Why is Liveaboard diving in Egypt so cheap?

[Drewdawg1977]

Hi

We just finished our first liveaboard trip and are HOOKED. While shopping or next destination, Egypt seams significantly less expensive than any other trip. Any reason for this? It seems the diving is world class. Is it an exchange rate issue? What am I missing?

Thanks!

Drew

 

[drrich2]

How much was round trip airfare, and how long was travel? In other words, what was the total trip cost, and how does that compare to regional offerings where most of their customers are from?

For example, for a southern or eastern U.S. diver, how would total cost compare vs. a Turks & Caicos Aggressor live-aboard?

Travel time can also drive down regional desirability. In the United States, working people often take a week off. If the destination takes 2 days to and from, that would be a problem.

So, what all went into your trip?

 

[Wookie]

Crew are $20 a day, and fuel is a quarter a gallon. Liveaboards are barely safety inspected, they might even have a life jacket for everyone. My insurance bill is $30k a year. You would be a silly boy thinking you could sue an Egyptian liveaboard in California or Egypt, if you could even figure out who the owner is, so they have no need for insurance. 100 foot yachts are a dime a dozen on the used market, most get scrapped when whatever minor son of a sheikh wants to upgrade, so no one is making payments.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Crew are $20 a day, and fuel is a quarter a gallon. Liveaboards are barely safety inspected, they might even have a life jacket for everyone. My insurance bill is $30k a year. You would be a silly boy thinking you could sue an Egyptian liveaboard in California or Egypt, if you could even figure out who the owner is, so they have no need for insurance. 100 foot yachts are a dime a dozen on the used market, most get scrapped when whatever minor son of a sheikh wants to upgrade, so no one is making payments.

Low fuel and insurance costs make sense, but are crew wages even lower than in Indonesia? I have long been baffled why in such an inexpensive country as Indonesia the liveaboards are so darn expensive compared with the Red Sea.

I wonder if some of it has to do with competition? There seem to be many Red Sea liveaboards (plus day boats) visiting pretty much the same dive sites as each other and wooing the same mainly European customer base. And with more people being skittish these days about traveling to Egypt and Sudan than in the past, I can see how prices might remain VERY competitive.

 

[chillyinCanada]

They're certainly competitive enough to please me and I hope to be joining friends on a Red Sea lob this spring or next fall.

 

[Clernix]

I have been looking at those liveaboards too. I dove the Red Sea years ago and it is top notch. The political climate is scary though. I know the Europeans are going. Chilly what are you thoughts on secruity issues?

 

[chillyinCanada]

My friends who've been twice in the last few months, tell me that everything is fine in the tourist areas. Another non-diver friend of mine was there during the snow fall in Cairo last Christmas season. He felt safe.

 

[KathyV]

We dived the Red Sea Aggressor a number of years ago out of Sharm el Sheik and it was a wonderful trip but not at all cheap. There were loads of liveaboards and day boats operating in the area, and I have never seen anything like the hordes around the Thistlegorm dive, it was crazy - but a great dive.

The Aggressor got to the site early and was the first boat on one of the moorings. We did an early dive and had the wreck to ourselves but when we came up we saw that more boats had arrived; as the day got later the crowds got larger. There were many, many boats and they were tied to each other. I think we did 3 or 4 dives total on that wreck and we lucky to be moored in a great spot, but it was kind of a zoo. It is an outstanding wreck dive though.

The Red Sea liveaboards are very popular with European divers - it's a short trip and great diving! The boat we were on was local and franchised by the Aggressor, it was not an Aggressor-owned boat. But it was a gorgeous boat and the crew and dive op were outstanding.

But I do not know if that is typical of most Red Sea Liveaboards; they vary so much in price you've got to wonder if they also vary in amenities, skilled staff, and quality? I don't know.

We decided to go on the Aggressor because we had been on some of their other liveaboards and had been pleased with our experiences. Plus they were having a special and so we got a discount.

I think that the new Red Sea Aggressor is owned by them and not chartered or franchised. It looks like an Aggressor boat - a very nice, new one!

I notice that the Aggressor is currently offering a 50% off promotion for selected dates in March for their Red Sea cruise:

Save 50% in March - Red Sea Aggressor
Book a new reservation starting Sept. 25, 2015 for any of the following weeks and save 50%. Thats right, it's March Madness month and we are offering big savings.

March 5 - 12, 2016 March 12 - 19, 2016
March 19 - 26, 2016 March 26 - April 2, 2016

Money saving specials and other promotions do not apply. Added benefits for groups do not apply. Applies to individuals, couples, and groups.

 

[Hintermann]

You are not missing anything obvious. For us in the UK, it is quite common to have offers of sub-£1000 ($1600) all told for a week long liveaboard cruise to the northern part of the Red Sea with 4 dives a day and including the charter flights (30-kilo luggage allowance). Central and Southern weeksly trips cost a bit more, but still around £1500 at most. The boats are usually of very high quality in the highly competitive liveaboard market.

There is a flipside though. The crew are professionally good but do not provide the same degree of courteous service that you see with most Far Eastern liveaboards. The food is also not as good in my opinion.

The quality of diving is excellent, better than most Caribbean destinations and comparable to most Far Eastern ones.

I confess I am not a big fan of Red Sea diving, despite doing 3 liveaboards. Too touristy, too rushed, too many boats and too many divers. To give an example, there were over 30 divers on a Thistlegorm night dive and wherever I turned someone was shining a light into my eyes.

KathyV, you mentioned that you have 'never seen' a wreck dive like the Thistlegorm. It is a good dive, but even in the red sea there are comparable wrecks. IMO, the wreck of Numidia is better. But to get to do really great wreck dives, nothing like Truk Lagoon. The wreck of Fujikawa Maru is considered by many to be the world's best wreck dive.

 

[KathyV]

...KathyV, you mentioned that you have 'never seen' a wreck dive like the Thistlegorm. It is a good dive, but even in the red sea there are comparable wrecks. IMO, the wreck of Numidia is better. But to get to do really great wreck dives, nothing like Truk Lagoon. The wreck of Fujikawa Maru is considered by many to be the world's best wreck dive.

We did a northern Red Sea itinerary and I think that the Thistlegorm was the only wreck we were offered. It was the only one that sticks in my mind anyway but I would have to check my log book. When I said that I had "never seen anything like it" I meant the hordes of boats and divers on the site, yikes! I have amended my post above to clarify.

I agree about the food, it was a lot of Mediterranean falafel-type stuff and just okay.

I am sure that Truk Lagoon is fabulous but I am confident that it is beyond our skill and certification level. We are older, OW, warm water, vacation divers. We love diving but we know our limitations. So I will just have to live vicariously through your adventures, thanks!