Red sea in May 07-What Liveaboard would you recommend?

[Aussie_Mel]

Hi all

My wife and I are coming to Egypt to dive in May 2007 and after reading alot of post on this forum liveaboard are said to be the best diving in the Red sea.

I have also read that there is alote of liveaboard operating in the Red sea so which one would you recommend?

We have never dive the Red sea before and i see there is alot of talk about the north vs south what is the difference? (other than one is north and one is south :no )

I do like diving wrecks and would love to see the Dunraven and Thistlegorm wrecks, but was concerned to read that those dive sites can be over run with divers at some times. We have had a not so good experience diving in Thailand Koh Tao were there were more divers than fish :shakehead

I would appreciate any feed back to help me with my choice in picking a liveaboard trip in the Red sea.

Thanks
Marc
:14:

 

[Christian]

Liveaboard definetely. It will allow you to cover a much larger area and also to dive more. North vs South Egypt... it's a matter of personal taste. But if wrecks are you main interest, north has definetely more to offer. The South (and off shore) is a bit wilder and perhaps more adventurous ... more sharks and fewer divers. The classic south sites Il Akhawein (Brothers) and Dedalus are liveaboard destinations only. Think GBR vs Coral Sea...

www.royalevolution.com

Haven't been on her, but on the Royal Emperor which was owned and managed by the same guy who now has the Evolution. Judging by the specs and by my experience with this guy, I woulod be very surpised if it's not the best ship to dive from in the Red Sea right now. They have a very interesting itinerary combining southern Egyptian and northern Sudanese Red Sea, which will pretty much knock the socks off anything. May will be a great time for that trip. You won't be able to dive the Thistlegorm though, but you will dive the s/s Umbrea and the remains of Jacques Cousteaus Conshelf II. The trip is two weeks, starting and finishing in Ras Ghaleb in the south of Egypt. They also run the traditional one week Egyptian off shore island trips and wreck safaris in different variations (Il Akhawein, Deadalus Reef, Sha ab Abu Hamra, Rocky & Zabargad Island, St John reef chain. It's not be the cheapest liveaboard, but if the saying 'what you pay is what you get' is true somewhere, it's in the diving industry.

You could also check out Tony Backhurst Scuba as well as Emperor Divers, which both have boats in their fleets that have been setting the standards for Red Sea liveaboards over the last couple of years.

Good luck with your trip and hope you guys have a great time.

/christian

 

[Aussie_Mel]

Thanks Christina for your reply.

Thats a big help in deciding north over south. Thoe the thought of not so crowded dive site makes me want to dive the south the thought of missing out on the Dunraven and Thistlegorm wrecks maks my mind up on the north. i just hope it not as bad as others have talked about the time i am there.

Thanks on the other recommendation i will look in to them .

Marc

 

[Red Sea Shadow]

Marc,
I believe what's best for you is a one week (wrecks and reef) liveaboard sailing out of Sharm El Sheikh. You can dive Ras Mohamed (one of the best spots), the Dunraven, the Thistlegorm, Abu Nuhas wrecks, and may be Salem Express wreck and Safaga reef if the sea conditions are favorable.

 

[Aussie_Mel]

Thanks Asser

I have read in these forums that some divers perfer diving in south Red sea, I am guessing you done some diving there, do you have any preference north or south?
if so could you in some short words say why?

Marc

 

[Christian]

Thanks Asser

I have read in these forums that some divers perfer diving in south Red sea, I am guessing you done some diving there, do you have any preference north or south?
if so could you in sort words say why?

Marc

Marc, please note that there's a difference between the south Red Sea and the Southern EGYPTIAN Red Sea. Egypt is located to the nortwestern coast of the Red Sea. Other countries that offer Red Sea diving is Sudan, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Eritrea, Djiboutij and Yemen. Once back in the 80's, there were actually liveaboard diving trips running the entire length of the Red Sea, but it normally took a month one way. Clients would join or depart in Sharm El Sheikh/Egypt, Asmara/Eritrea or Hodeida/Yemen. There were a lot of problems, however and they stopped. Today, it is only Egypt, Sudan, Jordan, Djibouti and perhaps Saudi (if you can get a visa) that can offer some level of organized diving. I know Eritrea have had some stuff running, but it seems to be very basic and the best dive spots in the north of the Dahlaks' are out of reach. There has been a boat in Yemen as well doing trips to Zubair and Hanish Islands, but it was hideusly expensive and I never heard anything about it even though I have tried to find out via several Internet forums.

good luck

/christian

 

[Aussie_Mel]

Marc, please note that there's a difference between the south Red Sea and the Southern EGYPTIAN Red Sea. Egypt is located to the nortwestern coast of the Red Sea. Other countries that offer Red Sea diving is Sudan, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Eritrea, Djiboutij and Yemen. Once back in the 80's, there were actually liveaboard diving trips running the entire length of the Red Sea, but it normally took a month one way. Clients would join or depart in Sharm El Sheikh/Egypt, Asmara/Eritrea or Hodeida/Yemen. There were a lot of problems, however and they stopped. Today, it is only Egypt, Sudan, Jordan, Djibouti and perhaps Saudi (if you can get a visa) that can offer some level of organized diving. I know Eritrea have had some stuff running, but it seems to be very basic and the best dive spots in the north of the Dahlaks' are out of reach. There has been a boat in Yemen as well doing trips to Zubair and Hanish Islands, but it was hideusly expensive and I never heard anything about it even though I have tried to find out via several Internet forums.

good luck

/christian

Yes you are right i ment to say Southern EGYPTIAN Red Sea:11doh:

Thanks for picking up that.
Marc

 

[MarkUK]

If you are on a liveaboard that knows what they are doing (such as those companies mentioned by Christian), then you don't necessarily dive the Thistlegorm when it is running with divers.

I did a trip on VIP One in July and we did four dives on the Thistlegorm. The first one was our third dive of the day, and we arrived on site as all the dayboats were leaving, which left four liveaboards on the wreck. A quick radio around and the dive guides organised it so we all jumped 30 mins after the other group, and so on, so the group in front of us were on their way up as we went down, and the same for the next group.

We then did a night dive on the wreck, again having it to ourselves, then got up early the next morning and banged in two full penetration dives through the holds before the dayboats turned up.

No crowds of divers, and the wreck is still awesome.

The Dunraven isn't a patch on the Thistlegorm, and I generally give it a miss, but if you've never done it, it is worth one dive. You will love Ras Mohammed and the Straits of Tiran.

Mark

 

[Red Sea Shadow]

Thanks Asser

I have read in these forums that some divers perfer diving in south Red sea, I am guessing you done some diving there, do you have any preference north or south?
if so could you in some short words say why?

Marc

The northern Red Sea differs alot from the southern Egyptian Red Sea. In case you like wrecks (I don't), it's definitely the north. The southern Egyptian Red Sea has large pelagics and good reef. However, most of the best sites in the south are accessible only via liveaboard boats.

My personal preference is Dahab and Ras Mohamed though