The best dive in Sharm el Sheikh

[divebunnie]

I hope you have a great time, I would agree with the others about Ras Mohammed and Tiran… Jackson reef has to be my favourite, have done it both as a gentle potter about and as a hairy drift dive, flying over the gardens in seconds¬ Fantastic! Not necessarily ideal for the first day diving of a newbie tho.

You will be taken to a local site for your first dive, and with good reason, we all know how long it takes for the coral to grow, so they are understandably cautious, and yes Ras Katy etc are not the most inspiring sites in the world.

I would try and get a second day in, at least so you can dive Tiran or Ras Mohammed.

I do want to know where the Tower is though, and Mania, I haven't been to those! Where are they? They sound fantastic.

 

[wapyaly]

Dear Petethefish, what can I say, I qualifiedopen water sept 2003, went to sharm oct 2003, my first boat dive went to 30 mtrs, water temp 30 degrees viz 40mtrs. I did a drift dive at Jackson and Ras Umm Sid, dived twice a day, saw awome fish, amazing reefs and had the time of my life. We went with Divers International at the Sofitel in Sharm, bu tplease at least sign up for 2 days boat diving! You cant just go and do 1 dive, your first one will be a check dive off the beach anyway. You will love it. i was scared ****less doing my first boat dive to 29.8 mtrs, but the instructors were magnificent and the fish, reef was so amazing I forgot about the depth, drifting along looking at it all was the best rush Ive ever had. You'll have a fabulous time. We were lukcy enough to stay at the four seasons hotel, but the standard of service in all resorts is fantastic. Have a fantastic holiday.

 

[mania]

The best dive is done on a Saturday night in the Camel bar with the live blues music and the peanuts on the floor, and beer, talking about the dives you did today with freinds you just met.

I have to disagree. I much more prefer Bus Stop as the place for fun after diving. On every Thursday there is a great House Nation Party, on Fridays a live British band is playing - guys are really good!!!! - and on Saturdays Hits Mania Party. And sometimes it really needs a lot of will to leave the place early because of diving next day!!!!If you want more details you can check here:
http://www.sharmevents.com/
Mania
PS. The New Year Party was really something... The DJ from Pacha Ibiza did a wonderful job. Thanks God we decided not to dive on the 1st Jan.

 

[divebunnie]

sorry mania,
I'm with Belushi in the Camel bar on that one… it's got that something special. Tho last time I was there it seemed that the Ocean Club sunset bar had become the place to go to mull over the day's or week's events.
anyway, that's not entirely relevant to a thread about fave dive sites so shall shut up, n let you guys carry on

 

[Paulus Magnus]

I'd vote for Jackson Reef and Thistlegorm too.

I had the pleasure of doing 4 dives on the Thistlegorm when I was there with 4 boats one day, no current and 5 boats the next day with a slight current. The Thistlegorm is an awe inspiring dive but difficult. It's also a 30m dive so you'll need more than the Open Water 18m limit if you want your dive insurance to cover you properly. The currents can be difficult and good buoyancy is required. I'd also recommend Nitrox so you can take your time exploring. I specifically did my Advanced Open Water and Nitrox just so I could dive the Thistlegorm in comfort and just happened to pick one of the best days to do it, it was well worth doing the training.

 

[grazie42]

My vote is on the Thistlegorm to...Was there last October and had 3 great dives there...as I was on a live-aboard and we were there early enough to have the place all to ourselves (timed the surface intervals to the dayboats dives)..If you do go on a dayboat you´re risking diving in a sandstorm and like Paulus Magnus said it´s @30m so not OW-territory...Maybe an AOW before you go?

 

[mania]

Well, I did Thistlegorm as a part of AOW course (the wreck diving). An OW shouldn't do it not only because of the 30m but also because of strong currents which usually (although not always) are there. But the dives are really something...
Mania

 

[dedhed]

I know that it's an imposssibility, but the best dive out of Sharm is Tom's Canyon. It's at Tom's reef and too deep for any commericial non-tech folks, but it can not be compared with any place I've ever been. A crew of us in a fool-hearted mood went into it with compressed air to about 60 meters (I know...I know... lecture, lecture, lecture). OH MY! 3 or so arches over 10 meters across, the canyon goes down and down and down...nitrogen can make memories glow!

Peace,
Stephen

 

[mania]

If you mean the canion at Thomas Reef - it goes down to 120 meters (after the third arch) - according to local (Egiptian) divers. And it's an incredible place!!!! If I have to choose between the Ccanion in Dahab and Thomas - I vote for Thomas Reef...
Mania

 

[dedhed]

If you mean the canion at Thomas Reef - it goes down to 120 meters (after the third arch) - according to local (Egiptian) divers. And it's an incredible place!!!! If I have to choose between the Ccanion in Dahab and Thomas - I vote for Thomas Reef...
Mania

That's the place! I wish I knew someone with photos of that place, wow! Now about the canyon in Dahab, it is my favorite place, maybe, in the world. It is not as spectacular as Thomas's canyon, but in Dahab's canyon I've have spent upwards of 8 hours of my life. Day or night it is a magical place, from the Fishbowl to Neptunes chair. I've only been to Sharm once and I don't think I will be able to dive Tom's canyon again, so it maybe the best dive out of Sharm, but Dahab is still my favorite in all the Red Sea.

peace.
Stephen