DivingKDawg
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Looking for any tips or suggestions. Is a liveaboard necessary? Water temp?
Eilat in January
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Not sure about water temperatures - I was there two weeks ago, and it was 21-25C, January will probably be a few degrees cooler - but to the best of my knowledge, there aren't any liveaboards out of Eilat; they're all in Egypt. Eilat diving is done almost exclusively from shore - bring shoes! The beaches are mostly pebbles rather than sand, entering the water barefoot is an ow ow OW OW OW goddammit OW motherbleep bleep bleep BLEEP OW OW OW!!! kind of process.
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DivingKDawg
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I only have Koh Tao and Koh Chang as comparison points, but I thought it was good - despite peak season (autumn holidays in Israel) it wasn't super crowded, visibility was great, weather was nice (neither cold, nor blistering hot like Eilat gets in the summer), not too expensive - four guided dives a day, with full equipment, cost NIS 330 (about US$95) at the Manta dive club. A few amateur pictures (first time I took my camera underwater):
The water temperature is fairly constant down there. What comes and goes with the seasons is the wind. January is fairly windy, but that only really affects you when you leave the water for your surface intervals 
We head down there fairly often. Palamida at the Dekel Beach is good, but they sometimes have a hot-water problem. The owner swears that it is now fixed and that this year will be different. Their other branch - U-Dive - which is down nearer the Coral Beach and the Satil always has plenty of hot water.
DeepSiam, which is next to the Coral Beach, is also fairly good. Marina Divers, Manta and AquaSport can be ok, but I'd recommend the other places.
Like @Barmaglot said above, it's all shore entry. I'd really recommend some sort of shoes. If you are not bringing your own fins, the dive shops generally rent out fins, but the ones which are in better conditions are the ones which require booties.
Most places allow you to pay an extra small fee and they will take you to the various dive sites in a van and pick you up after the dives.
The Satil site is a sunken missile ship at about 26 metres depth. Fun to bimble around. It's fairly close to DeepSiam. The canyon next to Palamida has a variety of sites from 3 metres down to more than 60 metres. Depending on your maximum depth it can be worthwhile.
All of the sites are sorts of oases, surrounded by areas of "dead" sand. Lots of small things to find and see. Lots of photography opportunities.
These are some of what I've found down there:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/LkVMXTwrkSdTKI2B3
https://photos.app.goo.gl/AXF7J2THLGia63yI2
https://goo.gl/photos/Pchdr9QCtDqArAzR8
https://goo.gl/photos/b1EPQa9cppif5EnL6
https://goo.gl/photos/Ei6zP6F3n9So5Vzn9
https://goo.gl/photos/H3fQEzGi866Vx8HL6
https://goo.gl/photos/BR4KwkaCk6QoPLZd9
If you have other questions, feel free to ask. If you prefer, send me a pm.
We head down there fairly often. Palamida at the Dekel Beach is good, but they sometimes have a hot-water problem. The owner swears that it is now fixed and that this year will be different. Their other branch - U-Dive - which is down nearer the Coral Beach and the Satil always has plenty of hot water.
DeepSiam, which is next to the Coral Beach, is also fairly good. Marina Divers, Manta and AquaSport can be ok, but I'd recommend the other places.
Like @Barmaglot said above, it's all shore entry. I'd really recommend some sort of shoes. If you are not bringing your own fins, the dive shops generally rent out fins, but the ones which are in better conditions are the ones which require booties.
Most places allow you to pay an extra small fee and they will take you to the various dive sites in a van and pick you up after the dives.
The Satil site is a sunken missile ship at about 26 metres depth. Fun to bimble around. It's fairly close to DeepSiam. The canyon next to Palamida has a variety of sites from 3 metres down to more than 60 metres. Depending on your maximum depth it can be worthwhile.
All of the sites are sorts of oases, surrounded by areas of "dead" sand. Lots of small things to find and see. Lots of photography opportunities.
These are some of what I've found down there:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/LkVMXTwrkSdTKI2B3
https://photos.app.goo.gl/AXF7J2THLGia63yI2
https://goo.gl/photos/Pchdr9QCtDqArAzR8
https://goo.gl/photos/b1EPQa9cppif5EnL6
https://goo.gl/photos/Ei6zP6F3n9So5Vzn9
https://goo.gl/photos/H3fQEzGi866Vx8HL6
https://goo.gl/photos/BR4KwkaCk6QoPLZd9
If you have other questions, feel free to ask. If you prefer, send me a pm.
Phillipus2005
Registered
Have done a lot of diving in Eilat, including my DM and AI this summer and a week between xmas and NYE last year.
The water temp is around 21 in Dec but as someone mentioned, the wind can be a killer on the SI. I dove with a full-length sharkskin and a shorty over the top and was v comfortable in the water. outside was a different matter. Did a night dive in Dec and wore a 5mm full suit
No liveaboards in Eilat - it's not necessary. a few of the dive shops have boats to get to a few of the site sonly accessible by boat (Japanese Gardens for instance)
Lots to see - I think Nudibranch season kicks off in January, so if you're interested in those, it can be spectacular. On my various trips, i have seen: whale shark (usually visits in the summer), stingrays, eagle ray, turtles, dolphin (let out from the Dolphin reef), lots of nudis and eels, lionfish, stonefish, scorpion fish, ghost pipefish, various types of shrimp, barracuda, frogfish etc etc.
Worth visiting the Satil a couple of times. a very easy wreck, at 25m max. The Yahalat is at 50 and the Yatush at 30 (not very interesting). the underwtaer restaurant at the very north of the bay is very cool - rubbish vis but lots and lots to see
I always dive with Shulamits Eilat Diving Adventures (Shulamit's Eilat Diving Adventures - PADI diving courses and guided dives in Eilat) - i think it costs a little more but it has much less of a "factory" feel than the bigger dive shops mentioned above (i've also dived with Aquasport, U-dive and Manta). She tries to limit group size to 4 and provides free nitrox if qualified. The instructors are fab and they also have a boat to get to the Japanese Gdns. She also provides boots, which are essential for shore entries, and does free hotel pick-up and drop offs (don't judge by the state of the cars though) Hire gear all top notch
You can also pop across the border and dive in Jordan for a day, they have a big wreck (the Ceder Pride) and a tank. the topogrphy also means they have a big drop-off (Lighthouse), which is spectacular, if that's your thing. Occasionally see reef sharks there. I dove with Ricky at Ahlan
Egypt also accessible for day trips - Aquasport has a sister operation in Taba, with a boat to take you further south. it's pretty good but the border control is a PITA.
Hope helpful
enjoy your trip - pm me if you want more info
The water temp is around 21 in Dec but as someone mentioned, the wind can be a killer on the SI. I dove with a full-length sharkskin and a shorty over the top and was v comfortable in the water. outside was a different matter. Did a night dive in Dec and wore a 5mm full suit
No liveaboards in Eilat - it's not necessary. a few of the dive shops have boats to get to a few of the site sonly accessible by boat (Japanese Gardens for instance)
Lots to see - I think Nudibranch season kicks off in January, so if you're interested in those, it can be spectacular. On my various trips, i have seen: whale shark (usually visits in the summer), stingrays, eagle ray, turtles, dolphin (let out from the Dolphin reef), lots of nudis and eels, lionfish, stonefish, scorpion fish, ghost pipefish, various types of shrimp, barracuda, frogfish etc etc.
Worth visiting the Satil a couple of times. a very easy wreck, at 25m max. The Yahalat is at 50 and the Yatush at 30 (not very interesting). the underwtaer restaurant at the very north of the bay is very cool - rubbish vis but lots and lots to see
I always dive with Shulamits Eilat Diving Adventures (Shulamit's Eilat Diving Adventures - PADI diving courses and guided dives in Eilat) - i think it costs a little more but it has much less of a "factory" feel than the bigger dive shops mentioned above (i've also dived with Aquasport, U-dive and Manta). She tries to limit group size to 4 and provides free nitrox if qualified. The instructors are fab and they also have a boat to get to the Japanese Gdns. She also provides boots, which are essential for shore entries, and does free hotel pick-up and drop offs (don't judge by the state of the cars though
) Hire gear all top notchYou can also pop across the border and dive in Jordan for a day, they have a big wreck (the Ceder Pride) and a tank. the topogrphy also means they have a big drop-off (Lighthouse), which is spectacular, if that's your thing. Occasionally see reef sharks there. I dove with Ricky at Ahlan
Egypt also accessible for day trips - Aquasport has a sister operation in Taba, with a boat to take you further south. it's pretty good but the border control is a PITA.
Hope helpful
enjoy your trip - pm me if you want more info
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