Red Sea Diving

LIVEABOARD. NORTHERN ITINERARY

AUGUST 29TH UNTIL 5TH SEPTEMBER

“When is the best time of year to go to the Northern Red Sea?” people often ask.
The answer is August, and by no coincidence that is when our next trip is.

The water is at it warmest which generates a lot of fish activity. The fish gather in large numbers to feed and breed before the water temperatures begin to fall in the autumn. The air temperatures will have already dropped from the hottest months of June and July so sunbathing without frying to a crisp is an option.

We have booked the boat ‘Blue Fin’ which is one of a new generation of luxury dive boats.

We will fly to Hurghada from London Gatwick on the morning of Friday the 29th August. We should be comfortably settled on our luxury boat by late afternoon, all ready to start diving the next day. We then have 6 days of diving, normally three or more dives a day but with the last dive scheduled to allow a 24-hour break before flying home on the evening of the 5th September.

For those of you who have not dived in the Red Sea before you have a treat in store. The water at this time of year is normally very clear, with 50m plus visibility, and warm, a toasty 27 or so degrees. The Red sea is known worldwide for its fantastic hard corals.

The reefs are spectacular and are also scattered with wrecks for anybody who likes a bit of rusty metal with their reef. We plan to visit a number of wrecks as well as doing plenty of reef dives.

 

Some of the wrecks have been in the water for close on 150 years and have been completely taken over by the coral. Others are more recent but still act as home for the local fish. Among the wrecks we plan to dive is the world famous Thistlegorm, with its cargo of trains, motorbikes, trucks etc that never reached the WWII British troops it was trying to supply. We should also be able to visit the world renowned Ras Mohammed  with its 400m vertical walls and vast shoals of big fish. Check out the gallery on our website www.e-scuba.co.uk  The aim is to do a variety of dives, including drift dives, old and new wrecks, colourful reefs, and spectacular walls.
 Accommodation is in twin cabins; all cabins are air-conditioned with en-suite facilities. The boat has two water makers provide ample hot and cold freshwater.

There is an air-conditioned saloon area with TV and sofas as well as a large air-conditioned dining room and a bar/pub area with TV on the second deck. Entertainment facilities include TV, Video, DVD, CD and tape player.


There are 2 sundecks, with a shaded area for relaxation, and a large dive deck with dive platform allows easy access to the water. Nitrox up to 36% from a partial pressure system is available on board. There is also a recharging station for torch, cameras and flash equipment.


There will be a helpful crew to look after us. There are "zodiacs" for picking up divers. The boat will leave Hurghada harbour and will cruise to different locations after each dive or two, mooring up at a calm, sheltered, location each night.

 

You will need money for a tip for the boat crew, t-shirts, drinks etc. The best currency to take is Euros or U.K. pounds.
 

Vaccinations are not a requirement for entering Egypt but it is usually recommended to be current with Polio, hepatitis, and typhoid and tetanus inoculations. Do check with your GP for the latest recommendations.

 

You must have a full UK passport with at least 6 months left to run and a couple of empty pages in order to enter Egypt. A visa is required to enter Egypt the cost of these is included for UK passport holders. (Other nationality passports please check with your embassy to find out what the latest requirements are……no visa = no trip!)

 

The weather should be warm and sunny so pack light clothes with perhaps a fleece just in case a cool breeze springs up in the evening. Take sunglasses, sun tan oil and a hat, as the sun can be strong. No shoes are worn on the boat so just have a pair for travelling. Do bear in mind when packing that there is a 20kg weight allowance on the flight and it would be a shame to have to leave your diving equipment behind, (or pay excess baggage).

The cost of the diving package includes tanks and weights so you will only need to bring the following with you. If you do not have these items do come and visit the shop either to buy or to arrange hire. We have special offers for both.

 

Wetsuit, 3mm.
BCD,  Regulator with octopus.
Dive computer
Torch, a must if planning on night diving but useful on a number of other dives.
If you are bringing a rechargeable torch the local voltage is 220V, but you will probably need a plug adapter. 
Mask, snorkel and fins. Strap fins with boots are best.
Marker buoy and whistle

 

The cost of the trip is £899. This includes the dive package, flights, government taxes, transfers, shared accommodation, and food, visas for UK passport holders and local park fees. A non-refundable deposit of £250 is needed to secure a place. Balances are due 8 weeks before departure.

Not included are gratuities for staff and crew, purchases from the ‘shop’ and alcoholic drinks.

 

We have arranged some special deals for basic training combined with the trip:
We can do a complete PADI open water diver course package. With the pool and theory done over a weekend in the UK before departure, the open water dives will then be done on the first two days of diving leaving four more days of diving. Included in the cost are the manuals, log pages, and certification card and gear hire The cost would be an extra £300 on top of the trip price.

 

Another option for anybody completing their referral course, i.e. doing the 4 open water dives to qualify, can do these for an additional £95. These would be done on the first two days of diving leaving a further four days diving. This again includes the certification card and gear hire.

 

For those of you who already have your open water qualification, or who gain it over the first two days of the trip, you should go on to take your Advanced open water qualification. This would cost £100 and includes manual and certification card.

 

Other courses such as specialties in underwater photography, naturalist, boat diver, wreck diver, nitrox etc can also easily be completed aboard. Please call to discuss your options.

 

For those of you needing to hire gear we can offer rental of BCD, regulator with octopus and depth gauge, wetsuit and mask, snorkel and fins for £100 for the week. You will need to book this in advance and take it out with you.

 

The trip is being arranged through a tour operator, BlueOtwo, and, in order to be covered by their ATOL bonding, cheques should be made payable to BlueOtwo.  For credit card payments there is a handling charge of 2%. There is no handling charge on debit cards.

A condition of booking is that you have adequate travel insurance. If you already have insurance please check that it covers you for scuba diving including recompression treatment. There is a link to a good policy from our web site on the travel page. http://www.e-scuba.co.uk/travel.html
Get cover when you book in order to make full use of the cancellation benefits.

 

Finally, check our website (www.e-scuba.co.uk) for the photo gallery of previous trips.

 

If you would like to book or if you have any questions please do not hesitate to call.