Red Sea Liveaboard

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Zambezi

Contributor
Messages
112
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0
Location
Johannesburg - South Africa
# of dives
100 - 199
Hi all,

My wonderful wife has decided to send me to the Red Sea on a liveaboard for my 40th birthday next year April 2008:D

I would like to spend a few days in Sharm El Sheikh, maybe Dahab, and about a week on a liveaboard. However, I have a major dilemma. The few guys I dive with and myself love wreck diving but would like to get away from all the crowds. Where do we go, North or South:confused: I've read quite a few threads (thanks Asser and Mania for your invaluable information) but still can't make a decision.

What I'd really like to know though is:

If you were spending a few days land based, would you go to Dahab or Sharm El Sheikh
Which diver operators would you recommend in Dahab or Sharm El Sheikh
Which liveaboard operators would you recommend.

Any info will really be appreciated as a trip to the Red Sea is definitely not an every year event for me.

Thanks

Derek

ps. All the divers in our group have either an advanced or rescue diver qualification and are nitrox certified.
 
Try 'Emperior Divers' for liveaboards I went on one to the North last year. It was a 'Get Wreck' tour. They were absolutely fantastic! (We stayed on the new Emperior Infinity boat)

There were other liveaboards moored at the dive sites (max 3 other boats), but it seems they coordinated themselfs so each liveaboard dived at different times - as only a couple of times did I encounter other groups at sites.

I was told 'The Brothers' is an excellent liveaboard location in the south Red Sea, with fewer boats and divers.

The 'Get Wrecked' tour, was a pretty demanding set of wrecks (most where 25m+) and AOW and Rescue certs were the norm.
 
Hi Derek,

Lucky you – you will enjoy the Red Sea, believe me.

With regards to spending a few days on land, it depends what you want – if you want to chill out, maybe do a few dives, experience a bit more of the 'real' Egypt, then Dahab is the way to go. If you want more commercialism, or want to get some good boat dives in, go for Sharm.

Now, you are in a bit of a Catch 22 situation. If you like wrecks, then a northern safari is the one for you. You will get to hit the Abu Nuhas wrecks, the Thistlegorm, the Rosalie Moller, the Dunraven, etc, however this is a popular route, so you can expect several other liveaboards around and about at the same time. Although as The Trickster said, the guides usually talk to one another and try and plan their dives so that not everyone is in the water at the same time.

If you want peace and quiet, then the offshore marine parks are a better option, but you have less wrecks. The Brothers is a cracking site and it has two wrecks, the Aida II and the Numidia, and there are a couple more in the other marine parks, but nothing like what you have on a northern safari. The dives in the marine parks tend to be walls with lots of marine life and coral growth, and the potential for pelagic action.

The other thing to bear in mind is that a northern safari liveaboard can set off and return to Sharm, but most, if not all, marine park trips go out of Hurghada or Marsa Alam, which would make it awkward for you to do Sharm or Dahab land-based beforehand. You could always get the Sharm-Hurghada fast ferry.

Dive ops, in Sharm I like Camel, Red Sea College, Emperor, Sinai Divers.
In Dahab, Dive-Urge and Poseidon Divers are good too.

Liveaboards - Emperor, Blue o Two, Tornado Marine Fleet, Flowers of Sinai, Royal Evolution.

Hope this helps,

Mark
 
Mark (the above poster) took me out for a swim in Sharm in July 2007 on a liveaboard.

The motivation of the ship's Captain and crew had a lot to do with our being placed atop otherwise crowded dive sites before the day trip boats arrived- and that seemed to be the ones to avoid. The real-deal liveaboards that happened by (even after we were tied up) made nary an impact.

All we had to do is get up when he told us to, make ready to dive, and get on with it. We would usually do two dives and be eating breakfast as the day dive boats showed up and dumped their load of "MUPPETTS" (A MarkUKism) off their fantails only to go kerplop atop the wrecks.

It's all in the liveaboard and their motivation.
 
Zambezi:
If you were spending a few days land based, would you go to Dahab or Sharm El Sheikh
Which diver operators would you recommend in Dahab or Sharm El Sheikh
Which liveaboard operators would you recommend.

Any info will really be appreciated as a trip to the Red Sea is definitely not an every year event for me.

Thanks

Derek
Derek,
If you like shore diving, it's definitely Dahab. It is also more laid back than Sharm. On the other hand, Sharm is more of a touristic city with a large variety of restaurants, night activities, etc...

There're lots of dive operators all around. It depends on the service you're asking for. In case you need a standard good service, go for one of those listed above. In case you need personalized service, look for a private guide. He'll handle everything for you and your group. The price won't differ.

Liveaboard operators differ as well. You have to decide the itinerary first. For wreck diving, it's definitely the northern route. However, expect some crowds. If you're group is large enough, you can charter a liveaboard boat and select the dive sites you want.

In case you need any help, feel free to drop me a line.
 
Thanks for all the info guys.

Decisions, decisions, decisions......................

I think I'm leaning towards the "great wreck" type tour. That way we can dive the wrecks and us bunch of hooligans can also spend a few days visiting the pubs in Sharm.
 
Ahoy,

I'm also trying to look into a Red Sea liveaboard. I've read about the brothers, but do the appropriate liveaboards leave from accessible cities? (For that matter, which are the most accessible cities?)

I'm also a wreck person by nature (Cape Town, go figure), so the Northern safari is sounding better according to this thread. When is the high season, and how much should one expect to pay for, say, a week on a liveaboard?

I haven't really researched this well, largely because I don't know where to start. It's easy to find operators, but these fora are the best place for anecdotal evidence.

Thanks,
30-30
 
JellyKing:
I'm also trying to look into a Red Sea liveaboard. I've read about the brothers, but do the appropriate liveaboards leave from accessible cities? (For that matter, which are the most accessible cities?)

I'm also a wreck person by nature (Cape Town, go figure), so the Northern safari is sounding better according to this thread. When is the high season, and how much should one expect to pay for, say, a week on a liveaboard?

I haven't really researched this well, largely because I don't know where to start. It's easy to find operators, but these fora are the best place for anecdotal evidence.
Liveaboards heading to the Brothers can sail from different places, depending on the itinerary. The most appropriate places are Hurghada, Port Ghaleb, and Marsa Alam.

The safari high season starts in April. Price depends on several factors, but the most important one is the boat specs.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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