Sharm El-Sheikh F.A.Q.

[Red Sea Shadow]

Just wanted to drop by and say hello to everyone, and a special hello to Asser and Mania

Hello Wael. Will you be in Egypt soon?

 

[mania]

Just wanted to drop by and say hello to everyone, and a special hello to Asser and Mania

Geee, are you still alive?


Good to hear from you!!!!!

 

[redseadiver]

Yep, still alive! .. almost done with my master's study
If things go as planned (ISA) I will be in Egypt next May for 2-3 weeks.
can't wait for some quality dives

 

[divebunnie]

With regards to the reasons why everyone needs a guide when diving the Blue Hole... well put Red Sea Shadow. Many very valid reasons.

I work in Sharm where all diving requires a guide (except from maybe a couple of beach dives, although an accident at Shark's bay last year has probably put an end to that). Here we have not only the currents and potential swelly conditions to deal with, we also have boat traffic. This is our biggest nightmare. It used to be just the glassbottomed boats who would sit over you and your students as entertainment for their passengers who would be waving at you from the windows! (as you can imagine we would not be waving back). Now we have speed boats, who even if they saw you in the water, move sooo fast that they would not be able to change direction in order to avoid you. And for us, they can come out of nowhere. Hence safety stops need to be on a mooring line or right next to the reefplate.

Anyway, good to see a thread dedicated to diving in the Red Sea, a place no diver should miss out on visiting at least once in their diving lives.

 

[buleetu]

hi dive bunnie

i was in sharks bay in april last year when the incident happened it was really sad, and the boat that was involved was the boat we had been on just the day before, the group that were finishing off advance ow were on the boat when the incident happened and it was very disturbing and upsetting for them as well as very sad for the people involved and the familys of the people that died

was it an unguided group yes??

the boat traffic is a nightmare in sharm, nearly all the dive sites have dive boats speed boats or even that big submarine thing going by all day long, and during nearly all of the dives i done in the red sea its not uncomon to hear the boats going over head and on my first dives the sound of the boats would scare the life out of me,u know how they sound as they go overhead

we end every dive with a safety saus on the surface and well in on the reef to help stop being hit by a boat

 

[Jai Bar]

hi dive bunnie



was it an unguided group yes??


we end every dive with a safety saus on the surface and well in on the reef to help stop being hit by a boat

Does it matter if it was an unguided group? Boat-Diver and Boat-Swimmer accidents do happen from time to time, with both "guided" and "unguided" groups.

The same applies to diving accidents. Some were during "unguided" dives, others there was a "guide".

Some accidents are fatal, others people "only" get injured or nearly injured. With, or without a guide.

A guide is no guarantee for anything. Guides are human, and they can make judgment mistakes just as any other human being.

In my opinion the quantity of boats is so big, that it is a miracle that there aren't so many Boat-Diver/Snorkeler/Swimmer accidents. Regardless of guides.

People go on boats to Tiran, Ras Mo etc and not only diver there but also hoardes of snorkelers, swimmers and boats (big ones and rubber ones) mingle together in a huge mass.

In many countries, boats cannot approach to some distance from beaches were people go to swim, other places are restricted for boating only or surfing.

Wherever there is a mix, for example places where people dive but also are used for glass bottom boats, it is with potential for accidents. The problem is both Glass bottom boats and diving clubs want to make a living from the same piece of reef, and they need to coexist somehow without accidents.

One has to remember that even a guide with divers may need to surface in a place abundant with boats. This happens all the time in places like elphinstone, where all the boats usually anchored in the same corner of the reef, and zillions of rubber boats go all the time along both sides of the reef to/from dropping/collecting divers from the other corner. These guys are used to look for diver's SMBs, but in many places an SMB is also a good attraction for JetSki boats or ignorant boaters who think the SMB is a cool place to practice slalom and boat racing.

A local guide is a good idea if you are a tourist and don't know the local sites, though. However, I think a diver should always keep in mind that he is the only one responsible on his own life- many people tend to lay off their self responsibility when being led by a guide- it is a common mistake, and as I said- a guide is no 100% guarantee that everything will be OK.

 

[nachodlv]

Hi everyone. Just signed in for the board and have already learnt quite a bit about SSH... but have to keep up my "investigation".
We'll be in Sharm by mid June and are planning to stay at the Grand Rotana Hotel, not for any special reason but because that's what they've offered so far at the travel agency. Is it worth it? I suppose there'll be plenty of other places to stay but as I told you I just signed in and are getting a grip of what Sharm is all about.

I guess I'll stick around here for a while from now on....so any comments will be appreciated. BTW, I'll be going there with my wife (we're 36 and 34) for 5 days...

Keep it up!

 

[waxymud]

Hi all,
A few questions remaining;

Does anyone have knowledge, feedback, experiance or heard stories about either of these two hotels:
Sultan Gardens resort,
Sonesta Beach hotel ( not Sonesta club!)

Next, Anyone got any comments or experiance with Red sea college? ( Safe, helpfull, crowded, individual attention etc)?

Finally medical, Diarrohia (spelling). Seen lots of reports on online travel reports about people getting bad cases. Is it really that bad or prolific? how many in ten people get it? Whats best way to deal with it and best working cure?

Thanks in advance. ( I have a paranoid with who thinks she will get the "runs" for 2 weeks now and I am starting to worry incase I get it and loose my money on my AOW course if I get the runs as well and cant dive, go out, leave the bed etc...).

 

[Wet Dreams 24-7]

With regards to the reasons why everyone needs a guide when diving the Blue Hole... well put Red Sea Shadow. Many very valid reasons.

I work in Sharm where all diving requires a guide (except from maybe a couple of beach dives, although an accident at Shark's bay last year has probably put an end to that). Here we have not only the currents and potential swelly conditions to deal with, we also have boat traffic. This is our biggest nightmare. It used to be just the glassbottomed boats who would sit over you and your students as entertainment for their passengers who would be waving at you from the windows! (as you can imagine we would not be waving back). Now we have speed boats, who even if they saw you in the water, move sooo fast that they would not be able to change direction in order to avoid you. And for us, they can come out of nowhere. Hence safety stops need to be on a mooring line or right next to the reefplate.

Anyway, good to see a thread dedicated to diving in the Red Sea, a place no diver should miss out on visiting at least once in their diving lives.

divebunnie, Are you currently living in Sharm? My buddy (mikester) and I are looking for a good place to dive in the Red Sea. We live in Germany and would like to make a trip down that way soon. Any suggestions on places to stay and shops to dive with?

 

[Tigerman]

Just came back from Sharm this afternoon. A great 6 days of diving with loads of marine life varying from plankton to mantas and sharks. The sharks unfortunately far away from me, so I could only see there was something shark-like down there, but the tech diver who was also on the boat, diving twice the depth I did did confirm it was sharks that was out there.

divebunnie, Are you currently living in Sharm? My buddy (mikester) and I are looking for a good place to dive in the Red Sea. We live in Germany and would like to make a trip down that way soon. Any suggestions on places to stay and shops to dive with?

If you go to Sharm El Sheikh youll have good dives regardless, however like many other popular destinations it can be crowded at times.
Personally I use Emperor Divers when Im there, but theres loads of ops down there to choose from.