32 replies to this topic

[cmt489]

Actually, the post I placed that was lost stated that we are now actually going to be diving Sharm instead of El Gouna. Hope some of those fish have come back!

[captsteve]

make sure to wear somthing with the canadian flag on it......lol.............. anyway, what about the fish?

[cmt489]

So everything is pretty much booked!!!

I fly to Cairo on the 2nd and then hop a flight to Sharm that night. Six days diving in Sharm and surrounding areas followed by a trip to luxor to see the pyramids and the spynx, then to Alexandria, a dessert safari and then back to Cairo to explore! OMG!!! I am so excited! I promise to take my laptop (the new one when it arrives...) and keep everyone updated on this trip. Talk about the trip of a lifetime!

[6Gill]

Talk about the trip of a lifetime!

Here is wishing you the first of one of many lifetime trips.

[Travelnsj]

Michelle,

I hope you are doing the cruise down the Nile...Besides Luxor.....Karnak, Aswan and Abu Simbel are wonderful. Also spend an extra night in Cairo and do the Cairo museum... I missed the Mummy room but I hear it is something to see!

Although the diving in Sharm is not as good going further south....you will see colors in the Corals you have never seen before and lime green sting rays with blue spots. I dove the straits of Tiran and Ras....liked Ras the best.

Where are you staying? I stayed at the Conrad and they had good diving shore diving.

Alexandria...wear that little Canadian Pin....LOL....You will have one of the Great trips of your life!

[Travelnsj]

Michelle...forgot to mention you have to see the valley of the Kings and the Queens...nothing else like it.

[nextariel]

Be sure to see the night Sound and Light show on the Sphinx, and second the trip down the NIle. It does not look like you have time in your schedule. Do spend time in the museum in Cairo - and yes, the mummy room is impressive. There is a lot to do in Cairo also with all the temples, mosques, and churches. I believe it is the Synagogue of Ben Ezra where they believe Jesus was as a child.

[cmt489]

Egypt travel update - we will be doing a couple of days on a liveaboard and will be doing a day dive trip to Dahab. Not going to do the Nile cruise since those types of things are simply not our deal (we would rather travel by land and mingle). Same with the light show. Not my thing. As a historian, I am interested in the sites for their historical significance and don't care if I see a light show made of them. I am brushing up on my Egyptian history as we speak. We will be with family friends who live in Egypt so we should be able to remain safe and unharassed. I maintain my promise to keep the trip reports coming!

[Travelnsj]

The cruise down the Nile is not a cruise in the typical sense. It is the most efficient way to see many of the Ancient historical sites of Egypt like Karnak, Luxor, Edfu, Valley of the Kings and Queens, Abu Simbel…it is not a luxury cruise of sunning and drinking…It is more like big comfortable riverboat…..that gets you from one spot to another....but if that is not your thing...that's OK....it was just posted for your info.

[Jellyfishluv]

Ooooh girl that will be awesome! Do tell us if it will be a good destination for SD in the future! -ww

WW I can already tell you that Sharm would be a fantastic place for SD---I'm hoping to do a live aboard in the deep south this winter over X-mas break.

Red Sea, great wrecks, reefs, hammerhead sharks, Whale sharks, reef sharks, colorful coral, colorful fish, CHEAP alcohol, and warm temps aroung 80F in Dec., water around 78/79F.

I ROCKED THE RED SEA--- Dec. 2005

ooohhh yeah, the food they served on the boat was fantastic, the boat crew are super freindly and so I'll add this, for those of you with spare time:

TopSide Sharm

***You are Truely going to enjoy this trip***

Edited by Jellyfishluv, 13 September 2006 - 01:40 PM.

[Travelnsj]

I have dove Sharm....I found it to have the most colorful corals I have see so far.....but as far as Marine life...Not much.....I had some friends that just got back in August from doing a liveaboard out of Hurghada. They went to the Brothers and down near Sudan. They said it was great diving.....They have also been to Palau twice...in asking them to compare the diving to Palau...well....did not quite measure up...LOL....Only 18 hours left I'll be on a plane to Bali/Timor....they say those corals are some of the best in the world

Edited by Travelnsj, 13 September 2006 - 07:54 PM.

[cmt489]

A little over a month to go for this trip. I am SO EXCITED!!!! I'm also glad that things have settled down in the middle East so that there will be less to worry about while I am there.

[BaysWaterBabe]

A little over a month to go for this trip. I am SO EXCITED!!!! I'm also glad that things have settled down in the middle East so that there will be less to worry about while I am there.

I'm sure you have nothing to worry about. The Egyptians are very keen to attract American (and Canadian) tourists back to their country, so they will be delighted to see you.

Looks like you have organised everything well, so don't need any pointers. But given a choice of dive sites in the Sharm area, avoid the local sites like the plague and take trips out to Ras Mohammed and Tiran (Jackson, Woodhouse, Thomas & Gordon Reefs) if offered. The liveaboard will most likely do the Thistlegorm (unmissable) and Abu Nuhas, so you'll get to dive the best of the northern Red Sea. Although the Sharm area has unfortunately become over-crowded and over-dived in the last 3-4 years, there are still plenty to see with regular sightings of hammerheads and even tiger sharks in Tiran and Ras Mohd., especially at the time you'll be there. Away from diving, don't forget to pop into the Camel Bar and have a few drinks on their rooftop terrace - fabulous views over the town and the bay.

Have a wonderful trip and do post a report as soon as you can. I'm trying to convince WW to organise an SD trip to the Red Sea for 2007.

[cmt489]

The countdown begins!!! My trip is less than two weeks away!

I promise to be diligent and post reports when I have:

• internet connectivity that is faster than a hamster running on a wheel; and
• time!

The first week will be diving and the remaining two weeks will be ground travel. I can't wait to see Egypt!!

[Terri]

Have a fantastic time!!!

Looking forward to your reports!