Who With? And Where In Egypt

[elliot]

hi,

Wanna book a last minute departing the 13-15th December for a week in Egypt.

Can anyone recommend a good dive company that will do last minute?

The usual expedia searches have failed :blink:

Thanks

Eliot

[erico]

Hi

Try Lynda at www.aquatours.com....I am off to Jordan on 8th Dec...great for corals and photography..


Eric

[drivewayreef]

Hi, www.explorers.co.uk sometimes have some good cheap last minute/late deals , I can recomend sharm and if you like to see the real Egypt as well as the diving Hurghada is also very good.

[spottydog]

check on Divernet (http://www.divernet.com) in their last minute sections.

Othwise check out Regal (http://www.regal-diving.co.uk) or Crusader (http://www.crusadertravel.com) who have last minute deals on their website. If there are 2 of you then regal are doing a buy one get one free on the diving with Emperor (recommend in Hurghada, wasn't very impressed with them in Sharm)

We're heading off to Hurghada for 2 weeks from the 12th as we prefer the diving their to Sharm.

For Information flights from London are the following days:
Hurghada: Friday
Sharm: Sunday, Thursday
Taba: Monday, Thursday
Marsa Alam: Wednesday (but won't restart until spring)

HTH

Anne

[chris&jess]

Elliot,

I am very jealous that you're off to Egypt! I had an excellent dive trip out there. May have some pointers for you, because I still have all my last minute booking research filed away in my Outlook Express! One day I've got to clear OE out!

Firstly, if you are diving the Red Sea, I would STRONGLY recommend you take a liveaboard. The diving is quite simply very much better, the further away from the coast you are. I know you're only out for a week, but there are short liveaboards lasting 3 nights & 4 days (or slightly longer). I've also dived fom shore, where you'll hop onto a boat and be taken off for about a two hour trip before you reach a dive site. You may think this is far, but it really isn't far enough. I found the coral/fish life was still thin on the ground. With a liveaboard, you'll be going way further out.

Secondly, this still isn't last minute... I booked my liveaboard out there without any difficulty two days before I boarded the flight, and there were loads of companies clambering for business.

Thirdly, Sharm-el-Sheikh is certainly not my idea of a fun place to be. It's a bit like a desert with haphazard semi-palacial hotels springing up randomly, intermingled with road works and another semibuilt hotel behind it... You won't see even a keyhole view of what the "real Egypt" is like. Hurghada is better, but even there, it's nothing like the "real Egypt" either (do excuse me drivewayreef ;) ). I'd suggest that in one week, it is not possible to see "the real Egypt" and dive properly. Best to choose one or the other (and you can always return having done some research whilst there, talking to the locals for recommendations!). Thus, if you're not going to try and see much more of Egypt than what is underwater, I would recommend an overnight stay in Sharm to acclimatise, get away as soon as possible onto a liveaboard, love the diving, and then return to Sharm for a final overnight stay to reacclimatise before flying home.

Phew! This post is getting a bit long winded! :D

One thought before I forget - you must phone up whichever dive company you go decide to go with, in order to confirm they accept your qualifications. I'm a PADI Advanced which is fine, but some of the companies wouldn't accept my partner's PADI Open Water :angry: , and others won't take you on a liveaboard if you haven't clocked enough dives.

Unmissable dive sites: the SS Thistlegorm (the best wreck I have dived internationally), Ras Mohammed sites are all pretty good, Sha'ab Mahmoud is excellent too.

Fourthly, when I was researching diving, I fonud that what these companies list on the Internet is not at all exhaustive. If you phone them up, they will be extremely accomodating to your requests, and very flexible with times/dates. This is purely because it is so very competitive in Sharm. You'll note that the company I recommend below only advertises 3 day liveaboards - with me they threw in a couple of days either side for shore diving as well for a small extra cost.

So, on a final note, there unfortunately are not that many companies that do short liveaboards. I went with the VERY highly recommended Colona Dive Club (small dive school, less well known and therefore your boat is unlikely to be ovefilled/crowded). I thought they were fantastic - very good fresh food cooked on the boat (multiple courses, all steaming hot and nicely presented), flexible diving, comfortable boat (I went on the Miss Seagull http://www.colona.com/sharm/liveaboard/seagull.html , and all the equipment was of good quality.

The company only makes UK bookingsd through an agent (which I think is still the case), and their contacts are:

Agent name: Sportif International
Contact Persons: Mr. Philip Connor or Ms. May Paige
E-mail: SPORTIF@compuserve.com
Phone: 01273 844919

(I hope this isn't out of date).

I hope this will be of use! There are other companies that I have kept the details for, that do either short liveaboards, or shore diving. Send me a message if you want their contact details too. If I keep typing away, I'm going to miss my train to London! (I will get any message on my return on Friday).

Regards,
Chris (P.S. that's me on the left, climbing down a rope to reach the depths of the Thistlegorm :lol: )

[les]

Got this today, check it out. ;)

Dear Divers

Regaldive have availability for departures to the Red Sea prior to Christmas. Why not escape the shopping queues and take advantage of some of these fabulous offers. Our lead in price for Sharm is £219 for flights transfer and BB accommodation for 7 nights. This can be coupled with our 2 for 1 offers on all 5 and 6 days dive packs. This means that 2 of you can enjoy a week in Sharm with 12 dives for under £300 per person.

The Red Sea is still a top dive destination and only a 5 hour flight from the UK. If you are planning to dive there in the next few months you will find some offers below, but make sure you book soon so you don't miss out!

Regaldive are constantly picking the best value packages to give you a fantastic diving holiday. Below are some of our favourite deals.

Direct Flight to Marsa Alam
From the 15 April, there will be a direct flight to Marsa Alam from London Gatwick, we will be offering land based and liveaboards holidays. For more details and prices please click here

Dive Pack Offers
There are some superb offers for a range of dates including Buy 1 dive pack get the second FREE. Similar offers for Learn to Dive courses.

We are very confident that our dive pack prices are extremely competitive and in the majority of cases cheaper then booking with a dive centre direct. By booking with Regal you not only save money, but your holiday / dive package is secure as we are a fully bonded operator which means your money is always safe.

Why take the risk ??

Package Offers
Prices are per person based on two sharing a standard air-conditioned room and include flights from London Gatwick or Manchester, transfers and 7 nights B&B accommodation. No flight supplement is applicable on the 7 or 14 December from Manchester Airport.

Sharm
Board07 Dec14 Dec04 Jan11 JanSgl supp
Sharm StarBB£229£269£339£349£70
Rosetta Main Hotel BB£239£279£349£359£70
Hilton Sharm DreamsBB£289£329£379£399£91
Tivoli StudiosBB£219£259£329£339£70
IntercontinentalBB£299£349£629£399£105
Dahab
Nesima HotelBB£259£299£379£359£70
HiltonBB£299£339£37£39£98
Nuweiba
Hilton CoralAI£339£279£39£42£98
TropicanaBB£269£319£349£369£70


Maldives Special Offers
Depart 18 January 2004 for 1 week on the Fathuhul bari liveaboard for £1059 per person this prices includes flights with Emirates, FB accommodation and up to 3 dives a day. January represents the best time of the year to dive in the Maldives. If you have never dived with Manta Rays? This could be your perfect opportunity to enjoy these gentle giants.

Grenada - True Blue Bay From £599
This stylish independent award winning hotel represents excellent value for money. Aquanauts now have a fully operational dive centre on site offering excellent diving to Grenada famous wrecks including the Bianca C.



For more details on any deals that we have please contact us on
0870 2201 777

email:info@regaldive.co.uk
ADD www.regaldive.co.uk TO YOUR FAVOURITES.

All of the above offers apply to new bookings only

[ahoy]

Elliot, as mentioned, look at www.explorers.co.uk
I'm off on Jan04 and got 1 week inc diving for £280 in Sharm.
Can't wait and I even found somewhere to buy a cheap, yet quality, wetsuit!
S.