...Hi there! No, I have never been to Egypt or done a liveboard. Frankly, I am not sure what a Liveboard is. Could you please explain it to me?...
The term "liveaboard" (sometimes abbreviated "LOB") is used to refer to a small cruise ship, typically around 12-24 passengers, that takes divers to different dive sites each day of the cruise. A liveaboard provides cabins to sleep in. A liveaboard provides meals. You live on board the ship...
You live, sleep, eat, and dive onboard when you are on a LOB. The advantages of a liveaboard IMO are that you usually can do a lot of diving - often 4 to 5 dives per day, including night dives just about every night if you wish. Also, you often have the opportunity to visit the more remote and pristine sites that are too far away for the day boats, or may require a long boat ride and fuel surcharge.
LOBs can seem pricey, but when you consider everything you get and figure out the cost per dive - they are often a bargain. If you want to do a lot of diving on a trip, then consider a LOB. Plus the diving is usually very easy. You set up your gear only once and just slip it on and step off the boat whenever you want to dive. And they are usually very simple trips to arrange because they are all-inclusive and everything is taken care of for you. You don't need to find a place to live, a dive op, transportation to the marina, or spend time hauling your gear around, or hunting for good places to eat, etc. Sometimes that stuff can be fun, but other times it is nice to just relax and have everything ready for you in one place.
Some of the disadvantages of an LOB is that there isn't much else to do on board, but you can relax, sleep, read, and take it easy. Staying on a boat is not as comfortable as a hotel room IMO, and if you run into bad weather it can be miserable to be stuck on a boat in rough seas and unable to dive.
Seasickness is another factor to consider. I did not get sick on the Red Sea Aggressor, but I have gotten very ill on some LOBs that had deep water crossings early in the voyage, but after a day my body adjusts and I am fine for the rest of the trip.
There are usually not many opportunities for shore excursions on LOBs, so if you want to combine diving and sightseeing then you are better off staying on land and diving with the day boats.
If you have never done a LOB trip, I think that the Red Sea would be a great place to give it a try because they are many vessels and excellent diving opportunities.
Do some serious research and read the reviews by divers before picking a boat (or a resort if you decide to stay on land.) Keep in mind that sometimes a cheaper price isn't always the better option.
A lot of European divers go to the Red Sea to dive because it is close, like the Caribbean can be close for American, Canadian, and South American divers, so you may find more info about RS LOBs on a European scuba forum. I believe that
@Storker has done a number of Red Sea trips so perhaps he can advise you; and he has also dived in the Med and the Canary Islands, if those are options for you?
But a number of Scubaboard members here have dived the Red Sea recently and I am sure that they will also give you good advice. Good luck with planning your trip!
