Travel destination for beginner

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Thanks you!
How difficult is the diving in Hurghadha?

Grand Cayman is a good option I guess.
I live in Frankfurt, so I can fly to most locations without stops.
I will look some stuff up about grand cayman and hurghadha. Is July a good time to travel to those destinations?

I'd probably do Cayman over Hurghadha in July. Egypt is a bit overly hot in summer. Diving is easy at the breakers though, little to no current. It's very different diving to the Carib. Personally I would get on the aggressor if i were going to Cayman. I liked shorediving in Cayman, but preferred sites a little further out. Cayman is nice though. I would do a longer tip in cayman driving around etc, but if i were just doing core diving i would do the breakers.
 
Most Americans go to Cozumel because it is close and inexpensive. The dive quality is OK, but not great. Most of us would love to dive the Gulf of Aqaba but for us it a big trip.
 
I heard a lot of bad stories about dive centers in Egypt. That's why I asked here, if someone knows a good resort with dive center. I will check out arabesque.



(Werner Lau diving center next to Lido Sharm Hotel Naama Bay in Sharm el Sheikh. I was there in november.)

But there are a lot of good (and bad) dive centers & hotels in Egypt.
 
Egypt costs only 1/3 compared to carribean because of the short flight.
Most Hotels in cayman have no rooms left for July.

I heard a lot of bad stories about dive centers in Egypt. That's why I asked here, if someone knows a good resort with dive center. I will check out arabesque.

The liveaboard in Egypt are very cheap as well. Is there a website where I can book the boat and flight all together?
Dive centers- I can only comment on orca soma bay. it was better than decent. German run, didn't appear to be any corners cut etc. equipment was good and divemasters were experienced. I was on the MY Blue boat last year as well. it was also better than decent, but i found the food to be a bit boring...that being said, i have high expectations when it comes to food. I want a lot and for it to be a rainbow of authentic ethnic and local food....usually. Boat itself is up there in the 'luxury' stakes. The most luxurious modern boat i've been on.Camera facilities could have been better though.
 
@Raphus : Love this thread.
if you need to count the flight cost in, for warm water diving for a week or two, you likely will have difficulty beating the cost of doing so in Egypt. The budget flights from Germany can be priced very nice.
I don't know about shore diving there - or how staying / living on shore is like for a while , but others have filled you in already on location and dive centers. (I will be marking this thread for that reason as my wife has come down on the side of not wanting to sleep on boats anymore).
What I can tell you that in 2016 my son and I did not find the southern Red Sea as too hot in the midst of Summer (and I am a sweaty big guy). But, we spent our time on the RSA and not ashore.

@Ministryofgiraffes & @Altamira
& @ othere who spent time to dive from shore in Egypt:

So, can one then independently shore dive there (at the house reef), not needing a boat and not being told things like "regulations require a guide"? Or is it more like a guide gets somewhat imposed on you (like I experienced in the Philippines, did not mind there, but wonder (for future visits) if it's a hard rule or outfit dependend, as, see below)

And, because the wife cares to maybe dive half as much as I do, and because I enjoy to take my time with taking pictures that still turn out surprisingly mediocre nevertheless, I would also like to dive solo (with sufficient skill, redundant gear and card). Do you know if that is a likely "go" or a hard "no go" there (like in the Cayman I hear)?

Are unguided shore night dives a go - or?

And, how is living ashore there?
We are not the party crowd and we are not really travelling to shop at all... I wonder what does one do when not diving? Pretty much hang out at the resort (and hence pick that carefully and maybe do not strictly go by budget) ... or leisurely stroll about town enjoying the he street life (asking that slightly tongue in cheek from the little I've seen, but I've not seen enough) - or?

That last question also goes to how long of a shore dive stay there might get too long. That is very subjective of course, but would you say that - for you - things there might start to get old after 1, 2 or more successive weeks?

What time of year did you stay and shore dive? Anything to consider there (time of year wise for weather or sealife reasons)?
 
i can only comment on the breakers hurghadha.

i tend to be a 4+ dives a day guy, but there is plenty of stuff to do at the breakers. my friends played golf next door and went to the huge spa next door, there are movies on the terrace in the evenings and 2 bars, one of which becomes a nightclub of sorts on the beach. i'd say its mainly geared towards a younger (20/30s) vibrant crowd and younger families. Dinner and breakfast is buffet and all together, it's a good vibe. Food was a lot better than i expected for the price. Sundowners on the beach and lots of beanbags etc. most people are kitesurfing or diving, so it isn't rowdy. there are lots of videos on their facebook and online so you can get an idea.

no need for a guide on the housereef, even at night if you are confident enough. I am a solo diver but i didn't solo dive there, i was only in for 3 days before a liveaboard and there was always someone who wanted to dive with me. not sure if they would kick up a fuss. they have the standard 'no solo diving' but i don't think anyone is policing it. I also like that you can jump on the golf buggy and drive 5 mins down to the zodiac at the harbour and out for a 1 tank dive a little further out. tobia arbaa etc. in this video they are on a bigger boat as they cazme from further away, but it's only a 12 min zodiac for us...the day i went it was just me and the guide...

Housereef is the best iv'e seen, i heard Tauschen rated it 'best in the world' but like most non bonaire shorediving, its basically a case of going 'left or right'... but the reef is very large here. I could easily photo shoredive for a week on the same site and find new fauna each dive. In this respect it was much better than grand cayman. it's a much better divesite than sun divers in grand cayman...and i like and consider sun divers to be decent.

soma bay is a private area with several luxury resorts.. you go through a security checkpoint when you arrive. you can walk to the other hotels to use their restauraunts etc. there is a westin and kempinski etc. so it's not really a 'downtown tourist' type of deal...its a diving/spa/kitesurfing/golfing type of deal..but i like that it isn't rough around the edges...i'm past slumming it :) I would describe breakers as a high end kitesurfing/diving retreat.

you also dont need to swim to the housereef. the housereef dock extends right into the sea. you jump in and it's below you.
 
I have not been to the Caribbean, but from Germany flight times and prices to Red Sea are very good, and I have been to the Red Sea in August 2018.

If you want the shore dives, for me Egypt would be too hot in July, but a LOB is a great alternative, and as you write: they do come at very good prices. The reefs we saw on the “classic and wrecks” route with King Snefro fleet were in very good condition and colourful, would have loved to see sharks or any other “big/interesting” fish. On the other hand “Thiselgorm” is a “bucket list” dive and was totally amazing.

Don’t worry about you number of dives (at least for the north route), my sister in law was traveling with us to Egypt and she had only just finished her AOWD and had only 30 dives.

I know some travel agencies can book both LOB and flights for you, but we always book our own flights, so can’t help you there. Our last 3 LOB’s we booked through Diving Specials - it’s a German company and they might be able to help with flights as well.
 
Could you expand on the statement: "float like a cork"? Do you mean after 80 dives you had not mastered buoyancy control?

I had no problems with weighting or buoyancy before that first Cozumel trip, and I had done some drift drives in the past - including the crazy Washing Machine dive in the Bahamas - but the strong current in Coz was difficult for me and it took a little time for me to master it.
 
Egypt is perfect for you! When my daughter was 11, we did about 12 dives out of Sharm El Sheik including drift dives; the current pushes you past the reef!

Thailand is also great! When my daughter was 10, she did her open water certification in Koh Tao.

The Philippines is also a great place to dive such as Moalboal, Coron and many others.

My recommendation would be to travel to one of these countries and experience a different culture and great diving.

Regards!
 
Really good Input and nice answers :)
In my opinion Egypt is the best option now. I usually don't have problems with high temperature.

Beakers sounds nice. I also found a resort named: coral beach. Has good rep for diving as well and also offers all inklusive, anyone knows this resort?

That being said, liveaboards are also still an option. I am going to check out the booking site and some reviews.

Man I want to dive right now. Germany needs a tropical sea :p
 

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