Sharm El Sheik Hotel/diving center recommendation

[froggie01]

Hi all,

I'm planning a trip to Sharm in the beginning of october. I've looked at packages and despite the recent price drops, the quotes are pretty high. Being in the airline industry I'm thinking of buying travel and hotel separately. Could anyone knowing Sharm let me know which hotel below has the best location for diving? I don't know which center I'll be diving with yet so if you have any recommendation thanks for mentioning them as well.

Hotels:
Sol Y Mar Sharks Bay: 2 B Entrance of Sharks Bay North Naama Bay

Iberotel Palace: Sharm El Maya Bay

Jaz Mirabel Club

Jaz Mirabel Park

Hilton Sharks Bay Resort

My intention is to be near the sea and near the diving action. Thanks for your tips!

 

[Red Sea Shadow]

Any decent dive operator will handle the transfers to/from the jetty for free (as part of the package actually), wherever your hotel is (inside Sharm El Sheikh of course!).

 

[froggie01]

thanks very much. I just contacted camel having read some good things about them on here. for a 5 day package they charge €390 or €80/day, with 2 dives per day. This is what I pay to dive in the Med in France or Italy. I'll be honest I thought Egypt would be cheaper. I understand you may work for a dive center in Sharm but leaving that alone for a minute, what are the other dive centers worthy of attention at the moment? I understand some may be in the process of shutting down or may not be in a position to offer trips to Ras Mohamed and Tiran everyday.
What I'm looking for is good equipment and the ability to see the best dive sites in Sharm.

I appreciate there have been threads on the matter in the past but I feel the information of threads from a few years ago might need to be refreshed. Thanks.

froggie

 

[Red Sea Shadow]

The bigger ones are Camel, Red Sea Diving College, Ocean College, Emperor, Werner Lau and Sinai Divers.

 

[froggie01]

Thanks for your replies; How about hotels with a good house reef for snorkeling? This would narrow it down a lot.
cheers,

 

[diverLux]

Hi,

Have a look at he Iberotel Fanara, they have a dive centre - Diving & Discovery- but I did not use them found them expensive instead I booked with -TGI Diving- who have since moved in with -Dive In- at the Renaissance Golden View just across the street from the Iberotel.
The Iberotel Fanara sits on top of a cliff with stunning views over the bay, they have their own small beach at the bottom of the cliffs great for snorkeling .
The TRAVCO Marina where the dive boats leave is just minutes away.
I am thinking of booking for next month myself .
Contact Jill Falkous in London +44 (0) 20 88168725 she is a great girl and very helpful info@tgidiving.com

Note: don't confuse this hotel with the Faranaa Reef Resort nearby !

 

[Red Sea Shadow]

Personally I don't like any of their house reefs.

 

[Hillmorton Scubie]

Don't get the Hump with Camel's prices - only a fool would pay 80 Euros/day to dive.
There are plenty of operators that want your business at a decent price in these times of few customers.
Have a look at Ocean College, they have a £99 offer for 4 days boat diving including free Nitrox. Elite Diving (British owned - well Welsh actually) offer 2 tank day boat diving at £30/day (£150 for 5 days).

 

[Mooseman1007]

Ill put a +1 for the RedSeaCollege, they have been great with us on our last 2 visits (and were are going on their liveaboard VIPONE in a weeks time!) They maybe arent the cheapest but the staff are excellent, the rental equipment is good, and they offer free pickups as needed. They give 15% discount on dive packages prebooked from the UK (~200 Euro for a 5 day/10 dive pack !). I cant pass judgement on the other operators as ive not used them, but heard good things about Emperor, Sinai, and Ocean College
Hotel wise, AVOID the Kahramana ! (it was a last minute deal so choice was limited......either way.....JUST DONT !!!). Last trip was in the Hilton Fairouz, in the middle of sharm. Nice hotel, decent staff and close to everything you need (but quiet !)
Dont think youll find too many crowds either way !
Have fun
Mooseman

 

[Crowley]

Expect Sharm to have a basically European price list - from the dive centres to the restaurants.

Less expensive diving is available in other locations but the diving is not so spectacular - it's still great, but I guess it depends a little on your priorities. Check out individual dive centre's websites and see what you are actually getting for your money. Some dive centres offer discounts for pre-booking, and you might find an Easyjet flight and a cheap hotel for your stay here, cheaper than available package deals.

When it comes to your dive centre of choice - well, yes, some have shut down, but the bigger centres are still ticking over. There are some excellent smaller centres out there but they don't always have the resources to guarantee daily trips to the locations you wish to visit. Talk to the dive shops in advance. Anybody who cares will get back to you as soon as they can and explain everything thoroughly.

As for hotels - well I can't comment on the room service at any of them but i recommend being in Na'ama Bay or Old Sharm/Hadaba for diving. There are plenty of places up in in Nabq, but it's a bit more inconvenient getting around from there, I think. If you're not located close the dive centre, there should be a free hotel pickup.

Hope that helps a bit,

C.