Diving Egypt in February?

[paschen]

I just returned from a month in Egypt - little over a week diving in Dahab - and climbed Mt Sinai -17C and snow- though St Cath's was closed .

I was in a 5mm and was fine for the first 8 or so dives, then it was a little nippy- esp as I like to move along slowly admiring the scenery.

I totally adored Dahab, and am already planning on returning just after Christmas for 2 weeks this time.

I would NOT recommend Club Red - their safety was lax to the point where I ended a dive and took my buddy with me, leaving the "guide" continuing on for a good 5+mins before making sure we were ok... The worst part was that it wasn't just 1 guide - but 2 guides who couldn't have given a rats - It was only the attention of another friend (who had done 2 of her 4 OW dives) who checked her BF's air (guages on their backs) thinking they had been down longer than normal to find he was at 10bar - ON AN INTRO DIVE (happening above us) with the guide blithely ahead pointing things out. I wrote a full report and sent it to PADI as well as to the tour company who had risk assessed them. 4 of us did 1 dive with Club Red - and will never do another.
As to other companies - I am not really sure which was which when we were out - but you would see "gangs" of divers following a master or two - not my kind of dive. I was lucky enough to end up diving with a freelancer in Dahab who has been there guiding/instructing for over 10 years.

What does that mean? Simple - we would meet early (just before 8am - still munching breakfast or he would pack some for us) and he would decide then where we were going given the conditions - and we would be geared up and in the water before anyone else arrived. So we would have pristine sites - nothing kicked up - no dodging gangs of divers etc. Ditto for the second dive of the day - we moved or didn't move depending on conditions - and if we didn't move - he would time it so we didn't have company. The only two times I was in the proximity of other divers was Lighthouse (can't avoid that really though we missed most of them) and at El Bells - we went deep and just ignored them all - no dramas.

If you want the contact details, I will happily pass them on... Oh yeah - he only does small groups - couples or a few friends - none of this 6+ people business.

 

[Lingfield]

I've dived Sharm and Dahab in Feb and March. I was just about Ok in a 5mm wetsuit. The guides (who have been diving year round) find it comparatively cold and will dive in semi dry minimum. Dahab in particular has cold winds- be prepared for the wind chill factor when you get out of the water and bring warm clothes.

 

[FinnMom]

I read a couple accounts of Jan & Feb diving where folks found it a bit cold for comfort in wetsuits.(Undercurrent's Chapman was one, I think the other was letter in the UK Diver magazine). Maybe OK for a dive or two, but too cold for 3-4 dives a day for several days and less comfortable than it could have been. A hood is likely to be a big help in staying warm.

Unless your idea of warm water starts already at 8C I'd use a 7mm suit with hood or a drysuit for Jan-Feb. With a drysuit you can't go wrong because you can change how much you wear under it.

I did a northern route in late March 2013 and the water temps were 21-23C: almost everywhere 22C, twice 21C and once 23C in a shallow lagoon.