Sudan or Egypt diving

[scubadudee]

Hi fellow divers,

Am planning a trip and needed the following advice:-

1) Which is a better choice? I know so far southern route allows good exposures to sharks like hammers, grey reefs, etc

2) The logistics- Hurghada/Marsa Alam required transfers from terminal 2 before the liveonboard can pick me up

3) The packages, any other hidden costs.

4) To go for Sudan or Egypt ? Not sure if Sudan has eased on their political unrest and the reliability of the airline.

5) 3mm shorty adequate or required more?

Appreciate your advice.

[Christian]

I've done several trips to both Sudan and Egypt. My experiences are:

1. Sudan has the better diving and it is more adventourous. Egypt also has some great diving, but it can be a bit too crowded on the popular reefs if you're unlucky.
2. Logistics to Sudan make it a 2 week destination. The one week trips leaving frpm Port Sudan is just too much travel time for the # of dives you get, inmo. Personally I would choose to go with the Royal Evolutions 2 week trip Port Ghalib-Port Sudan RT.
3. Dive permission in Port Sudan is an extra. Tip to crew EURO 25-30 per week if you're satisfied with their services.
4. Sudan is an unstable, very poor third world country and a civil war raged for more than 20 years in the south. It has been bombed by the US of A and a few years ago the Darfour situation emerged. Despite all the 'crap' going on, there has been diving organized all the time from Port Sudan. I 've been in Sudan during the civil war, I was there when the medical factory was bombed and I have been there after the Darfour conflict broke out. But I have never felt threatened or in danger. People, even though very poor, are very friendly and hopitable. And I have never heard of any viditing divers being involved in any dangerous situations. Remember Sudan is a huge country and the problem areas are far away from Port Sudan. But you have to decide for yourself if you want to go, as there are of course a certain risk involved like in everything (who though that tha Abu Sayaff would attack and kidnap people from Sipadan?).
5. Depends on the destination and time of year. The Red Sea has a tremendous variation in water temperature depending on season and location. However, for liveaboard diving, spending 3-4 hours a day in water, a 3mm shorty is seldom adequate.

good luck

[scubadudee]

Thank you for the feedback.

I tried searching for flights to Sudan Port from Dubai. Do not seem to be any available.

[Christian]

There are direct flights to Port Sudan from Cairo, Egypt every saturday night. This is the preffered route into Port Sudan. You can also go via Khartoum from some larger cities in Europe, Africa, Asia, but I'm not convinced about the domestic flights in Sudan... I'd rather go by bike.

/christian

[Christian]

Thank you for the feedback.

I tried searching for flights to Sudan Port from Dubai. Do not seem to be any available.

Just to add to my prior post, you will need help from a specialised dive travel agent if you want to go from Port Sudan, check with one in Europe (Germany, Italy, England...) that have Port Sudan on their program.

The alternative for Sudan is to go from Egypt with the Royal Evolution: Red Sea Liveaboards | Diving Safari Red Sea | Red Sea Scuba Diving | Royal Evolution (http://www.royalevolution.com)

good luck