packing for egypt - & do i need a visa?

[Dundee]

And dont forget to visit the Indian Restaraunt at the Camel Hotel and Dive Club, Best Indian Food Anywhere

They do a fabby fish dish!


I am taking my youngest back to Emperor in Sharm next month to upgrade his Scuba Diver ticket to OW. They have moved to the Bay View Hotel which is very close to the jetty. The hotel is a bit basic but clean, Fatboy and I stayed there for the last night of our liveaboard in November but it means we have time for breakfast before each days diving.

The local dives at Sharm are relatively devoid of life during the winter, but who cares, its still Diving!!!

C

[divebunnie]

Oooo this looks like three threads in one!

As for the visa issue, I think that one has been covered several times over.

Clothing in Sharm at this time of year.. definitely bring something cosy for the evenings, a fleece and long trousers should suffice. And a hat for between dives. If you have a dry suit bring one, it is not so cold once you are in the water (24ºC), but believe me, if you want to do three dives, the second morning dive is no fun when you have to put on that clammy still wet wetsuit brrr. And the wind chill can get you when you surface after the dive(especially in Tiran).

As for the fleecing of tourists. They try to fleece us too (and in fact do... as residents, we still end up paying more for things than our fellow Egyptian instructors) and I guess this is something you just have to get over. On occasions it is infuriating and you end up having a huge row over a taxi fare. I generally try to agree the price first, and if they try to charge too much I simply get out and get the next cab. There are sooo many at the moment, it is a buyer's market. If they want to sit around for four hours waiting for a mug then that is their call.

In my opinion the diving here is quite spectacular with great viz and a big variety of life to see... you are visiting it at it's low point though, it is midwinter, so like a forest, the leaves are not on the trees (ie there are not so many fish about) and the sun is lower in the sky, so the colours not quite as bright. I am guessing that in four dives you also may not have experienced the best of what Sharm has to offer, and I have never heard of a local site called Ras Ghizmala unless it is a new site that has been discovered up in Nabq.. it must have either been Ras Ghamilla (which is beautiful at around 12 metres, but dull if you stay too deep for too long) or Ras Ghozlani (which is not local but Ras Mohammed) and is at its best in the morning (although logistics often result in us having to dive it in the afternoon as the last dive of the day).

Anyway, sorry to hear you had anything less than a fantastic time here... yes Naama Bay is a tourist trap but staying out in Nabq and near the airport is also a bit of a trap in itself.. ie having to rely on hotel supplied ordered taxis etc is a bit of a bind. There are some great hotels the other end of Sharm, nearer Old Sharm where you can still be independent, but are not in the thick of the neon night life of Naama.