Advice For Hurgarda , End Of April.

[langy187]

Im planning a trip to hurgarda as sharm is off limits at the moment. I dont know anything about the area as ive always dived from naama bay, so this is a good chance to explore somewhere new . Planning on daily diving .
Which is the better area ,el gouna or hurgarda ?
Where should i stay?
Who should i dive with?
Im not a 5* hotel person so accomadation on the cheaper side of the scale is better for me. Any help or opinions would be greatly received, thanks.

 

[Solly]

elgouna is a bit more expensive on average compare to hurghada....
hurghada has the extremes of expensive accommodation and cheap ones so you have the choice

currently I think that tourism is very weak hence you can find good deals...

hurghada diving is good, but good sites need the boat to travel more time (in sharm you would access good sites within an hour, for hurghada you will need 90 min may be 2 hours depending on the weather)

I am planning to be there second week of may but we are heading on a liveaboard to the brothers if you want to join

 

[scubadada]

I'm doing 2 weeks of liveaboard starting the last week of April. I fly to Hurghada nonstop from Zurich. I arrive a day early and will be doing a couple tanks with Emperor Divers the day before boarding the liveaboard. I'm staying at the Marina Lodge, dive operator happens to be located there. I don't know much about the hotel or the operator but they seem reasonable. Emperor has a good website and online reservations. I'll know more in a month

 

[dbulmer]

scubadada,
Sounds like you'll be in Port Ghalib - Emperor and Marina Lodge.
If it's the same, the hotel is fine and Emperor are very good.
It's a 2 min walk from breakfast to the boat

 

[Skulmoski]

Im planning a trip to hurgarda as sharm is off limits at the moment.

Why is Sharm off limits?

As of today (23 March 2016), the Canadian Government's Travel Advisory states:
Regional Advisory for the Sinai Peninsula (except Sharm el-Sheikh)
Global Affairs Canada advises against all travel to the Sinai Peninsula, due to terrorist activity and ongoing military operations by the Egyptian Armed Forces. This does not include the coastal resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, the area within the Sharm el-Sheikh perimeter barrier, the Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport and the areas of Hadaba, Naama Bay, Nabq, Sharks Bay and Sharm el Maya.

My family and I felt safe in Sharm last spring and are planning to return this September 2016.

Glad you are planning to go to the Red Sea and I hope you have a fantastic time.

GJS

 

[dbulmer]

UK Foreign Office:
"The FCO advise against all but essential travel to
the Governorate of South Sinai, with the exception of the area within the Sharm el Sheikh perimeter barrier, which includes the airport and the areas of Sharm el Maya, Hadaba, Naama Bay, Sharks Bay and Nabq; however, we advise against all but essential travel by air to or from Sharm el Sheikh;"
The bit I bolded basically means don't travel.

In practice it's difficult to get there because there are fewer flights and you have to take into account your diving/holiday insurance may not cover you because of the UK Foreign office advice.

I suspect the Canadian advisory is similar in practical terms ie ok while you are there but risky to fly and your travel insurance may not cover you if something goes wrong.

 

[scubadada]

scubadada,
Sounds like you'll be in Port Ghalib - Emperor and Marina Lodge.
If it's the same, the hotel is fine and Emperor are very good.
It's a 2 min walk from breakfast to the boat

Correct, that's also where the liveaboard departs. Sorry probably not very useful to the OP, long drive from Hurghada

 

[Crowley]

El Gouna's okay but it's a purpose built resort town and not especially interesting, although I holidayed there twice before I became a dive pro and I really enjoyed it. Good diving and a pleasant location. Hurghada's a "real" place with a lot more going on but you'll find that the diving is very similar. Hurghada's generally less expensive that El Gouna but both are with the average budget (otherwise I wouldn't have been able to go, back in the day!)

As others have mentioned - good operators in the area are Emperor and Blue O Two. Marsa Alam is worth a visit but it's a 4 hour drive south - check out the Oasis Marsa Alam (Sinai Divers, and I have to say I worked for SD in Sharm)

Also - I know it's been covered before but Sharm is not off-limits, just the airport. There are plenty of flights available if you want to get there, just very few direct, and none from the UK. Easyjet and Monarch are still flying to Hurghada and you can get a connecting flight to Sharm if that's where you want to go; the cheapest route from the UK is Turkish air via Istanbul.

Hope that helps a bit - any questions please just ask.

Cheers

Crowley

 

[chillyinCanada]

The Sharm airport is not off-limits either.

 

[Crowley]

Indeed - it's not off limits - but UK FCO advice is against all but essential travel to the airport. The threat level in the resort remains "safe". When I say the airport is off-limits, I mean that no UK operators are flying there based on current government advice. Plenty of other people are, however.