Novice diver heading for Sinai. HELP!!!

[stecampb]

Hi Everyone,

Basically I need your help.

I am planning a dive holiday in Sinai around mid-August and as I have never dived or been to Sinai before wondered if you could help me. I will be travelling alone so would like somewhere with a bit of life and kinda interesting outside of the dive environment.

1) As I am a novice would I be right in only going for off shore diving? Surely Livaboards are suited to more experienced divers.

2) I am looking for a 'All Inclusive' package holiday to take away all the stress of having to sort this or that out. If anyone could recommend a good travel agent that specialises in package holidays please give me a shout.

3) Also by the end of the holiday I'd like to be certified. Is the 'Padi Open Water' the course I am looking for or are there other courses equally recognised and respected?

Thanks Guys....

[DutchDown]

travel operators in Holland offering dive trips to Egypt. Check out these links www.duiknet.nl or www.duikplas.nl or www.duiklinks.nl

You should have no problems finding something. As a matter of fact, there are a couple of operators who include the PADI Open Water Course as part of the package. That's the first certified step. The Discover Scuba Diving and Scuba Diver courses do not result in certification.

I am a new diver myself and am considering traveling to the Sinai myself as soon as I can. I was especially attracted to the destinations offering shore diving.

I hope the links help.

Phiol

[nickjb]

Egypt is a great place to learn and it is great for novices too. I wrote up a little about my experiences of the various locations that might help your choice:

http://www.timecities.com/Members/vtoy/egypt

Live-aboard is great but you will get far more out of it once you have a little experience

<edit>
My website is playing up (must get a new one)

Here is the text bit:

"A couple of years ago I spent a few months in Egypt. I have since been back a couple of times. Here is a little bit of information about the various places to dive. It is all based on my own experience and opinion.

Firstly, it is all good. I have dived in quite a few places but I have always had good diving in Egypt. There are several different places to go diving and each has its own character.__
The two biggest resorts are Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada, both have their own airports with direct flights from Europe.


Sharm El Sheikh

Sharm El Sheikh is split into two resorts (although they pretty much join); the old town and Naama Bay. Naama Bay feels like a European Riviera resort. It is clean and modern with wide, cheerful streets. There are lots of bars and restaurants and a nice strip of public beach. I haven't explored the old town. Of the popular resorts, Sharm is the most expensive place to stay and eat by some margin

The diving is mostly by day boat. I've never shore dived here and have heard mixed reviews about the quality of the reefs close in. The day boats leave in the morning at around 9:00 and arrive back around 4:00. The main sites are the four reefs in the Straits of Tiran. There is a range of deep, shallow and wall dives here and good chance of seeing sharks. Day trips to Ras Mohamed national park and The SS Thistlegorm are readily available.



Hurghada

Hurghada has seen a lot of development but I don't think much planning happened before the building work. From certain angles it is ugly and full of concrete. It is a lot less sterile than Sharm and can get pretty lively at night. The town is split into three and it spreads out in a thin strip along the coast. At one end is the old town with a few bars and plenty of hotels, in the middle is the new town with a lively (for Egypt) main street and at the southern end is the resort strip with the multinational hotels. A minibus will take you between areas for about 1 Egyptian pound (although the price can vary from 25 piestras to 10 pounds). I spent a long time in Hurghada and found it a really down to earth place. One downside is the lack of public beach. All of the nice bits of coastline are owned by hotels so if you are not staying in one of these you need to blag your way in or pay a fee.
Like Sharm, the diving is mostly by day boat.

I did a few shore dives here and the reef were pretty dead. The day boats also leave in the morning at around 9:00 and arrive back around 4:00. There are few islands off the coast and most of the diving is in the strip between these islands and the mainland. The terrain is a flat sandy bottom with with coral reef reaching almost to the surface. Small stingrays are common as are dolphins. Some reefs are better than others; most of the day boats like to go to the reefs that are closer in but if you can talk you captain into going a little further out the diving gets better.


Dahab

Just up the coast from Sharm (1 hour by taxi) is Dahab. People say it is like Sharm was 10 years ago. The resort is far less developed but this is slowly changing. Lots of big hotels are starting to spring up out of town. The old town is still pleasantly quaint with small restaurants around the bay. It doesn't have the hippy vibe of old but is still a pretty relaxing place.
The diving is all shore based on the unbroken reef that runs along the coast. This has more fish per square inch than anywhere I have dived although large fish are rare. The lack of development makes for lots of nice coral. Shore diving allows you to head back into town for a long relaxing lunch. Great if you take non-divers


Live Aboard

If you like diving then a live aboard is great. You can dive as much as like with minimal effort. You also get to go to sites that the day boats can't get to or at least get there earlier. There are two popular routes in the Red Sea, South and North. North takes you near the land resorts and offers sheltered diving. There are a lot of good wrecks available on this route, most sit at 30m/100ft. South is a bit more exposed and you are at the mercy of the weather. Sharks are more common on these trips.
On a live aboard you are on the boat all day every day. I thought this might be a bit dull so I took a few books. For me the time just flew by and I barely read. Most of the conversation is about diving which may or may not appeal. All live aboards are not the same and the level of luxury is quite varied, choose wisely.


Alexandria

OK, this isn't the Red Sea, this is the Med. The main attraction here is the remains of Cleopatra's palace and the Pharos. These can be found in and around the harbour in shallow (<6m/20ft) water. The sea has damaged the remains to the extent that it is just a pile of rocks but you can still make out pavements, carvings and small sphinxes.__

The city is very large and most definitely not a holiday resort (although the population of Cairo heads here in the summer heat) but there is a lot to see and do and tonnes of history and lots of nice hotels."

[Louie]

I went to Dahab in January this year and had a lovely time. I met both certified divers and a few who were doing their Open Water Course. For someone with your interests, I would recommend it over Hurghada or Sharm because:

Most of the sites are shore-dives.

There are other activities (the village is a nice place to hang out and chill). It's quite a charming place, Dahab whereas Sharm and Hurghada are big tacky places with large hotels.


I stayed at the Bedouin Moon and dived with Reef 2000 which is on-site and considered one of the more professional and organised outfits in Dahab. You can check out
http://www.reef2000.org/

Have a great trip and good luck.

[sundtzu]

Louie hit the nail on the head. I'd have to cast a vote for Dahab as well for novice divers. I've been living in Egypt since March and diving nearly every weekend in either Sharm or Dahab. There is plenty to see at reasonable depths around Dahab, also never any particularly strong currents. Around Sharm the currents can be strong, sometimes making for difficult shore diving. If you are planning on staying for a length of time (2 wks or so) I would consider doing the certification in Dahab and logging a few dives then maybe do an overnight boat trip at Sharm to see the big fish. I base out of the Dive In shop myself:
http://www.diveindahab.com
Good luck!

[Mike Bialecki]

I'll also be traveling around Egypt and doing some diving in August. I have a very specific question for those of you who have recently been there.

At what time does the high speed ferry leave from Hurghada to Sharm on Mondays? My travel agent said one thing, but I found that the info on the net says another thing. I'd like to know from someone who has been there recently.

Thanks.