing Brothers site coming up and starting to consider it. Where how could i get this in ? My understanding that as a day trip it is only available from Hurgarda (sp?)

brothers need a liveaboard, not accessible on daily dives at all. So either skip the sharm part and go for liveaboard for brothers, daedalus and elphinstone OR just extend a week for that !

 

[viakovlev]

What would be the underwater "must see" of the Red Sea? Something one cannot see anywhere else, like pyramids on land?

I have feeling that there is too much hype around white tip and hammerheads in the South, most people report that they do not even see them. Comparing, for example with Wolf and Darwin in Galapagos, where 30-50 hammerheads on each dive are a norm. So, would a hallmark be the wrecks in the North Red Sea?

 

[FinnMom]

I can't imagine many things that would compare to having the Abu Nuhas wrecks, and the Thistlegorm and the Rosalie Möller all within a few hours of each other. That's pretty one-of-a-kind.

 

[Around]

I have feeling that there is too much hype around white tip and hammerheads in the South, most people report that they do not even see them.

most people report that they do not even see them? do you mean to say that even on the sites famous for white tips such as elphinstone and brothers, chances are better that you don't see them than that you do see them?

We are planning a trip in august, pretty much especially for the white tips. We're afraid that the only place they can be encountered in 10 years is in some tin-can with chinese labelling..