Red Sea: where to stay and who to dive with?

[waxymud]

Has anyone had any experiance of "easy divers" in the red sea? They have 4 or 5 centres scattered around the region. Wanting to know if anyone has used them or has anything good or bad to say about them.

PS, medical certificates and egypt; where is there info on the rquirements on this forum please?

Thanks.

 

[annlaur]

Hi Waxymud
I just came back from Dahab and had a great time there.
Here is my trip report if you want more info.

Things to do in Dahab besides diving and snorkeling include chilling on the beach, going for a camel ride, horseback riding, driving a cart... Most places can arrange day trips to Petra, the white desert or Saint-Catherine, among others. Your wife could also take yoga classes, have a massage in one of the parlors on the boardwalk... Just south of town is a fancy hotel called Bayview Resort & Spa, probably very expensive but maybe the spa is accessible to non-guests for a daily fee.

If you have two weeks, why not spend one visiting sites such as Louxor then go diving and chilling in Dahab for example ? This way everyone is happy.

I wouldn't worry about the bombings. What are the chances of that happening to YOU ? A lot less than exploding your skull on the bathroom tile while getting out of the shower. From the little that I saw, Egypt is a safe and friendly country for visitors... as long as you don't get in a car at night (their driving is insane), drink tap water (the turista is not deadly, but sure bothersome) or step barefoot onto a stone fish.

You don't necessarily have to go through Thomas Cook to "save the hassle".
I bought my flight on the Internet, dealt directly by e.mail with the (rather small) hotel/dive op, they picked me up/dropped me off at the airport at Sharm el Sheikh and they had all the facilities on the premises. I'm sure most medium range places will organize transfers for you.

Wherever you choose to go, just make sure you book your diving with a reputable, long-established and safety-oriented dive center. Red Sea Shadow and Samaka can help you with that depending on your destination.

 

[waxymud]

ann,
Thank you for the information and feedback. Sadly your link is not working this morning. I would liked to have read it.
Dahab is getting a lot of good feed back here so I might be trying to get our holiday there if possible.
What are stone fish? I had seen alot of brouchures advising guests to wear 'beech shoes', but thought it was down to stoney beeches or other low water hazards. Not fish...
Thanks again.
Waxy.

 

[annlaur]

Sorry about the link, I am not very good with html codes.
Here it is again.

Stone fish or scorpion fish hide on the bottom of the sea and look just like rocks, hence their "nickname". They have venimous spines on their back to defend themselves against predators, but they're only dangerous if you step on them. They don't attack or anything. That's why you need to wear plastic shoes, booties or tennis shoes while going in the water... in the Red Sea but also in many other places accross the world. There are varieties of scorpion fish in the Mediterranean as well.

For more info on Dahab or Egypt, I'd recommand you get a copy of the Lonely Planet
(If you choose to buy only a chapter of the Egypt book online, know that the info about Dahab is located in the Sinai section, not the Red Sea)

One thing I forgot to mention : Dahab is also a top destination for windsurfing.

For the medical certificate, if you don't already have one that is less a year old, just have your regular doctor fill up and sign a form like this one (second page).
If you have a risk condition to diving, you should go to a physicist who knows about diving and have him fill it up.

 

[Dutchy1]

Does anybody have any advice on diving in Sharm? We are going on Sunday for a week. I have PADI Advanced and my partner has PADI open, we last dived in Greece in Oct'07, do all companies out there require you to do a refresher course?

Ev

 

[annlaur]

Don't know about Sharm, but I think a refresher course is a good idea, especially to get your weights right, as the Red Sea is really salty and they use AL tanks there. Besides, from what I've seen, even the easy shallow sites off the Sinai coast have many things to see.

 

[waxymud]

doing a full circle now and we are now looking at Hurghada again.

So what do people recommend? Sharm or Hurg?

Not bothered about going out dancing every night, but would like to be near a town for somewhere to look around to get out of the hotel occasionally. neither has much tourist attractions it would appear, by way of historical stuff. Sharm is about 20 years old so relativly new and hurg has more "history" to it. Sharm is moderm , sharm is more traditional. Might come down to which ever is least crowded both on the beach and in town..
Vote now please!

 

[ArthurGerla]

Waxymud, from Hurghada the closest site of historical interest is Luxor, a 8 hour bus ride away across the desert. Hurghada itself is a dump. Trust me on this.
You will be more at home in Sharm or Dahab. They have day trips to Mount Sinai and the St. Catherine convent, Coloured Canyon, as well as all the usual desert quad trips, camel riding, 'visit the bedouin' stuff, all very worthwhile. Better diving and snorkeling too.

 

[annlaur]

Not bothered about going out dancing every night, but would like to be near a town for somewhere to look around to get out of the hotel occasionally. neither has much tourist attractions it would appear, by way of historical stuff. Sharm is about 20 years old so relativly new and hurg has more "history" to it. Sharm is moderm , sharm is more traditional. Might come down to which ever is least crowded both on the beach and in town..
Vote now please!

Definitely Dahab. Nice small town, quiet, great little bedouin cafñÔ and restaurants, relaxed atmosphere, not overcrowded, friendly local people, many different types of accomodation to choose from, from the basic camps to the small hotels on the boardwalk to the plush resorts outside of town.

 

[morad_diver]

hi
theres many peole told you about egypt but no bodu told you about the real mgic place in aqaba
aqaba its the best any way you can going to my web page international arab divers village and read more out about the dive sites
or contact me at info@aqaba-divevillage.com