October/ Early November Diving Destinations

[blawford]

I am looking to book a holiday in the next week or so for October/November that will be diving focused and I would like some recommendations in terms of destination.

It will be myself and girlfriend, we both did SSI Open Water over New Year in Koh Tao, Thailand and haven't done anything since (so just 4 dives logged each). We are both pretty switched on, found the theory and practical elements of the course fairly easy when we did it (but are aware that we will probably need some kind of check-out dive when we go back due to the length of time off and our inexperience).

My thinking in terms of a rough plan would be to do Advanced Open Water on arrival and then some 'fun' dives afterwards for the rest of the holiday. We would be looking for a trip of around a week, I particularly want to make sure that we go somewhere with some wrecks to dive, as that side of things seems really interesting and varied.

We are from the UK so would prefer something within 6hrs flight time, something direct would be preferable. We are on a budget but obviously realise that this isn't a cheap sport!

Any suggestions appreciated.

 

[victor]

Red Sea looks like one of your bets options given the 6 hour flight limit.
Wide spread of resorts and dive operations so you should be able to find something that suits your budget.
Best of luck and remember to post a trip report where ever you decide to go.

 

[Hintermann]

Raja Ampat is ideal at that time of the year but obviously well over the 6-hour flight limit and not exactly budget. Therefore, I also feel that the Red Sea is the best option. If you shop around, you can get a sub-1000 quid all inclusive (including the flights) for a Northern Wrecks & Reefs liveaboard.

Slightly more expensive would be the Emirates-Oman dive spots but the choices will be fewer.

 

[Tippytoes12]

Yes definitely consider the Red Sea, the diving there is truly awesome, you will be very pleasantly surprised. If you don't want to do a liveaboard, then I would recommend Dahab , which is a lovely Bedouinn town with lots of Egyptian culture. The diving may not be as good as a liveaboard , but accommodation and diving are great value there. Tripadvisor is very helpful for hotel reviews.

Best fishes

 

[TheWartHog]

I also think that Egypt is your best bet although only being OW and with just 4 dives each I don't think that a Liveaboard dive boat will take you, stick to day boats once you passed your Advanced.

Been to Dahab and loved it there but I would think that Sharm-el-Sheik or even Hughada would suit you more if you want to dive wrecks. Flying time to Sharm is roughly 5 hours.

 

[blawford]

Thanks for all the replies.

Egypt was the first place I thought of when I started thinking about where to go, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something.

I think we will forego the liveaboard for now, maybe something for next time when we have a bit more experience.

Time to have a look around and see what is available, I may be back with more questions.

 

[Doc]

Agree with the above!

Most readers here here view the world not from your 0 degree Prime Meridian perspective. British divers have the Red Sea, we in the Colonies have the Caribbean. Other than your choices of cuisine, as a diver, I'd rather be a Brit.

Your access to Sharm I would see as a trolley stop route. Easy and cheap. You can't swing a dead cat without hitting a Brit in Sharm. Good dive access plus they get to taste food that has flavor. Win-win.

I don't know if Longwood Holidays of London are back up and running, but they offered great charter flights and cracking good choices of lodging. We never dive with Camel Dive, but after looking over all local options, examining several boats and chatting with various operation's counter staff, they looked like the way to go in Sharm.

 

[diverkim]

Hey, a liveaboard in October sounds great for Red Sea. Can anyone recommend some great value liveaboards?

 

[Steve A]

We are also from the u.k. and have been to Egypt 5 times and will be going back early October again. We are heading to Sharm as we do like hotel based holidays not just diving.
We did our advanced open water with reef oasis dive club in Sharm. They have quite a few instructors but you could try asking for Steve Hinton, he's british ex military, PADI and BSAC and a tech diver so really thorough but a great laugh too so you will have fun while you learn. All the instructors there are friendly and if you stop at reef oasis blue bay resort the house reef is far garden which is a great dive. Ras Mohamed, (shark to Yolanda) is a must as well as the straights of teran, Jackson, Thomas, Woodhouse are great drift dives. If you pass your advanced they might take you to the Thistlegorm which if you are into wrecks is the one to do but I think you have to log 30 dives before you go there.
We have also dived with Sinai Divers and Ocean college again decent operations. They all have websites so worth a look. If you go onto reef oasis dive club they have a link to youtube so you can see how far you are from dive centre to great diving.

 

[Edward3c]

I am looking to book a holiday in the next week or so for October/November that will be diving focused and I would like some recommendations in terms of destination.

It will be myself and girlfriend, we both did SSI Open Water over New Year in Koh Tao, Thailand and haven't done anything since (so just 4 dives logged each). We are both pretty switched on, found the theory and practical elements of the course fairly easy when we did it (but are aware that we will probably need some kind of check-out dive when we go back due to the length of time off and our inexperience).

My thinking in terms of a rough plan would be to do Advanced Open Water on arrival and then some 'fun' dives afterwards for the rest of the holiday. We would be looking for a trip of around a week, I particularly want to make sure that we go somewhere with some wrecks to dive, as that side of things seems really interesting and varied.

We are from the UK so would prefer something within 6hrs flight time, something direct would be preferable. We are on a budget but obviously realise that this isn't a cheap sport!

Any suggestions appreciated.

You could save the BSAC membership fee and more by booking you diving holiday with one of our travel partners. Places you might want to consider Malta, Cyprus, The Canaries and the Red Sea.