Red Sea diving options - June 2010

Touring Israel & Petra. Trip ends Eilat early June 2010. Experienced diver, travelling solo, looking to spend another week (or so) diving Red Sea. Prefer to avoid highly touristed/cattleboat scenes as much as possible. Would consider liveaboard (preferably < 7 days). Might be able to fly to Cairo, but not sure how this can best be accomplished from Eilat, or even if it is feasible. Alternatively, what are the best options accessible by land from Eilat?

Any and all suggestions highly appreciated...

By land from Eilat I'd say either Dahab or Sharm. A liveaboard (3 or 7 days) is doable from Sharm and a laid-back vacation is doable in Dahab.

From Eilat you can cross the border to Egypt/Taba, in which you'll find a meager bus service to Nuweiba, Dahab, Sharm El Sheikh and even buses to Cairo (it is a lonnnng waaaayyyy).

There is a taxi station which can take you to any of these destinations- they usually take 5-7 passengers so if you are alone you can expect to pay en exorbitant fare.

If you're aiming to dive "northern sinai" like in Dahab (mostly shore-based diving, but really good IMO) or take a live-aboard from Sharm then Eilat-Taba-Dahab/Sharm is the way to go. If you are booking in advance with some liveaboard operators, perhaps they can help you arrange a reasonable transportation?

If you are opting for "southern routes" (going south from Hurghada, Marsa Alam etc)- you should take into consideration that "getting there and away" from Eilat is going to consume more time, so if you have only 7 days including travel time, it will reduce the time available for diving to 4 days (5 at best)..

Looks to me that the best option for you is to choose northern Sinai.

From where is your return point, by the way? Do you have to go back to Israel or you are flying from Egypt? It may be taken into consideration too..

Sharm has very good diving,the problem is that it's crowded like hell especially in the summer,cattleboat scene indeed,plus nowdays it's a rather "big" and busy town with shopping malls and stuff.
Dahab is much more relaxed,a completaly different atmosphere.Diving is virtually all from land but very good only if you're certified to go deep IMO.
If you happen to be a certified,so called,"technical"diver you might consider a tech safari from Sharm.That should provide you with a less crowded boat or at least with only experienced diving companions.
That said Dahab is the place for me,I'm an affecionado and i'll be there again in a month or so for a wreck tech safari

Thanks for you replies and valuable information.

As I see it, Dahab (shore based)and/or a Sharm liveaboard are good options, BUT there is the logistical issue of getting from the border to either town. How far from the border is Dahab, what is "exhorbitant", and what dive companies offering liveaboards might be able to do the transfers?

Based on your information, I am considering reversing the trip to START in Egypt. I am travelling on frequent flyer miles from North America and can (usually) fly into one city and home from other. It may be possible to start in Cairo and fly home from Tel Aviv or stop off in Europe and fly directly to one of the ports.

Is this a better option both logistically and with respect to diving?

I notice there is alot of attention placed on dive experience/logged dives to qualify for some sites/itineraries. I am a PADI instructor with Nitrox Cert. I dive regularly, but don't typically log dives. Would I need to re-create a logbook for the better sites on this trip?

Thanks again..

Dahab is around 130 KM (80 miles) from the border. The liveaboards are in Sharm though, which is around 100 KM south of Dahab (230 KM from the border).

Normally liveaboard operators in Sharm arrange transfers only inside Sharm (from and to the hotel or airport).

Being an instructor the logbook isn't a big issue.

The distance from Cairo to Sharm or Dahab is in the range of 500-600Km, so I am not sure if it is better, on the opposite.

As to buses & taxis from Taba, I am not sure what the prices are as I haven't used them in years. I remember something like 6-8EGP for the bus (which used to leave from Taba only once or twice a day, and I suspect it hasn't changed).

The taxis used accumulate 5-7 passengers and sharing the the cost, which was like 50-70EGP for each passenger- but they leave as soon as the cab is full with passengers. If you are alone and there aren't many tourist to share a taxi, you may have to pay the whole price by yourself- I can only guess that a taxi will try to charge you something like 100-150 US$ if you are alone (bus probably about 2-3$).

If you book a liveaboard with any operator from Israel, they will take care of the transportation arrangements. However, there aren't many so you are quite limited in choice. I don't know if you contact a local operator in Sharm if he can- or is willing- to arrange transportation for you from Taba- but it is worth asking.

Another option worth consideration could be a Taba-Dahab or Taba-Sharm liveaboard. Sure, most of the sites along this route can be also accessed from shore, but some of them are quite hard to get from land (only by camel or 4x4) and you will definitely be the only boat in the area- no "cattleboat scenes" whatsoever.

In many aspects, sites along this route like Ras Mamlach, Ras Abu Galum, Gabr el bint, Nabeq etc are as good as any others in the red sea and by far less crowded, and from a boat you can dive also the more popular sites like Dahab's blue hole or Canyon very early in the morning, before the hoards of divers arrive from Dahab.

It is not "the best dive sites scenario" but it is really far far away from crowds... There aren't many operators doing this line, though. You can try inquiring at Taba's Aqua Sport dive club, or in www.seaqueen.co.il for more information.

I am making some inquiries based on your valuable information. Thanks again for your replies. They were much appreciated. I'm sure I will have a wonderful trip!

Think about getting in touch with some of the tour operators that take trips to Petra from Sharm. You might be able to get a bus ride with them and then do the diving last by routing yourself Isreal, Petra, Sharm/Dahab. Just a thought.