When on holiday recently in Sharm el Sheikh, myself and my boyfriend completed our Open Water Diving course. After completing the course, we decided we would like to have a couple of dives where we could just chill and take in our surroundings rather than worrying about what we were meant ... Read review
incl. Breakfast - HRS Rating: /10 - Perfectly at home within its picturesque surroundings ... more
and cultural affluence, the Kempinski Hotel Aqaba is a heaven to explorers, leisure seekers and business travelers alike. The Hotel directly overlooks the Red Sea, and is close to Aqaba's downtown shopping and bunsiness districts along with an array of leisure, sproting and entertainment facilities.
Fantasea Red Sea is the fusion between Fantasea Divers and Coral Coast HotelSituated on ... more
the shores of the renowned dive site Eel Garden the location is idyllic for its views weather and sheer natural beautyAccommodating 30 en suite rooms with a choice of superior or standard room types both provide guests with a comfortable and authentic lodging for their trip Boasting amazing sea views and each with a private balcony allowing guests to enjoying and absorb the surroundings in privacy Providing a high level of service and guest satisfaction the setting and design of this beach front hotel allows for ample sun bathing relaxation and easy access to the house reef at Eel GardenThe two storey building faces the sea the lush green beach garden and idylic hammock pergola Awarded three stars from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism we believe our friendly service and can do attitude achieves much much more
Information: :Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
In the historic part of town, in walking distance from the souk and the charming streets ... more
of old Jeddah, the 4-star Red Sea Palace Hotel offers comfort and good facilities.The hotel comprises of 277 well appointed rooms and suites. All are very spacious and many offer sea views. The rooms and suites have all standard facilities and TVs with international channels. As in the entire hotel, wireless internet is free of charge in the rooms.The Executive Rooms on the 6th and 7th floors offer personalised service for VIP guests. The spacious lobby with attentive service is the ideal place to meet business partners over a cup of coffee, cappuccino or fresh juice in a cosy atmosphere.The property offers a long list of facilities and services to make your stay comfortable and enjoyable, including a tennis court, a gym, and an outdoor swimming pool.
Information: :Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
Situated on Dahab’s beach and close to the excellent scuba diving point of Lighthouse ... more
Reef, Red Sea Relax Resort offers a variety of great-value accommodation and its own diving club.Choose from a wide range of accommodation ideally suited to your needs and budget. Enjoy a good start to the day with a tasty breakfast. Visit the rooftop bar’s terrace and enjoy a drink, along with stunning views of Dahab’s bay.Relax around the large outdoor pool area and soak up the sun. Whatever your diving experience, join Red Sea Relax Resort’s private PADI diving club and explore Dahab’s wonderful scuba diving spots, right next to the hotel. Red Sea Relax Resort’s excellent beach-side location and friendly staff team allows you to fully appreciate the relaxed lifestyle of Dahab.Enjoy visiting the local cafés and bars, spend some time in the Red Sea and soak up the sun surrounded by the natural beauty of South Sinai, Egypt.
Information: :Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
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Advantages: Beautiful scenery and marine life, great visability Disadvantages: None
When on holiday recently in Sharm el Sheikh, myself and my boyfriend completed our Open Water Diving course. After completing the course, we decided we would like to have a couple of dives where we could just chill and take in our surroundings rather than worrying about what we were meant to be learning. The Dive School we learnt with offered trips to Ras Mohamed so we booked ourselves up for the trip.
What Is Ras Mohamed?
Ras ... ...this status in 1983. The Ras Mohamed National Park actually includes areas of land as well as water, meaning it is highly popular with divers. Today the Ras Mohamed National Park covers 480km².
The Ras Mohamed National Park is great for all animal lovers as there are many species to be seen both on land and underwater.
Where Is Ras Mohamed?
Ras Mohamed is located about 25 km southwest from Sharm el Sheikh. It is very easy to ... more
When on holiday recently in Sharm el Sheikh, myself and my boyfriend completed our Open Water Diving course. After completing the course, we decided we would like to have a couple of dives where we could just chill and take in our surroundings rather than worrying about what we were meant to be learning. The Dive School we learnt with offered trips to Ras Mohamed so we booked ourselves up for the trip.
What Is Ras Mohamed? Ras Mohamed is the only Egyptian National Park and was given this status in 1983. The Ras Mohamed National Park actually includes areas of land as well as water, meaning it is highly popular with divers. Today the Ras Mohamed National Park covers 480km². The Ras Mohamed National Park is great for all animal lovers as there are many species to be seen both on land and underwater. Where Is Ras Mohamed? Ras Mohamed is located about 25 km southwest from Sharm el Sheikh. It is very easy to get there, either by taxi or on an organised excursion. Once in Egypt, you will find many places offering trips here.
How Much Do Trips Cost? We took part in a trip which was arranged by the diving school in our hotel. The trip itself was free, we just had to pay for all our diving equipment which ended up being around £20 for the day which I thought was very reasonable. One very important thing you must remember if you plan to visit here is that you do need a visa. With it being a National Park they are very strict with this rule and you will not be allowed to enter without the visa.
The Visa You can obtain a visa from the airport and as far as I am aware, this is the only place you are able to get one. If you plan to do this dive site, then make sure you get the visa at the airport otherwise you will have to make a trip back to their airport during your holiday. The visa costs £10 and you can pay in either English or Egyptian money. The visa is basically a postage stamp which they stick in a page of your passport.
What Can I See? The Ras Mohamed National Park is described as being one of the top three dive sites in the world. Ras Mohamed does not contain the best corals in the world but the amount of and the variety of fish and sea life that can be seen is like nowhere else in the world. There are literally hundreds of different species of aquatic life for you to see. Included inside Ras Mohamed National Park are six main dives sites that I know of and which I will describe.
Shark Reef and Yolanda Reef This is actually where two reefs (Shark and Yolanda) merge together. The seabed is 25-30 metres deep and here you can see some beautiful marine life. This dive site actually runs in line with Hidden Bay and if your lucky you might actually get to see some sharks here, unfortunately we didn’t though.
Shark Observatory This area can also be reached from land for those people not too keen on water. Here, there is an observation platform called ‘Shark Observatory’ where you get the chance (again if your lucky) to observe sharks in their natural habitat. You can swim right underneath the platform and experience a great variety of fish. The coral reefs here are stunning and drop down as far as ninety metres.
Anemone City This reef is located about 120 metres from the shore. This is literally Anemone City, hence the name and there are many different species to be seen. This reef is particularly stunning because the corals have a slight slope to them and then suddenly drop away.
Eel Garden / Yolanda Bay This site is also accessible by land so again its good for people who are not divers as well. Many Eels are seen at this dive site, they lay on the sea bed which is 10-15 metres deep. This site also has a wreck. The name Yolanda Bay comes from the wreck itself, a boat called Yolanda (a South African ship) sank and in doing so, dropped its load which was hundreds of toilets and sinks which can still be seen laying on the sea bed. Unfortunately the wreck itself cannot be seen because the boat was made from timber and in 1986 a large storm smashed the remains of the boats against the corals. Here we saw all the usual fish such as the clown fish, banner fish, the blue spotted ray, the stone fish and also the giant Napoleon fish who was massive. Seeing the toilets at the bottom of the sea bed was an experience. My boyfriend had a funny tummy on the day we dived here and the diving instructor made a joke by sitting on one of the toilet at the bottom of the sea bed and holding his tummy!
Fisherman’s Bank / Jackfish Alley This site gets it name from the fact that there are so many Jackfish to be seen. Here there are beautiful coral walls, we were instructed to swim fairly close to the coral as there is a strong current here and keeping close to the corals means you wont get caught in the drift. I really liked this site for its sheer beauty, we were literally swimming alongside the coral wall and on the other side of us was a massive drop, it went so deep that it just looked black. There were a few caves here which you can go in and explore. Another part of the site I particularly liked was the fact that there were so many little nooks and crannies in which fish lived meaning we got to see some species that we had not seen before.
The Dun Raven The Dun Raven is a wreck dive and it situated right on the border of Ras Mohamed National Park. The Dun Raven was a British ship that sunk in 1876 on its way back from India. As it sunk it turned upside down and landed on the sea bed in the same position. The ship actually broke in two when it landed on the sea bed at a depth of 60metres. In total the wreck is about 80 metres long and 10 metres wide. You can enter both sections of the wreck and some beautiful marine life live here. Apparently it is quite common to see the Napoleon fish as well as Lionfish. You can still clearly see the large brass propeller which was fascinating. I really enjoyed this dive as it was the first wreck dive I have done. It was amazing to see how the corals have grown over the wreck and all the different species of fish and coral which have now made this boat their home.
Summary I would highly recommend the Ras Mohamed as a dive site. Some of the corals and fish were absolutely breathtaking and I saw sites that I will remember for the rest of my life. My favourite being a baby clown fish who was absolutely tiny and so cute! His overprotective Mum came out as we swam over them to make sure that we didn’t hurt her little baby! Sharks and Turtles are also permanent residents here but unfortunately we didn’t see either of them. The Ras Mohamed National Park caters for divers and non divers and really does have so much to offer. Through the years, over a thousand species of fish have been spotted in the Ras Mohamed area. This is due to the underwater currents providing lots of nutrients which attract all the fish. There are over 130 different species of corals and some of them are so beautiful. I think its an absolute privilege to be able to experience these beautiful untouched and natural surroundings. I did not list all the fish we saw during our dives as I didn’t want to bore people reading my review with a big list!
Advantages: Good visibility, fairly cheap, huge range of destinations Disadvantages: Boats can be crowded
I'm not an experienced Red Sea diver (been twice) but I've dived around the world a fair bit. I think the availability of the Red Sea to European divers means we sometimes look down on it. Many people are biased by either visiting or hearing about the built up resorts such as Sharm el Sheikh. But there's a huge amount on offer here, only 5 hours flight from the UK.
My first dive trip was to Sharm itself. Despite being touristy and built up, it's ... ...other way to experience the Red Sea is by liveaboard, and this is where Egypt stands out as a destination. The last few years have seen a huge number of high-end boats appear that are designed to satisfy the pickiest traveller. I travelled to Hurghada and did one of the northern Red Sea circuits with Blue o Two earlier this year - a fantastic boat and crew. The advantage of this type of diving is that you'er already on the dive site in the morning; ...
cathy_m80 19.08.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Red Sea (Dive Sites)
Advantages: Warm, clear, cheap, amazing sights! Disadvantages: Tummy troubles (if you are unlucky)
...Jordan every year. The Red Sea has some of the best diving in the world, yet it is cheap and relatively close to us - what more could you want? It is great for both beginners and experienced divers and I have been impressed with all of the different dive centres we have been with. They are all very hot on safety and the hired equipment has been fine. Beginners can even arrange to do their classroom activities in England and then finish the course ... ...time this year in a few months, so you can see I am addicted. If you haven't dived before, give it a go in a pool in England to see if it appeals.....but watch out, you too could become addicted and spend all your holidays in the Red Sea. ...
offy 17.08.2000 (12.05.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Red Sea (Dive Sites)
Advantages: clear warm water and unspoilt corals Disadvantages: diving in the canaries just won't be the same again
...of hearing how wonderful the Red Sea was, from my Buddies at Northampton Sub Aqua and decided I had to see for myself.
Having decided that we thought Sharm may be too busy for us we settled on a week at The Hilton Hotel, Taba. (Direct flight 5 hours) The only problem was that no one seemed to have heard of it! Taba is situated on the Sinai Peninsula right on the border with Israel. The scene at night is amazing, you can see Saudia Arabia, Jordan ... ...Hotel has Aqua Sports International based on site. They are a 5 star Padi centre and can offer both shore and boat dives everyday. The centre is managed by Huw Watson from South Wales who was a pleasant and informative guide and buddy.
Still enough scene setting. The most important thing was the water, the fish, the corals......well what can I say?
The water is crystal clear and warm, the freedom when changing from a dry suit to a semi dry is positively ...
RachelB 15.01.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Red Sea (Dive Sites)
Advantages: Fantastic diving with a great crew Disadvantages: you need your sea legs and at least 70 dives under your belt
...short summary of what the Red Sea has to offer and then provide a description of my last dive trip there over Christmas and New Year
The Red Sea is enormously popular with the UK diving population as it offers a great mix of scenic dives with some of the best preserved coral reefs, the opportunity to see both large pelagic and small macro life and some excellent wreck dives. There is a range of diving conditions to suite all skill levels from the ... ...bus ride.
The northern Red Sea is the most popular being closer to the big resorts of Sharm and Hurghada and divers have a choice of livaboard or day boat diving with a wide choice of accommodation. While the north has some superb reefs it also has some excellent wreck diving with The Thistlegorm the must see dive of any trip. If you get caught by a Red Sea bore on a trip they will tell you that the quality of the coral reefs has declined over the ...
atticusuk 28.02.2004 (25.07.2004)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Red Sea (Dive Sites)
Advantages: Relatively undisturbed,peaceful and clean Disadvantages: none in my opinion
...of the beauty of the Red Sea we decided to book a holiday and went for the quieter, less known resort of Taba Heights.
We stayed at the Marriot Beach Resort Hotel, and it was abolutely stunning, rated as 5* its the best 5* star I have ever stayed at. The beach was literally on the site, and across the water you could see the lights from Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The hotel had its own private beach and it was possible to literally walk chest deep ... ...and watch the fish through the clear waters. I took my two young children out with their snorkels and although not strong swimmers yet they were safe as I, at a mere 5ft3, could still reach the sea bed. It was a great experience for them and they saw a wide variety of fish from eels, lion fish, angel fish, rays to name a few. Being a keen diver I of course had to take a day trip out on a boat and have a few dives further out where the scenes were ...
KerrieW 17.03.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Red Sea (Dive Sites)
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