Anyone diving from Saudi Arabia?

[smfcpacfp]

I ran into a pilot who worked for the Saudi government for a couple of years. His wife was a scuba diver and he said she dived form a site in Saudi Arabia and the virtue was that it wasn't crowded and the diving was good, but it was difficult to get a visa.

Anyone care to comment? My wife and I plan to dive in the Red Sea next summer, so we are starting to make plans.

[driftwood]

If you are Muslim, not a problem. If not, there is no chance in this world. Virtually no tourist visas to nonbelievers. A very intolerant country. My wife grew up there, ARAMCO, and it is rare that they are able to return.

[andshand]

driftwood has it bang on, if you are non muslim or dont work there forget it.
look on the bright side, it makes the decission process easier!

[smfcpacfp]

Thanks for the heads up guys. I am still going to check out getting a visa, but I will work on alternate plans.

[katdiver]

I was in SA for over 10 years with my wife. As far as I know getting in is ok with a tourist package. The most open city is Jeddah where most of the diving goes on. There you can get day boats or choose one of the many hotel/resorts where they have their own private beaches, some exclusive to non arabs and where the dress code is western and you wont get any hassle. The Sheraton and the Al Bilad hotels I recommend for diving, you have walls at the end of the beach that go down and down..... We often used the Al Bilad for the day and I even took scuba diving classes there. The Sheraton also has a number of villas on its beach resort. Boat diving, the sites can be very pretty and with a good selection of wrecks, some sites though, further north, I thought had been dynamited, hope they dont take you there. The boats are modern and the arab and western crews know their stuff. When I left I heard there was a new liveaboard going to go down to Farasan. Dived there, it's wild!