Alexandra
Contributor
Although I booked with the Red Sea Aggressor I should point out that the ship was not ready so we ended up diving aboard the M/Y Voyager instead.
Week 1: we did the deep south route (going all the way to St John's Reef)
Week 2: we did the northern route to Brothers and Daedalus reefs
Travel:
I chose to fly to Hurghada instead of Marsa Alam as there are a lot more flight options. I chose Turkish Airlines because there was only one connection in Istanbul (only one chance for my baggages to get lost). Although the connection was long, I ended up going to a lounge and it was not that bad at all. I highly recommend doing that - either you get in for free with an Amex card or you can pay $25 which is totally worth it.
I stay at the Hilton in Hurghada after landing and had a driver pick up me after lunch to drive me down to Port Ghalib. It was about a 2h30hr drive.
The Diving:
I preferred the southern route to the northern one but overall the diving was really nice. We unfortunately did not see any hammerheads but did see: other sharks, manta rays, a ton of blue spotted rays, octopus, turtles and a gzillion other fish. The reefs are in overall good condition and none of the dive sites were too crowded.
The Southern route we did 4-5 dives a day and the Northern route was 4 dives a day with no night dives.
Note - in late March early April, the water temps are not that warm, especially if you are doing 3-4-5 dives a day. In the south, the temps ranged from 75-78 and in the north from 73-75.
Here are my photos from the trip:
https://plus.google.com/photos/109594787951670682311/albums/6002943990897043985
The boat and crew:
Again, not being on board the actual Red Sea Aggressor it's hard for me to comment here. The boat we were on was very comfortable though, and the shared rooms well designed with beds side by side versus bunk beds. The showers actually had water pressure which was great for liveaboards.
A few things I'd recommend when going:
1. if you need a driver from Hurghada to Marsa Alam, I highly recommend Mohamed:
www.hurghadatransfer.comEmail: hurghadatransfer@yahoo.com
Phone: +201007355673
2. bring spares!! batteries for camera/computer/lights and spare o-rings
3. if you fly into Hurghada and need a hotel the Hilton by the airport is cheap and ok for 1 night, if you plan to spend the day or a few days there then stay at the Steingenberger Al Dau.
If you need a hotel in Port Ghalib the Intercontinental and Crown Hotel are on a gorgeous shared property and walking distance to the docks.
4. be sure to bring appropriate wetuits, 78ºF sounds warm unless you are diving all day and hoods/hooded vests make a huge difference
5. bring a few snacks like nuts, or granola bars for nibbles between meals. The boat certainly feeds you but sometimes between meals a little bite to eat makes a big difference.
Feel free to PM me if you have any questions!
Week 1: we did the deep south route (going all the way to St John's Reef)
Week 2: we did the northern route to Brothers and Daedalus reefs
Travel:
I chose to fly to Hurghada instead of Marsa Alam as there are a lot more flight options. I chose Turkish Airlines because there was only one connection in Istanbul (only one chance for my baggages to get lost). Although the connection was long, I ended up going to a lounge and it was not that bad at all. I highly recommend doing that - either you get in for free with an Amex card or you can pay $25 which is totally worth it.
I stay at the Hilton in Hurghada after landing and had a driver pick up me after lunch to drive me down to Port Ghalib. It was about a 2h30hr drive.
The Diving:
I preferred the southern route to the northern one but overall the diving was really nice. We unfortunately did not see any hammerheads but did see: other sharks, manta rays, a ton of blue spotted rays, octopus, turtles and a gzillion other fish. The reefs are in overall good condition and none of the dive sites were too crowded.
The Southern route we did 4-5 dives a day and the Northern route was 4 dives a day with no night dives.
Note - in late March early April, the water temps are not that warm, especially if you are doing 3-4-5 dives a day. In the south, the temps ranged from 75-78 and in the north from 73-75.
Here are my photos from the trip:
https://plus.google.com/photos/109594787951670682311/albums/6002943990897043985
The boat and crew:
Again, not being on board the actual Red Sea Aggressor it's hard for me to comment here. The boat we were on was very comfortable though, and the shared rooms well designed with beds side by side versus bunk beds. The showers actually had water pressure which was great for liveaboards.
A few things I'd recommend when going:
1. if you need a driver from Hurghada to Marsa Alam, I highly recommend Mohamed:
www.hurghadatransfer.comEmail: hurghadatransfer@yahoo.com
Phone: +201007355673
2. bring spares!! batteries for camera/computer/lights and spare o-rings
3. if you fly into Hurghada and need a hotel the Hilton by the airport is cheap and ok for 1 night, if you plan to spend the day or a few days there then stay at the Steingenberger Al Dau.
If you need a hotel in Port Ghalib the Intercontinental and Crown Hotel are on a gorgeous shared property and walking distance to the docks.
4. be sure to bring appropriate wetuits, 78ºF sounds warm unless you are diving all day and hoods/hooded vests make a huge difference
5. bring a few snacks like nuts, or granola bars for nibbles between meals. The boat certainly feeds you but sometimes between meals a little bite to eat makes a big difference.
Feel free to PM me if you have any questions!
