Trip to Sharm scheduled for feb 27 - march 4th. Are we crazy to still be considering?

[nikos81]

@Crowley How long do you thing it will take until things sttle down as it was before? I think I will be back in Sharm and maybe it will not be too far from now. Who knows...Diving is indeed great there and at the Reefs you mentioned, I had some really good drift dives

 

[Crowley]

Nikos I would dearly love to answer your question but the truth is, I have no idea. The big demonstrations last Friday were not the turning point we expected (or feared, perhaps). The protests continue daily with a promise for bigger crowds every Friday after prayers - at the moment we are just waiting to see what happens.

C.

 

[pconsidine007]

Firstly, would like to thank all who contributed to this thread. Although we still haven't made a final decision on whether we're going to Sharm (will commit one way or the other tomorrow), this thread has certainly helped inform our decision.

DeepGeek - I think I may have misunderstood what you were saying above, but in any case, I got some clarity on DAN's coverage.

I spoke with DAN this morning to gauge whether DAN insurance (for emergencies & accidents) is valid when traveling to a country where the state department has issued a travel warning. They confirmed that DAN would indeed cover any emergency medical expenses in the event of a diving accident. They did confirm that they would not be held accountable, if for some reason emergency services were unable to reach an accident victim, due to civil unrest.

I'm not sure what is meant in you message by "travelguard". After reading it again, I'm guessing it might be more of a "trip insurance" then "dive accident insurance". In either case, I feel reassured that I've navigated the details and am glad you raised the issue.

 

[DeepGeek]

To clarify, Travel Guard are the actual providers of trip insurance for DAN that resells (in the US).
Travel Insurance: Travel Guard - Trip, Medical/Health & Accident Coverage
i.e. Travel Guard actually is the insurance company.

Not to be confused with DAN's TravelAssist, which is a service offered to DAN members which covers medical issues solely related to diving, not general travel.

Confusing, eh? I only started using DAN when my old insurance company left the market (Dive Safe, which was underwritten by Willis). It was a much simpler policy...

 

[gabrieloak67]

I've got a trip to Dahab booked mid March and am considering what to do. Thing is, it was a treat for my 12 yr old daughter, to take her out there and have her do her Open water PADI course during the first part of the trip then do a few dives together at the end of the week. I really hope things settle down, cos while I don't mind a little danger myself I'm doubly cautious where she is concerned... She was worried enough about the shark attacks in Sharm and now has seen this unrest on the TV.

What's happened is (hopefully) great for the Egyptian people but the uncertainty surrounding our trip is not great..

 

[ameneon]

It's possible that this will drag on for several months so I hope the warning is lifted soon - the vast majority of tourists here are of course from Europe and Russia so a drop in American visitors won't hurt us, but if other countries start playing copycat then we are royally screwed.

Although a small country for instance Norway went way beyond just a warning. On 30th of January all the travel agencies cancelled all flights until 25th of February. One week later they extended this date until the end of April. The first cancellation affected 3000 people, not sure how many more for March and April. But probably quite a few since Egypt is quite popular during winter time here. And I think Swedish travel agencies have done the same as in Norway as the biggest ones are the same as here...

 

[drbill]

I had hoped to go to the Red Sea in 2001... and 9/11 happened. I had hoped to go to the Red Sea this spring... and the Egyptian people rose up. I'm beginning to think I'm a jinx! But I still plan to get there eventually... maybe next year.

 

[divebunnie]

Hi there, for GabrielOak and DrBill, to reassure you, all is calm in the Red Sea resorts of Sinai. I am based in Sharm el Sheikh, and as Crowley said, had we not been transfixed by our television sets, we would never have even known that a revolution was underway! It has been quite bizarre how Sharm and I am sure all the other Red Sea resorts have remained in a little bubble of calm and tranquility. With business ticking along as usual. In fact now particularly tranquil, as the only tourists remaining are the British! We can thank the more reserved reaction of our Foreign Office for that.

In reality this has made some of the diving incredible. Gone are the disrespectful tourists, who walk on the reef, litter the place and try to feed the fish. And gone are the noisy speed boats and disturbing glass bottomed boats for the time being. I had a completely silent dive the other day (other than my bubbles) which has been quite a rare thing in Sharm over the last couple of years. And we are getting the shy sealife returning... regular milk fish sightings in the Gardens, along with eagle rays and all the rest.. quite fantastic. And again, as Crowley mentioned, there are no other divers! Chances are, you are the only boat on a mooring, and that really is quite fantastic. Too many divers in the water in recent years has often been quoted as the one drawback of diving here... well for the time-being, that is a thing of the past.

Do keep your eyes on the situation, especially if you are not British, as has been mentioned regarding insurance etc. However you can set your minds at rest, as there has been no violence here at all. Only happy celebrations the other night when Mubarak finally resigned.

 

[InTheDrink]

I had hoped to go to the Red Sea in 2001... and 9/11 happened. I had hoped to go to the Red Sea this spring... and the Egyptian people rose up. I'm beginning to think I'm a jinx! But I still plan to get there eventually... maybe next year.

Dr Bill,

If you could kindly post here or PM me when you've firmed up dates for your trip that would be appreciated - I can make sure I've booked for a different time

J