Leave home and dive into crystal clear waters before the sun sets – the Red Sea’s perfect diving destination, Sharm el Sheikh, is back!
Ok Sharm el Sheikh never went away, but direct flights from the UK did. Now with direct flights back on offer your favourite quick-hit dive destination suddenly got a whole lot closer, with door to door times down to under half a day. But after 5 years without direct UK flights how has the resort changed and what has happened to all that fabulous marine life? The good news is…
The best dive holiday destination just got better.
Any many of you know Sharm is suitable for all levels of divers, with no shortage of resorts, shore dives and boats on permanent standby. Settling on a weeks boat diving we booked our preferred Sharm dive operator, Emperor Divers. Dive Guides Elise, Duncan and Tracy were their usual stellar selves, as were our wonderful boat crew of Captains Ibrahim and Hany, Chef Sayed and Crewman Saad. It’s the safe, reliable, informed service you’ve come to expect from one of the world’s best boat operators. Emperor even provided a snorkel guide for our last day and guess what, we were treated to a turtle, feet away, surfacing for air. Reminds you how accessible this area’s fringing reef can be, perfect for all level of water enthusiasts.
What’s the diving like?
Sharm’s diving is every bit as spectacular as when we left it all those years ago. Its coral gardens and walls are stunningly pretty and there is a huge variety of fish species within this expansive habitat. The reefs are pristine and what stands out is the clarity of the water and the explosion of colour. It’s the absolute definition of diving in a huge natural aquarium. Perfect for the experienced diver and beginner alike because as diver’s know, no two dives are the same – we dived shark reef twice in and could have been visiting entirely different locations
What marine life is there?
Expect to see a huge variety of fish including so many species of angelfish, butterflyfish and triggerfish set amongst gardens and walls of purple, yellow and red soft coral. Everywhere are masses of the Red Sea’s signature fish, the delicate and beautiful anthias – a living, swaying orange curtain covering the coral walls, rays of sunlight piercing through from the surface above. Snow-white sandy gardens with coral-encrusted pinnacles, home to groupers, morays and damsel fish.
Going deeper… we were also lucky to share a boat with world-renowned marine life ID book authors, Ned & Anna DeLoach of New World Publications and Blenny Watcher
Ned lectures in fish behaviour and, while he was not here in that formal capacity, has been generously giving us his time to point out certain fish behaviour to look out for while diving. For example, we’d never noticed that on certain sites in mid-afternoon, at a depth of around 18m, a male Flasher Wrasse will get into a mating ‘dance’ in which he repeatedly opens and closes his spectacularly colourful dorsal fin to impress his ‘harem’ of females. The Flasher Wrasse is not a big fish so without Ned pointing out the where, when and what of its behaviour, I guarantee that we would have swum right by. Now we stop and watch this amazing display. This is but one example of our friends’ extensive knowledge; by listening to their fascinating explanations we’ve started to see the reef at a whole new level – it’s even richer than at first sight! Thanks for changing our diving for the better, Ned and Anna.
What time of year should you go diving in the Red Sea?
Great all year round, the water never drops below 20’, the Red Sea is a perfect destination, but in the months of November to April you’ll start to need a thicker suit, more for the wind-chill than the water temperatures and that’s when local knowledge and choice of dive boat comes into it’s own.
What else is there to do in Sharm-el-Sheikh?
Sharm has been open for business all through the five years that the Brits have been away. So there are plenty of tourists in resort and plenty going on. Camel rides and quad bike experiences in the desert with dinner with the Bedouins and stargazing. Restaurants, bars, clubs and shops. Water-sports, huge water parks, beaches and pools. Cuisine from local Egyptian fare to Indian, Thai, Chinese, steakhouses, seafood, Italian and more … all set against a magnificent backdrop of the craggy Sinai desert’s mountains. What’s more, it’s still one of the best value for money dive destinations on the planet.
What are the practicalities?
From the UK you can now fly direct with
Indirect is still an option with Turkish Airlines who’s new terminal in Istanbul make transfers very easy – last time we tried it the gate to gate change was under half an hour but always leave and hour and a half if you can. EgyptAir also offer regular indirect flights into Sharm el Sheikh.
What are the costs of diving holidays in the Red Sea?
A week’s stay at the Ghazala Beach Resort in January costs from £720 per person based on 2 people sharing a room with bed and breakfast meal plan and 5 days’ local reef day boat diving with Emperor Divers. Other hotels are available; for more information please click here Ghazala Beach Resort
Find out more
Want to learn more about our visit to Sharm el Sheikh?
Give us a call on 01473 852002
“I couldn’t see a life beyond injury, I couldn’t see that road ahead.”
A former soldier in the United Kingdom Special Forces Reserve, Jamie Hull was fulfilling a lifelong ambition of becoming a pilot in 2007 when, on a routine solo flight, his engine caught fire. Jamie sustained 60 per cent third-degree burns to his body, tissue scarring and internal injuries. He was given a five per cent chance of survival. Undergoing over 60 operations, he was able to pull through but, for Jamie, life as he knew it was over: “I couldn’t see a life beyond injury, I couldn’t see that road ahead. Physically, I felt I was done for.” Read how diving, one of Jamie’s first loves, helped him to get life back on track.
Back in 1998, Jamie was a keen and ambitious scuba diver. Originally a full-time officer in the Thames Valley Police, he decided to embark on his IDC with leading Course Director of the day, Theresa Simpson, who quickly took him under her wing and mentored him to success. A then newly qualified PADI Open Water Instructor, Jamie couldn’t resist the pull of the ocean and soon afterwards took the plunge to take a sabbatical from UK policing and return to the Red Sea to work directly for Emperor Divers. “I still remember those early years,” Jamie reflects, “great memories of the excitement of working in a busy dive industry in Hurghada, resounding with the same clarity as the magical visibility of the Red Sea itself!”
Jamie’s life story, however, went on to take the guise of many twists and turns including a comprehensive service with the British Army as a higher committed Reservist working all over the world before being subjected to the ultimate physiological and psychological downfall that a human being could possibly sustain. In the summer of 2007, little did Jamie realise that an epic life-changing accident was on the horizon.
A catastrophic injury, sustained during his training to be a pilot, left him with 60% third-degree burns to his body, severe tissue scarring and internal injuries; Jamie was given only a 5% chance of survival. Undergoing over 60 operations, he was able to pull through only by the skin of his teeth but, for Jamie, life as he knew it was over, “I couldn’t see a life beyond injury, I couldn’t see that road ahead. Physically, I felt I was done for.”
Ultimately Jamie never gave up and after many years of pain and discomfort, he went on to further project himself in a range of challenging events and endeavours, always going a little further to achieve his goals and in doing so, helping to support others.
“Following on from the ethos of my former Regiment 21 SAS, I always try to continue to live by those values and, in particular, the ‘individual pursuit of excellence’. By way of example, I’ve continually followed my passion for scuba diving as a vehicle for benefitting my own recovery and rehabilitation from the burns injury. Over many years, I’ve worked very hard with the diving and recently certified as a PADI Course Director. It’s such an amazing sport, which has helped me enormously on the long road to a stronger recovery. One of my goals now is to continue working with others to enable them to fulfil their career ambitions within the dive industry.”
Excitedly going back to his roots with Emperor Divers, Jamie recently delivered a diving expedition for several UK veterans, training them on a range of PADI courses and using the Blue Brothers’ Emperor Divers dive centre in the stunning marina at El Gouna.
“Having previously used the efficient and reliable services of UK-based Diverse Travel, I was very impressed with the whole organisation of my recent dive trip to the Red Sea with Emperor Divers. In all sincerity, for anyone looking to organise any kind of dive trip around the world, the booking and administration of Diverse Travel always delivers as smoothly as a well-balanced regulator at 40 metres!”
“The expedition I ran was indeed a great success, supported by the enthusiastic and diligent staff at Emperor Divers’ marina shop including a highly competent captain and crew of the Emperor Pegasus dive boat. As a Course Director, I genuinely recommend the top service Emperor provides for divers of all levels. What’s more, as for the diving in the Red Sea, I can still see the magic down there; with all the beauty, clarity and warmth there ever was!”
By Jamie Hull – PADI CD #109809
What marine life is there?
In El Gouna expect to see a variety of fish, reef sharks, dolphins, turtles, little fishes, big fishes and wrecks.
When to go?
All year round. That’s the beauty of the Red Sea – it’s close by and always has something to offer.
What else is there to do?
El Gouna Resort has much to offer the diver and non-diver with a wide choice of hotels, a golf course, shops and dive sites. Nicknamed Little Venice due to its elaborate waterways the resort has a marina with many good restaurants and bars.
Then there’s a mix of reefs and wrecks; most of the Northern Hurghada dive sites like Sha’ab El Erg, Uum Gamar and Careless can be reached as well as great dive destinations such as the four wrecks of Abu Nuhas and, on a special trip, the famous Thistlegorm wreck and its sister-ship, the Rosalie Moller.
What are the practicalities?
The nearest airport for El Gouna is Hurghada. You can take a direct flight with TUI Airlines and easyJet from various airports around the UK.
What are the costs?
Jamie stayed at the Three Corners Rhiana Inn for 7 nights. The cost is from £899 per person based on 2 people sharing a room with all-inclusive meal plan and 5 days’ local reef day boat diving with Emperor Divers.
Other hotels are available and we highly recommend the Three Corners Ocean View Hotel, which is situated next to the dive centre. Package prices from £1125 per person. For more information please click here Three Corners Ocean View Hotel
Find out more
Want to learn more about Jamie’s trip to the Red Sea? Call us on 01473 852002.