Thinking about Red Sea diving in dec/jan...questions

hey all, just a few questions,

first, what would the temperature be?

secondly, are there any nice shallow reefs? say, less than 30 feet? I'd be with a diver who prefers to dive in water less than 40ish.

third, is it common to see sharks? The shallow diver is also timid of sharks...haha

fourth, I was thinking about sharm el sheikh, is this a good choice?

fifth, I want to take my own equipment from USA to there, can you pack dive knives?

thanks!

Jack

I highly recommend the Red Sea and Sharm El Sheikh. I have made two trips there while I was living in Athens, Greece. Both trips were with Red Sea Diving College. The first trip was in 2003. On that trip I made Day Trips from the shop. I went again in 2005 and dove on their Live-Aboard, VIP One. Both trips were among the best I have made in over 30 years of diving. The thing that you should enjoy with the diver that wants to stay shallow is that the reefs there start at about 5 feet of water and slope down to at least 100 feet. I made the first trip and some friends followed me a few days later. The dive shop took all my gear and moved it from boat to boat each day, so it was ready for my dives. My friends dove one of the sites I dove a few days earlier, but they wanted to stay shallow. So, I dove the reef at about 80 feet a few days before and then dove it at about 40 feet with my friends.

On each of those dives ( and all the other dives I made over that week), there was so much to see that my neck hurt looking at things. There was coral everywhere and fish everywhere. The vis was 60 to 100 feet on all of the dives. The second time I went, I was on their Live-Aboard, the VIP One. It was an excellent platform and allowed us to dive many sites, pretty much by ourselves. You can't go wrong in Sharm.

I also made a couple of dives in Aqaba, Jordan. There the dives are all beach dives and as you are swimming across the bottom, you pass over some sand and then some rocks and then some coral and fish. At Sharm, the fish and coral is everywhere from 5 feet down to at least 100 feet.

I did not see any sharks on either of these trips. I heard reports of whale sightings and other big fish, but I did not see any of them. I saw several turtles and tons of colorful tropicals. One of the best dives there is on the Thistlegorm. It is a British Supply ship that went down the first weeks of WWII. It has trucks and jeeps and motorcycles in the holds. The main deck is at about 60 feet and it is a little more challenging because of the currents.

I would recommend that you contact Red Sea Diving College and schedule your trip through them. They have a hotel next to the shop that is cheap ( not fancy, like some of the nearby resorts, but clean and convenient). If you want top notch lodging, there are many resorts in the area. The shop is in the Naama Bay area. So, if you are looking for hotels, get one close to Naama Bay. However, the shop will pick you up in the morning and drop you off after the dives. So, if you get a hotel anywhere in Sharm, you will be fine. I ate most meals at the local Hard Rock Cafe. Even though I was living in Athens and ate a lot of that type of food, I appreciated the food at the Hard Rock.

Bottom line is Sharm is an excellent site and I highly recommend it. I hope I have answered most of your questions. I dove there in October and in July. I wore a 3 mm suit, but most people were in a 5 mm suit. Check with them to see what they recommend. Let me know what you decide and write if you want more info. Get back to me at

alanmayfield@yahoo.com


Talk to you later.


Alan

Hi Jack,
Great that you are thinking about making the trip! It's a long one for you, but I believe you will find it worth the effort.

Here are my answers based on my own experiences.

Water temps around 70-75 degrees in January. I went three years in a row in Jauary...once to Sharm and twice to Marsa Alam. Air temps around 72 during the day and around 50 or so at night. It's a bit windy then, so consider wind chill after your dives. If I go again in Jan, I'll take a 7mm suit. I was getting cold after a week diving in a 5mm.

Personally, if I were doing shallow dives, I would go to Dahab or Marsa Alam. It's mainly shore diving in those places, opposed to mostly boat dives in Sharm. Sharm has the nightlife and shopping, however. Sharm has some fantastic dives, but the ones I did were wall and drift dives in deeper water. If I had stayed shallow, the rest of the group and the guide would have been 60-80 feet deeper. And you won't be doing any unguided boat dives. If you want to dive whenever you feel like it, Marsa Alam is ideal. There are some gently sloping house reefs there.

Sharks in January. Unlikely unless you go well off-shore. Even then it's the wrong time of year. I was lucky enough to see two Oceanic Whitetips at Elphinestone in January a couple of years ago. From the accounts I later heard, that was the last sighting for a few months. They packed up and left for wherever they go in winter.

I don't bother taking a dive knife, since I've read and been told you aren't alowed to dive with one. Could be that rules are different now. You can pack one in your checked baggage. Same with gloves. The rationale is that if you don't have gloves or a knife, you'll be less likely to carve or break souveniers from the reefs. They take conservation very seriously!

You are faced with a daunting choice of dive operators. Depending on where you go, I could offer a couple of suggestions. I've been happy with the ones I dived with, but in all honesty, I've only heard about one or two out of the hundreds of centers who disappointed anyone. I'll bet you get a lot of recommendations. I haven't used Red Sea Diving College, which Alan recommended, but I have read many, many accounts of satisfied customers.

I, along with Alan, would be happy to help you with any further information.

Best regards,
Phil

I guess I should also ask is it a decent place to go for new years?
and are there things for non-divers to do?

will the weather be pleasant?

thanks again!

Aaaaagh!....
Look at my car on the way home from diving last night! Hummm... Yeah, time to pack the imodium and go somewhere warmer than here. I've never been to Egypt, and we even have an issue as to wether we should go there at all, considering we're travelling with our 6 months old son, if we get away from here after Christmas seasons. I too have some questions:

1. Small kids. He's mostly on mothers' milk so food/water is not the issue. But are there places more suitable for us with small kids? Gotta have diving near by though. And yes, we're bringing our "nanny".

2. The diving. Go on long boat trips or short?

3. Safety issues. I'm a military officer and Norway's forces has recently engaged in some heavy battles in Afghanistan. Would I be a target anywhere in Egypt? (Seriously!)

If you're traveling with your kid, I recommend doing shore diving rather than boat diving. Then Dahab would be the most suitable place.

Regarding safety issues, you won't face any problems anywhere in Egypt.

I would agree with Asser...Dahab would be a nice place for you and your family. And you will all be quite safe. As it happens, I am retired American military and have gone to Egypt the last four years in a row. I've never felt less than welcome.
I think you and your family would have a wonderful time. And the diving is wonderful!

Best regards,
Phil

Consider going to Jordan, across the way from Sinai.

Better non-diving excursions that would be educational for kids - Petra, Wadi Rum, Dead Sea, Jerash - and the diving is mostly shore diving, so you pick your own depth.
Little or no current.

I booked diving through Aquatours and had no problems.

Going back to Petra again next year, it's absolutely excellent!

Google and see.


Seadeuce

Can't say I have found any travel operators offering trips to Dahab from up here. It's mostly Hurghada and Sharm. And of those we're looking at Sharm as it seems to be more quiet there, but I wouldn't really know.

Anyways, we can get full pension hotels for a reasonable price. -Diving not included. But I suspect there will be more than a chance to get on day trips with some boat there.

Welcome To Sharm Reef Hotel (Sharm El Sheikh) Official Web Site !!!