Marsa In November

[TAZA]

Any Advice please.
Been to Sharm twice El Gouna three times.
Looking at Marsa Alam in November,what can I expect.
Is the diving better or worse & whats the night life like.
Cheers

Been looking at Coral Beach Diving Hotel & Kahramana Resort & Calimera Habiba Hotel.

Wife will be tagging along (non diver)

[Depth-junkie]

Went to Marsa and the Corel beach diving hotel last march.

Hotel is lovely, diving is the usual southern redsea fair. If the weather permits trips to elphinstone etc.

Night life is non existant, you really have the hotel only. Apart from the hotel everything else is in building phase. But because of this prices are cheap, and you really get a laid back, quite week away with some diving.

For non divers, if they are not happy just chilling by the pool etc there aint much for them to do. No shops etc to walk to.



ATB
Gareth

[Daz217]

Went in Nov 07. Very Windy but still warm especially out of the wind. Shore diving viz was crap until you swam out of the shallows probably 100M fin at most sites.
Water temp about 22 o C. Night life............ Errr No all hotel based but there was a group of us so we entertained ourselves.
However no shopkeepers bothering you to buy this that and the other every two minutes. Shops in the hotel complex had fixed pricing for the most part this was reasonable. Food was good and it's the only time in 6 trips to the Red Sea that i have not been struck down with the squits.
Sharm it is not (Well not yet anyway) very slow paced but the Diving is my opinion not much different to Sharm and if i'm being honest i personally think Sharm probably clinches it in terms of variety however Marsa have the Big Turtles at Marsa Abu Dabab which made my holiday. The rest of the Diving is no different to Sharm and mostly shallower stuff.
Took a trip out to Elphinstone and it was very windy and hence choppy on the surface i personally don't think it was worth the price of the boat ride to get there
it is just "Out in the Blue" stuff with nothing to see but i might have felt differently if we had seen the Oceanics which obviously we did not. The reef itself was to my mind nothing spectacular nor any better than other reefs i have dived i personally rate the straits of Tiran reefs over Elphinstone.
Anyway i'm sure someone else will be along soon with a different opinion.

[Mal Bridgeman]

Gareth is right.... I've been there a few times and I quite like the under-developed style .... reminiscent of how Sharm used to be before it turned into Blackpool.

That side of Egypt tends to be more windy and the weather changes for the worse at the beginning of November ... the cool winds start and although during the day you can manage with a t-shirt and shorts ... night time needs a little more. Water temps are still reasonable .... just need a fleece on to warm up after the dive.

The Local diving is nice but not going to win any awards .... although Elphinstone, which *is* a world class dive site is only a rib ride away ..... me? I wouldn't do it from a rib unless you paid me .... a lot! ... but each to their own.

I have stayed at Coral Beach, Kaluna (I think) also the Akassia Swiss, and Tulip Resort .... I would go back to Tulip Resort.

HTH
Mal

[Georgina]

I love the Coral Beach Diving Hotel for a complete chill out. The hotel has a wonderful Egyptian style and character and food is great but nowhere to walk.....at the moment. However, all the development and hotels on the other side of Port Ghalib marina were due to open mid-November. My friend and I did a guided tour of the three hotels and whole development couple of weeks before and it was still a complete construction site. They were even advertising in Tatler magazine for the launch party. Needless to say it was cancelled and now they are saying maybe February. My friend, Ramona, was working for Coral Beach Hotel and is now working for these new hotels. The whole of this new complex is run by South African's something to do with Sun City? It is aiming at the top range of the market and the hotels will be stunning but on a massive scale. About 1,000 rooms in total with the three adjoining hotels. I like the small, personal style of the Coral Beach. There is going to be a massive conference centre for summits which are currently held in Sharm and they were talking of getting Beyonce to perform as she has never performed in the Middle East or Egypt before? The property and retail side has been created around alleyways to resemble Khan el-Khalili in Cairo. I think the property will be targeted at Saudi's as it is extremely expensive considering there is absolutely nothing else around apart from the airport and marina. The whole project is owned by a chappy from Kuwait.

Anyhow, I think there maybe some good deals when these hotels open? But I guess they will then be expensive as they are 5*+. But I will be going to the launch party when it does all open and will keep you updated. It will certainly be somewhere to walk to from Coral Beach Diving Hotel.

[Fiona]

Originally Posted by TAZA

Been looking at Coral Beach Diving Hotel & Kahramana Resort & Calimera Habiba Hotel.

Please don't go to the Kahramana Resort, I stayed there a few years ago after a liveaboard trip - Tony Backhurst used it as the last night of a liveaboard trip, then there was a huge outcry because they dynamited the house reef to make easier access to the sea for they guest.

There was a lot of pressure and TB changed hotels although by then the Coral Beach was open so I guess that a brand new hotel next to the marina was also a cost driven one.

[Ahmed Adly]

Hi,
For what it's worth, Hurghada is much nicer reefs than Marsa Aalam.
I dived all round there and never REALLY found anything worth the camp life style.

[TDave]

For what it's worth, Hurghada is much nicer reefs than Marsa Aalam.
I dived all round there and never REALLY found anything worth the camp life style.

Personally, I'd say the opposite, although I suppose it depends what you like.

I've done a lot more diving in and around Marsa Alam than I have in Hurghada, admittedly, but of those sites I would say for the proximity to shore etc, the house reefs in particular are stunning.

There are some great sites in Hurghada as well, but from a reef perspective I've always preferred Marsa Alam.

There's a lot more reefs to access in Hurghada, and more in the way of wrecks (Abu Nuhas, Rosalie Moeller etc) which you simply don't get further south, but I would say the overall quality of reef is better around Shagra / Marsa Alam.

But again, I suppose it depends what yardstick you care to use.


As regards the Original Post, November's a nice time to visit, as others have said. It can be windy, especially towards the end of the month and the water begins to chill off but the diving is still very rewarding.
I'd reiterate what's been said about the Kharamana - whilst it is a very nice resort (with a lovely Italian restaurant), it does have a somewhat dubious history that would make me think twice about staying there.

Wherever you decide to go though - enjoy it!

[Ahmed Adly]

Originally Posted by TDave

Personally, I'd say the opposite, although I suppose it depends what you like.

I've done a lot more diving in and around Marsa Alam than I have in Hurghada, admittedly, but of those sites I would say for the proximity to shore etc, the house reefs in particular are stunning.

There are some great sites in Hurghada as well, but from a reef perspective I've always preferred Marsa Alam.!

I think we both have the opposite thing going on. Which is that you are very experianced in Marsa and I in Hurghada

But we must agree they are both pretty neat. especially Hurghada