Travel to Egypt for diving

Hey all, my son and his wife live in London and want me to go with them to do a week of diving in Egypt on the Red Sea. The trip is being organized by a local dive shop in London. I have two questions:

1. Any thoughts on how safe it is for Americans to travel to Egypt? I have never been in that part of the world but we all see a lot of unrest in that area.

2. This is the link to where we would be diving and staying and I was wondering if any of you have any idea as to whether it is a good location The London Scuba Diving School - London Scuba - Scuba Diving Courses in Central London "Probably the UKs largest and most friendly PADI Scuba Diving School & Club".

Regards,

Bill

You will get more answers in the Red Sea section - and this is where I'm moving this thread. BTW - in the Red Sea you can search for MarekK posts - he is an American and travells to Egypt.

Mania

I just made a trip to Egypt including 8 days diving in Sharm El Sheikh in November. The diving was great but it is VERY busy, on my first visit to the straits of Tiran we tied up on a reef where there were already more than 20 other boats. I loved the diving, but with all those boats moving around it's not exactly quiet. Other spots were much less busy, but we encountered at least one group from another boat on the majority of our dives.

As for safety, I wouldn't worry at all. The most stressful part of our trip was dealing with all the people trying to get a taxi for us at the airport in Cairo. There are very few Americans in Sharm, so it makes a pretty poor target for attacking America. Unless you advertise it most people will probably assume you are British. I did meet one American woman who was staying at the same Hotel and was out diving one day, she seemed entirely unconcerned with safety issues. I'm sure there are a few radicals somewhere in Egypt that hate Americans, of course they are in America, and the UK, and pretty much everywhere else in the world too.

I didn't dive with Camel divers while in Sharm, when researching who to dive with they were well regarded. You can search in the ScubaBoard - Red Sea forum for much more info.

Scott S.

I was there just a touch over a year ago and split 10 days between Cairo and Sharm. I can say it was one of the best trips I've ever been on. Between all the history with the Pyramids etc. in Cairo and the excellent diving in the Red Sea I couldn't have dreamed of a better trip.
The question of safety is an interesting one, I did feel safe the whole time. Myself, I felt reassured that everywhere I went they ran me through a metal detector and x-rayed all my bags, it was unusual but comforting. On the other hand I think it's a bummer that this is what they need to do, but I wasn't going to let that stop me. I would go and do it again if I could, very worth it.

If you're there in early April, I'll see you then!

i have organised trips there for the club and we take a trip there every year . sharm el sheik is fantastic it is also very safe in the resort area . the security is that strict that you couldnt even catch aflu off the locals .

diving is fantastic and is well worth the trip .

we have dived with 3 dive operators there and all where very professional

Thanks all for the input. I feel much better about the travel. Has anyone stayed at the Camel Hotel and Dive Club? If so, how would you rate this facility? Also, what recommendations can you make regarding what to bring when traveling to that region, anything to be aware of, any suggestions would be welcome.

Regards, Bill

Egypt is great, and there is a big deal of foreigners there all the time. I, presonally, find it safe and have no problem wandering around. Depending what You are looking for, there are several destinations there, all of them offering certain advantages over the other. Sharm is busy, but great for day trips for wrecks and local reefs, Marsa Alam is also said to be nice for diving (not that great if You are looking for some shopping or out-of-hotel fun). But to me, best of all is Dahab, with it's cafes and restaurants along the bay, and Blue Hole and Canyon for diving.

mania:

in the Red Sea you can search for MarekK posts - he is an American and travells to Egypt.

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Well, I'm a rank amateur Egypt dive traveler compared to Mania. But, yeah, you'll see in my other posts that I've always felt very safe. And welcomed.

I'll bet, though, that Egyptian security in the Sinai is going to be tighter than usual, because of what's been going on farther north...

--Marek

Marek K:

Well, I'm a rank amateur Egypt dive traveler compared to Mania.

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But I'm not American darling...
how is life? maybe it's time for a lunch? Or a dinner?
What do you think?

Mania