Just got back from a two week trip to Sharm (Na'ama bay) and was so glad I chose the places and companies that I did.
We (my wife and I, she is a non swimmer / diver) stayed at the Sonesta beach resort and casino which is located at the Northern end of the Na'ama bay area. In fact it is one of the last hotels you get to when strolling along the beach front boulavarde.
We went all inclusive and have no regrets in doing so. We had everything we wanted for the whole two weeks we were there. The rooms were nicely decorated and if you look hard enough then it would be fair to say it could use a little tidying up but by local standards it is fantastic. The whole hotel has a really authentic eygptian feel to it. 6 or 7 pools and numerous pool side bars as well as a nice beech with bar provide ample sun loungers and choice of loactions to relax.
The food was good although after 2 weeks you find some repeatition. Although the drinks service in the main resteraunt is very slow and the waiters will wander round trying not to be noticed. Sometimes you feel that you are inconvienancing them by disturbing them and asking for a drink. We found it quicker to pop to the Oasis pool bar and get our own.
On an all inclusive you can get beer, soft drinks and bottled water non stop from sun up to 10pm and we found that a good flow of Sprite (when not diving) helped keep refreshed, and the lemon content suposedly helped stop any gut / stomach problems. On the subject of stomach disorders we found the following worked wonders;
Drink lots of water (or Sprite when not diving).
- Wash your hands religiously after handling the local money.
- Wash your hands before eating anything and try to not touch too much between the bathroom and the table!
- Unless you can be certain its been washed in clean water, avoid fruit and veg thats not been cooked. (some say its all fine. We avoided it and had no problems).
- If you get the runs, vomiting, stomach cramps and pains, try "Rehydran" or "Rehydro - zinc". comes in a box of 10. A local dive instructor recommend 7 sachets in 1.5 litre bottle of water after a serious bout of the runs, then 1 sachet in 250ml per day after.
- "Epinor", from local pharmacies will also clear and prevent stomach upsets. A couple of instructors in sharm use the stuff daily and say it'll more or less stop any problems.
Whilst there I dived with the dive centre in the hotel. A centre called "Anthias Divers". The prices were competative and reasonable. The staff friendly and helpful and offered a discount.
I completed a Scuba review and my PADI AOW with them, as well as the specialisation certificates for Enriched Air Nitrox, deep diver and navigation. A total of 13 dives both from the beach over the amazing reefs in the bay away from the paddling public (who are sadly destroying the shallower reefs) and boat dives in the Tiran straights and around Ras Mohammed.
Both boat dives were full day affairs with 3 dives per day. Both excursions were aboard "Only Six" boats and the crew were helpful and polite. The food was fine and the drinks available non stop.
All 6 dives were over the reefs and the views were breath taking. Aquatic life in abundance and it was such a great feeling to see for real the things I had only seen in books or on film until then.
I did however miss seeing any dolphins. Much to my wifes amusement as while we were down on our last dive of the day at Ras mohammed, 5 of them were happily playing along side the dive boat unbeknown to us divers under the water!!
A mention goes to "Hans" from Blue Eye Fx who filmed the dives at Tiran and produced a real good quality DVD of the day. If you see him on the boat, make sure you get the DVD of your days diving!
Touristwise it is litterally a dessert. We did manage to visit Moses mountain and the monestary, as well as the coloured canyon. There was not an auwfull lot more to see unless you went to Cairo or Luxor by plane.
The whole place is litterally crawling with 5 or 6 different types of police services, notably the "tourisum and antiquity police"!, who seem to be omni present at litterally every corner and love looking scrupiously at passports and in bags of every tourist at every tourist site. The guides will explain its because the place is so close to Israel and that there is also a problem from time to time with the bedouin. But we did n't see any bedouin queuing to get on either of the dive boats we used so it seems they were just enforcing the money spinner of a visa system they have there. Apparently there a numeous different types depending where you want to go in Eygpt..
You will get contantly pestered by local shop keepers, taxi drivers and camel herders. Even the foreigners working out there get it as well. If it bothers you, you'll need to learn to ignore them. It may sound rude but if you start a conversation, you will not get anywhere quickly, especially along the beach front boulevard area in the evening.
We did get offered numerous camels on our way up moses mountain, but they did n't quite understand when we told them we could never fit it on the plane going home!!
We managed to avoid the dreaded Excess weight charge on the baggage on both the outward and homeward jouneys. Aparently some airlines do allow divers up to 35kg on the checked in bagage, but we were never asked to prove anything and carried 24kg in one bag both ways. The allowable weight was 15kg.
All in all, really enjoyed the trip, great hotel, superbe dive centre and some fantastic diving. The minor bad points were easily forgotten about when overwhelmed with the rest of it all. Would definatly go back again before the whole place becomes a bucket and spade resort and the reefs become too dangerous due to the clowns in speed boats, or the neglegent paddlers kill all the coral.
