27 replies to this topic

[sacowboy]

Ok, I'm going to see if I can beat WW to the punch on this one since it is her idea anyway. I had seen her mention to doing a dive trip to Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt sometime next year. I have helped her out with some research on when is the best time to go, where to stay, what items to bring or wear while diving/being a tourist....

Check out the best site I have found so far. http://www.cameldive.com I talked with the new owner or operator of the local dive shop I go to in Kuwait and he said he wouldn't stay anywhere but this place and goes every year to Sharm in December or January when there are less people there. And for anyone else that doesn't know what the middle east is like, drop me a line and I'll tell you all about it. What the guys should/shouldn't/can/can't do, and same for the ladies. A little about the culture and who knows, I might even be able to bring a guy with me that can speak the language (but I don't know if he dives or not, I'll find out).

Any way, I just want to see what other people think about this and how many would be interested in doing it if we could arrange it????

Chuck

[WreckWench]

Thank you!! Right now the biggest thing I need to know is When is the BEST time to dive there and when is the WORST time to dive there! And then how does the inbetween time compare. When is High Season and when is rainy season if there is such a thing...or perhaps....ROASTER season!!!

Thanks for all your help!!! We are trying to set the 2005 calendar and need to get a number of trips reasearched for possibilities!! Great job!!! See if you can find out a little more for me! Tanks!!! -ww

[drbill]

AH WW and sacowboy... here's another trip I'd definitely be interested in! Of course I like to stay in an area longer than a week to ensure I get the most footage possible.

Dr. B.

[happy2dive]

I thought I should add a few comments about Egypt since I've just returned a week ago from Hurghada.
First, yes there is a roaster season. I talked to the staff of EasyDivers (excellent outfit) and they mentioned the mercury hitting 50 celsius (have no idea what that is in Farenheit) in July August. Best times to diver are in May and October. When I was there, the weather was pleasantly warm, not too hot, and evenings dry and cool, water temperature comfortable for a 5mm suit.
In October, the heat wave has passed but the water is warmer.
Also about Camel Dives in Sharm. I've only heard excellent things about them.

I'm planning to go on a liveaboard in end September or mid October, departing from Hurghada or Marsa Alam. Is anyone out there interested in joining me?

[drbill]

122 degrees F but when I'm diving I hardly feel the temp topside because my core temp is lowered. However I've never been in 122 F. Highest for me was 109 F here on Catalina 14 years ago.

I could try contacting a few of my buddies in China and the Netherlands who have dived and/or taught in the Red Sea before.

I am curious about the political situation there re: Americans. I've heard the locals still welcome the tourist dollar (as we do here on Catalina).

Dr. Bill

[happy2dive]

Hi Bill,
I didn't notice any tension from the political situation. The locals were happy to see both Euro's and Dollars. But that was before this new scandal about the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners. So I"m not sure if it's changed since then.
The only hassle I got was from being a single female Asian traveller. That attracted some unwanted attention on the streets and in the hotel. You won't have that problem.
Greetings from Amsterdam
happy2dive

[drbill]

Gee Happy2Dive, I was hoping I might attract such attention!

Without getting political on the issue, I think the recent events in Iraq have given good cause for outrage in Arabic countries. Since that outrage could easily be expressed against non-combatants (witness the recent and equally horrific beheading), Americans these days must be far more careful about where they travel and what they do while traveling.

Dr. B.

[Laurafrica]

Hi! I used to live in Cairo and have dived a lot out of Sharm and Hurghada. I would definitely recommend going south to Marsa Alam and diving Elphinstone Reef, the Brothers, etc. I'm a bit out of date, but could put you in touch with some people if you wanted All single women can expect too much attention there, unless covered with the hijab, I'm afraid! But liveaboards are a good idea. Dec/Jan is not as good as October. The water gets rougher and colder and the temp on top can drop to nearly freezing (really!)
Bye, Laura

[WreckWench]

Thanks Laura...I think some more information about the places you mention would be awesome! And we are NOT into cold diving...unless there is no other option. So when are the best and warmest months? Is Oct the best time? And if it is the warmest time...what kind of temps are we talking about?

Please feel free to educate us about your part of the world...we'd love to learn more! I'm sure a diving trip to this locale is in the future of SD!!!

[Travelnsj]

I was at Sharm in 2000. The best colors and corals in the world (i've been)....but not much of anything else.

October is one of the best months. Temp is in the 80's, 90's. Water is 82 to 84. Perfect. But do go south to Marsa Alam. Sharm is supermarket diving.......just too many people, dive boats and not much to see.

But if you are going all that way you must take a Cruise down the Nile!

[outback]

I used to live in Cairo and Kuwait and spent a lot of time wandering around the area. We dived weekends at Hurghada and Sharm.

I'd say Sharm was a better bet than Hurghada, but it can be a bit of a zoo. It's a major tourist destination for the Italians and you get a lot of snorkellers kicking the reef to pieces. Having said that, there is some spectacular diving at, for example, Ras al Mohammed - 6000 ft drop off!

Marsa Alam and the Brothers are the places I'd go back to given the chance.

So, depending on what you want to do.....

Scenic - Sharm.

Aquatic Life - Brothers/Marsa Alam

Wrecks - Hurghada

The Thistlegorm wreck can be reached from both Sharm and Hurghada as a (long) day trip and is a must. The holds are pretty intact still (assuming the train tender on the deck hasn't fallen in there yet) and there's all kinds of good stuff down there - Norton and BSA motorbikes stacked up in the backs of trucks for example.

I liked the guys at the Red Sea Diving College - www.redseacollege.com

The hidden gem in all this is Dahab. Dahab is another 3 or 4 hours by car/bus from Sharm (no airport) up towards the Israeli border. The main bay is (or was, there's been a lot of development recently) an extended chill zone - populated mainly by small bars where you'd sit on the floor on cushions, smoke a waterpipe or two, drink beer and listen to Bob Marley (a lot - I think the only CD in Egypt was Exodus at one point).

The diving in Dahab is mainly shore diving because of the prevailing currents, so the coral is better shape than in Sharm (it's also a lot less busy). There's also deep stuff for the tekkies amongst you and is the area for deep tec in Egypt. Blue Hole is the business, but is over 180 feet.

We did a dive safari by camel out of Dahab, to a site where there's no roads, no boats - virtually undived. Riding a camel with 2 dive tanks strapped to the saddle is an interesting experience! Camel ride about 2 hours to Gabr el Bint (Bay of the Girl)
Dive 1, bedouin lunch, dive 2, ride back (I think they've expanded it so you can stay overnight now as well).

Nuts, thinking about it means I now want to go back!

[outback]

Check out the best site I have found so far. http://www.cameldive.com I talked with the new owner or operator of the local dive shop I go to in Kuwait

Oh and I forgot. The Camel Bar in Sharm is awesome!!

Are Dive Caroline still operating in Kuwait? Which shop do you use? I'll be heading there next week, so thought I might look them up.

[nabster]

Is anyone still tracking this thread? My brother and I are looking into doing an African land & sea tour ... maybe even a liveaboard

Anyone have any trips planned?

[peterbj7]

As a Brit I've made many trips to Egypt to dive. From London there are some very good deals to many resorts there, and the best British operator in my opinion is www.explorers.co.uk. To Sharm or Dahab they use charter flights out of London Gatwick, which is very easy and cheap to get to from USA. The advantage of charter flights is that they think dive gear and are good with it, and they fly direct to Sharm. Scheduled flights both impose low weight limits with no allowance for scuba gear, and also only fly into Cairo - an onwards internal flight is then needed.

A week in Sharm or Dahab from London, including flights, coach transfer to your hotel, plus B&B in a good 3*-5* hotel (good by US standards) can typically cost £299 - about $500. Diving is extra, but it isn't expensive there.

Sharm has a few opportunities for beach diving but most diving there is on day boats. At Dahab all diving is from shore, including their Blue Hole just a few yards from the beach. Dahab is much smaller than Sharm and has way more character, but either would make a good introduction to Red Sea diving.

[peterbj7]

The Thistlegorm wreck can be reached from both Sharm and Hurghada as a (long) day trip and is a must. The holds are pretty intact still (assuming the train tender on the deck hasn't fallen in there yet) and there's all kinds of good stuff down there - Norton and BSA motorbikes stacked up in the backs of trucks for example.

And lots of live ammunition that's not ageing that well.