So Who has Dove the Red Sea ?

[Rascal1933]

I have read several dive reports that rate the diving in the Red Sea as some of the best that there is.

As a matter of fact....I think Scuba travel has 3 Red Sea locations in their top 10 dive locations in the world!

Were have you dove there and what was it like?

[fire diver]

Never dove it, but it's one of the places I want to dive.

FD

[Illini_Fan]

Looking forward to some responses on this -- a trip to the Red Sea + an excursion to the "Valley of the Kings" is on the possible list for 2008 or 2009.

[Ajuva]

I still have to dive there myself, we are intending going to Hurghada for the October break.

Friends do there all the time and say it is some of the best diving they have seen.

I have also heard that it can be a bit of a cattle market at times in the Sharm areas, load the boats and damn the consequences.

There is a very good reputation for the guides being reef aware though with severe penalties for failing to comply. You can get bounced from the rest of the days diving for touching the reef.

Great wreck diving and loads of tech and freedivers live there now.

If we confirm the October trip I shall make sure and put a long review in.

Ajuva

[SouthernSeas]

Hi. I used to live in Cairo, Egypt and used to go to the Red Sea all the time.

I've dived Hurghada, Sharm and Marsa Alam. I would suggest going out of Sharm. It has the best access to the most diverse dive sites in the northern Red Sea. I was totally disappointed by the day boats out of Hurghada.

One of the best day boat operators in Sharm is the shop located at the Ritz Carlton. You don't need to stay at the Ritz to use it. They are called "Only Six" -- they have a great boat and they don't pack people on it like many of the dive operators there. Their prices are competitive with all the others.

You should make sure that you are able to dive both the Straights of Tiran and Ras Mohammed areas. They are very different and both excellent areas (each area has multiple dive sites) -- most of the dive boats alternate days between the two areas (one day to Tiran, next day to Ras Mohammed etc.) The local reef dives in front of the hotels are mostly over dived.

The absolute most swish dive operator in Sharm is out of the Four Seasons -- very pricey, but they have a few private dive sites that are open only to them. I hear the Hilton also has a good dive operation.

There are a lot of freestanding dive operations in Sharm, but I don't know too much about them, because I always used Only Six as a day boat.

Also, if at all possible, try to go to the wreck of the Thistlegorm. You can do it on a day boat, but its a long day (they leave at like 5:00am to get to the wreck). A few places go there regularly, including Camel Dive, which is a popular "stand alone" operator. If you can do a liveaboard, even better.

Hope this helps.

Best,
SouthernSeas

[Illini_Fan]

So, if you select a Liveaboard for diving in the Red Sea, does that impact the departure point? Since I'm trying to include Luxor and probably Cairo on this trip, using Hurghada seems much easier ( Take the train from Cairo to Luxor for that part of the trip and then bus over from Luxor to Hurghada). Getting to Sharm from Luxor seems very challening, but if it will provide superior liveaboard options over Hurghada then I'll need to consider that.

Thoughts?

[Travelnsj]

I did Sharm about 6 years ago for 7 days...great colors in the corals....saw one or two fishies....LOL...maybe a couple more....I would not waste my time....I have heard if you go south do a liveaboard out to the brothers area that can be good....friends who did that trip said they loved it....They were also Palau divers when I asked them to compare to Palau....well they kinda said....no comparison to Palau.

[Illini_Fan]

Originally Posted by Travelnsj

...when I asked them to compare to Palau....well they kinda said....no comparison to Palau...

Diving Palau would make my journey to Luxor just a tad bit longer than I'm planning.

[Travelnsj]

Originally Posted by Illini_Fan

Diving Palau would make my journey to Luxor just a tad bit longer than I'm planning.

Your right....Cannot miss Luxor, Abu Simbel, Giza...etc etc....then go do some diving in the Red Sea.

[SouthernSeas]

If you do a liveaboard out of Hurghada you'll be fine. I just didn't like the day boats out of there. So, if its easier for you to get to Hurghada for a liveaboard, then I'd do it that way. If you do a short liveaboard, you'll probably stay in the Northern Red Sea area, longer liveaboards might go down to the Brothers. If you like wrecks, get on a liveaboard that goes out to the Thistlegorm -- it's totally awesome (but the conditions can sometimes be a bit rough).

Anything you do, you'll love it I'm sure.