Sharm Liveaboard vs. Hotel/Day Dives

[Squbanut karen]

Hello Evil Clown, (now there's a handle!)

I spent one week onboard a live-aboard in 2000 with a group of 15. ' Had a fantastic time. Food was always good - although not earth shattering. (But,... traveling is all about trying out new foods and adventures!) The best part of my live aboard experience was being able to dive 3-4 times per day and not having to worry about any of my equipment, as the staff looked after everything. Between dives, you didn't have far to go for a bite to eat in the galley (kitchen). Or ... you could grab a leisurely power-nap in the sun (or shade) on the deck or in your cabin.
The comraderie and 'fish tales' after every dive were great too. Awesome photo opportunities with plenty of sealife!

In the evenings, most of our group discovered that we liked sleeping under the stars at night...so we'd bring our blankets and pillows to the upper deck and grab one of the chais lounge mats for extra comfort. When you woke up in the morning... you could start your day with a morning dive. When you surfaced... breakfast was served! I have also experienced many hotel/dive trips over the years and enjoyed them immensely. In my opinion ... go on the live-aboard trip, if you only have 3-4 days on the Red Sea!! Take only pictures... leave only bubbles.
Good luck! Squbanut Karen.

 

[farsidefan1]

You are going to love this trip. I have been to Fiji, GBR, Tahiti and numerous Carribean locals. The Red Sea is either the best or tied with the best I have seen. Schooling hammerheads are available in September, that I know for sure. Enjoy!!

 

[Scubadad1]

Hammerheads and Thistlegorm on a northern liveaboard are totally do-able in May. Most northern liveaboards will do a couple of dives in Tiarn at least and the weather should be warm enough , and calm enough, to do the back of Jackson where the hammerheads live.

 

[Red Sea Shadow]

The possibility of seeing hammerheads in May is very little, IMHO. Hammerheads were frequently spotted in the back of Jackson between July and September.

But maybe the global warming thing has another opinion

 

[evilclown]

New dilema. i have 4 days to dive total. the only liveaboard i've been able to find for those days is a 3 day trip. it leaves on the night of my first day there which means that i would be able to do a regular boat dive in the morning before the liveaboard takes off. I’ve been told that the dives on the first day of the liveaboard will most likely be the same dives I will do on the regular boat the day prior the so called “introductory” dives. Also the liveaboard is not guarantying any sort of itinerary and says it will depend on weather conditions and experience level of the rest of the divers. It is only a 3 day liveaboard with the first day being “repeat dives” and the other days “to be determined”.

So if I’m in sharm for 4 days of diving then is it worth taking the liveaboard with no set dive sites or am I better off hoping on a different boat every day and going exactly where I want.

I understand that 1 day is mandatory “introduction” dive in the Red Sea. Then correct me if I’m wrong but it appears that 1 day I should go to the “thislegorm” and 1 day to “ras Mohamed” which leaves 1 day open to go to wherever . . .

If I’m stuck on the liveaboard then I will have really only 1.5 days to split between thislegorm and ras Mohamed and no extra day. This is assuming they even go there as they won’t say exactly where they are going.

If I stay on land can I pick and choose where I want to go everyday even if it means jumping around and using different dive ops each day.

I’m traveling half way across the world to dive for 4 days and want to make sure I get to see the really good stuff and not what somebody wants to show me out of convenience.

Any suggestions?

Any must see dive sites while in sharm if I only have 4 days?

Thanks.

 

[Red Sea Shadow]

Almost all diving in the Red Sea is subjected to sea conditions. The best sites in Sharm IMHO are Ras Mohamed, Tiran, and Thistlegorm.

 

[suestu]

Normally I would vote for the live aboard at the Red Sea. If you only have a couple days and you don't know the schedule.....I don't know, maybe find a good dive company and go from there.

We tried in Aug to get a live aboard at last minute couldn't do it, so stayed at the Ritz, had to take the bus every morning to the docks, wait up to an hour for the boat, with a 'ton' of people. Diving was great though (1st time in Sharm, 3rd time Red Sea) We choose each day where we wanted to dive.

Also dove the Thistlegorm, had to leave at 4:00a.m. oh, it was super watching the sun rise over the Strait of Tiran....and the dive, totally worth the trip and I would do it again.

Have fun...I'm off to the Maldives Feb 14th