Help!! First time to Sharm

Hi Everyone

Sorry if this has been covered before. We have booked to go to the Tropicana Grand Azure in Nabq bay this August. There's myself and youngest daughter who will just snorkel, but my husband and 12 year old will just have completed their PADI open water course before we go.

Lots of questions as we are very new to all of this!! Firstly some of the posts have got me a bit concerned about the safety of the red sea, especially with a child being involved- should I be worried? Also who should we look to dive with and should we be looking at full or half day dives as they are beginners? Sorry so many questions

We will buy masks and snorkels and I guess fins (is that the right terminology??) before we go and take those, but presumably they can hire the rest. Will this be included in the cost of the dive or will they have to hire separately. Hopefully the water will be warm enough not to need wetsuits

Thanks for any advice- I guess that those who just want to dive wouldn't stay where we are, but to keep divers and non divers all happy it seemed a good choice at the time

Pam

Hi and welcome.
Can't help you much with specifics about Sharm as I have never dove there, so I'll just answer the questions I can and let someone more knowledgeable provide the rest of the info you're looking for.

First, yes, you definitely want to buy your own masks. It's a pain in the *** to dive with a mask that doesn't fit, so go to a dive shop and try them all until you find one that will stick on your face without putting on the strap or having to suck it in through your nose.

Snorkels are obviously important for… snorkellers, but not so much to divers (in my opinion), so no point in buying fancy ones for your son and husband.

For the fins, there are several options. The water will be warm, but if you are planning to enter the Red Sea from the shore, I'd recommand buying booties and adjustable fins. You DON'T want to walk barefoot on a scorpion fish or an ursin, and it's hard to keep your balance if you enter the water with the fins on. Especially with a tank on your back and a weight belt.

All the equipment can be rented, the divers will probably need an exposure suit (3 mm shorty or full suit) to stay warm throughout the dive, and for the snorkelling, covering your body with a long sleeve shirt and pants would be smart to prevent sunburn...

Most if not all diveshops charge extra for the equipment, you can get a package that includes suit, regulator, BCD and even fins and snorkel. Some will charge you per dive, others per day. Tanks and weights are included in the price of the dive.

Diving once or twice a day ? Up to them, really. Diving does tire you a lot (but it's such a blast !!!), so allow for lots of rest time if they do two dives a day.

One piece of advice : whichever shop your men dive with, they should hire a private guide, at least for the first dives. It costs about 10 to 20 euros extra per dive (total, not per diver). They should let him know that they are beginners and want to do easy, shallow dives. This way the divemaster can focus his/her attention on them, help them getting the proper weighting, etc...
I did this on my last trip and it was money well spent.

No reason to worry. Just remind your son (and husband) of the basic rules of scuba diving :
* always exhale when ascending
* always ascend slowly
* stay with your buddy at all times
and, most important :
* never feel bad about calling a dive. If it doesn't feel right, for any reason, then it's always OK to ask to end the dive.

Hope that helps and that you'll get more answers to your questions. Have a great vacation !!!

Thanks- do they not have someone from the boat go down with them? I had assumed that someone would go with them as a matter of course, the dives aren't cheap so I thought that would include a guide. Shows how much we still have to learn!!!

Pam

Pam,
Anne means you hire a private guide for your group only so that you be the only divers with him; more focus thus more safe and fun