Where next in Egypt?

Hi All,

Looking for some advice, its reaching that time of year where I want to get my next holiday booked in for the summer. Last year I went to Marsa Alam in Egypt and had a good time. I selected the resourt I stayed in based on the fact it had a dive centre in its grounds, a good house reef that allowed unguided house dives. The one thing that let the place down was that the staff were mostly german or Egyptian whoes English seemed somewhat selective. Having dived with several companies in the Carribean all run by brits I found we got a much friendlier and more helpful service. Whenever we asked for recommendations of where is best to go, where can I see x we were either greeted by a puzzled look or pushed towards having a guided dive where we could be shown for a fee of course.

So my criteria for my next trip is a hotel with a dive centre either onsite or in the complex so its just a short walk from the room. Needs to have a good house reef that allows you to dive un-guided with your buddy but also offers boat trips. Ideally looking for somewhere with a more fiendly and helpful approach. Ive been looking at either Hurgada or Dahab or possibly Nama Bay but still open, dont want a long connection from the airpor if I can avoid it...

If anyone can recommend anywhere you have been before this would be great and the name of the dive centre. Will probably book through Thomson or someone like that and book the diving direct but its always really difficult to find the dive centres and what they are to book. Also consider booking with somone like Regal although from what I can tell they seem to be slightly more expensive?

Any thoughts or recommendations greatly received!

Cheers,

Mark

You've been south, so I recommend heading north, specifically to Nuweiba. The downside is that Nuweiba is a fairly lengthy transfer from Sharm airport (about 2 hours), but it's very good for photography and offers a pleasing contrast to what you have already done. There's a good balance of wide-angle scenics and macro subjects, the diving is mostly shallow and there are some superb cleaning stations. Also, it's probably the best place in the world for shooting lionfish.

I can recommend Africa Divers as a good English-speaking operation w w w . a f r i c a n d i v e r s n u w e i b a . c o m they are based next to the plush but affordable Swisscare Hotel.

Don't go there for pelagic or big-fish action; there isn't much. If you prefer a more bustling environment, Sharm may be a better option. If you're diving day boats out of Sharm/Na'ama Bay, I recommend holding off until summer, when the sites at Ras Mohammed really come to life.

Good luck!

Thanks Simon,

Ive had a read and Nuweiba sounds like a good option, shame about the 2 hours transfer time..!

Im quite keen on seeing some Manta's again on my next trip. Perhaps something as you say further north would be a good idea having done the south!

Mark

Hmm. Mantas are a lottery in the Red Sea, but you're more likely to see them in summer. If you really want to get mantas out of your system, go to the Maldives and you're practically guaranteed to find 'em. You are generally unlikely to find them in northern Egypt.

Having done a bit of Reading taba also sounds like a good option as well. Has it's own airport and is slightly further north of Nuweiba?

Am I right in saying Nuweiba is a good spot for sea horses?

Cheers,

mark

I gotta say I loved the house reef at the coral sea imperial north of naama bay (Ras Ghamila). When I've stayed at the coral sea imperial I mainly dived with Sinai Divers (there is a center in the baron palms a short walk to the hotel next door and in naama bay). All the Sinai divers boat trips are from naama bay, so it does involve a few 1/2 hour mini bus journeys. It's close to the airport, but we never saw any aircraft from the hotel. Sinai divers do dive packages at good rates with some free house reef dives thrown in. You can also get a rib out from aquarius center which is linked to the coral sea imperial to the tiran straits. The coral sea hotel is ok, nothing special but all you need for a good diving holiday imo, all inclusive, sun beds can be a bit of a battle, but easy access to the reef via a floating jeti. I'm back off there in march and was there last oct. Not done the peak summer season yet and not seen mantas there yet, but have seen plenty of barracuda, turtles, blue spotted rays, nudis, amongst the usual

Hi TNT,

Thanks for the suggestion. Ive been doing a lot of reading and I was starting to settle on the idea of the Hilton Dahab which I beleive has a branch of Sinai divers on the grounds. As you say they seem to have a good house reef and offer a good range of trips etc.

Need to tie down a buddy and some dates and book something up, strangely the best price I can get for the flights and accomdation is by booking the whole thing through BA.

Mark

My local dive club does an annual summer trip to Dahab and I'm debating the trip up from naama bay to do the blue hole after the recommendations lol

I'm not sure when you are going, but could hook you up with them if you are still in need of a buddy they may be able to help. They are only doing a week and going to the Bedouin Moon. They use Reef 2000 dive center

Sinai divers are professional and a lot better organised than the other centers I've dealt with in naama bay. I think they are a German based company though as most of the divers seemed to be German, not sure how this would impact on you finding a buddy with them.