Scuba Diving the Red Sea

Scuba Diving the Red Sea

Choosing the Red Sea at Sharm El Shiekh

We travelled through the Egyptian desert when we explored the Egyptian temples and tombs. The port in Sharm El Sheikh would be our first opportunity for scuba diving the Red Sea. This had been on my “list” for a long time. We were not going to miss this chance. Unfortunately, we didn’t get into port until noon, so scuba options were limited.

David checked out companies in advance. When we arrived in port we saw lines of idle scuba boats. With tourist volumes so low, it was hard to find a scuba company interested in taking just two divers for a short port day.

Dive Boats - Scuba Diving the Red Sea.jpg

While cruising, we emailed to book scuba diving the Red Sea with the Red Sea Diving Collage. They said we could only get one shore dive in the afternoon. If we stuck around after sunset, we could then get a night dive. When we arrived, we understood why 4 hours to sunset really only gave us time for one afternoon dive. It took us over 3 hours from start to finish for one dive. We did not make a decision on a night dive until we saw how the first dive went.

Heading to Naama Bay

The cruise ship was cleared on time. Exiting with our passports in hand, we went through customs clearance. This would be the first port where we had to carry our passports and show the Egypt entry stamp.

The day tour and town shuttle buses came right up to the ship to pick up passengers. Those wandering on their own walked the long, hot empty parking lot to the security gate. Security was thorough. I was given a pat down, our bags were x-rayed and dogs wandered the terminal. We found a shady spot beside the armed sentry to wait for the driver from the dive shop.

It was a short drive through Sharm El Sheikh to Naama Bay. Other than water sports and one large mosque, it did not look like there was much to do in this port.

Mural in Sharm El Sheikh -Scuba Diving the Red Sea.jpg

Gold Mosque in Sharm El Sheikh -Scuba Diving the Red Sea.jpg

Entering the beach area it was immediately evident how depressed the tourism industry was. Only about 1 in 10 shops were even open. It looked like a ghost town. We were the only scuba divers. This meant we got a personal underwater tour but would also get the easiest dive they could manage. This would not be the best example of scuba diving the Red Sea!

Scuba Diving Was Hard Work

Once our paperwork was checked, we got our gear. We had scuba dived on the Great Barrier Reef and then in St Lucia in the summer. So scuba diving currency was not an issue.

I had brought my wetsuit and we had masks with snorkels but the rest we needed to rent. This would not be a full service dive! We got fully geared up at the shop. Waddling with our tanks on, we crossed the street, walked through the cafe, went through the heavily occupied beach dodging sunbathers and finally hit the water. Once we were about hip level, I floated some of the weight off my back. I was ready to start scuba diving the Red Sea.

Beach in Sharm El Sheikh -Scuba Diving the Red Sea.jpg

Our dive leader noted that the water was saltier than other areas. Both of us had new gear and this extra salt meant we were very light. The extra 2 kilos the guide had didn’t really help. I knew I was in trouble early. David handed me the iPhone with a floaty strap. Even that little bit of extra buoyancy caused me to shoot to the surface. Luckily we were still in 10′ of water.

Both of us fought with being too light for the entire dive. I normally have perfect buoyancy and can move up and down with simple breaths. By the end of the dive I kept my breath expelled as long as possible to keep down in the water. Not a way to enjoy scuba diving in the Red Sea!

Scuba Diving the Red Sea

Scuba diving the Red Sea would not take us far on this first experience. We swam through the house reef within the buoys. It was a healthy reef. We could have stayed for some time to take pics but our guide moved us on.

Coral -Scuba Diving the Red Sea.jpg

Puffer Fish -Scuba Diving the Red Sea.jpg

The next brief stops were at two artificial reefs growing on a few wire frame statues. There were colourful fish flowing around the pyramid and dolphin statues.

Artificial Reef -Scuba Diving the Red Sea.jpg

When we looked up, we could see the glass bottom boats above us. I am sure we were in a picture or two taken from above.

Glass Bottom Boat -Scuba Diving the Red Sea.jpg

Glass Bottom Boat -Scuba Diving the Red Sea.jpg

Slowly going deeper we swam across what looked like a desert with sand dunes. We were certainly getting our swimming exercise.

Diver -Scuba Diving the Red Sea.jpg

Diver -Scuba Diving the Red Sea.jpg

Blue Spotted Ray -Scuba Diving the Red Sea.jpg

The deeper reef had large schools of immature fish swarming. We only saw hard corals – no fans, sponges or anemones.

Coral -Scuba Diving the Red Sea.jpg

Blue Clam -Scuba Diving the Red Sea.jpg

At one point on the way back we stopped to take a picture of a giant grouper.

Giant Grouper -Scuba Diving the Red Sea.jpg

Along the way we saw the new fish we had been watching for when scuba diving the Red Sea. The glass fish were tiny and translucent. The crocodile fish looked like a rock fish until you saw its distinctive snout.

Crocodile Fish -Scuba Diving the Red Sea.jpg

We Would Go Back To Dive The Red Sea

It was a long swim back. It had been almost as much a swimming expedition as scuba diving the Red Sea. We surfaced sooner than we had wanted when we bobbed like a cork. Dragging ourselves out, we trudged back to the dive shop with our gear. This was certainly as far from concierge diving than we will ever get. It was all do-it-yourself!

Diver -Scuba Diving the Red Sea.jpg

We declined taking a second night dive. This spot was certainly not exciting enough to go through the effort of a second dive.

We often find that scuba diving from a cruise ship or even resort scuba diving will not give you the best scuba diving in an area. Much like we get a taste test of ports when we cruise, we get only a small sample of what scuba diving might be like. We didn’t really get much of the Red Sea scuba experience. We would need to come back to really deliver on the promise.

Have you tried scuba diving the Red Sea? What is your favourite spot? What was the most unusual fish that you found scuba diving the Red Sea?

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6 Comments

  1. Hi Linda,

    We did a 2 week tour to Egypt in Sept 2015 and finished with some fun in the sun at a Sharm el Sheikh resort. While there we took a day trip to Ras Mohammed National Park and Dahab and I tried snorkeling for the first time. As beautiful as it was under the Red Sea, I couldn’t get the hang of breathing properly but at least I could say I attempted it, unlike my hubby who wouldn’t! I’m often up for a new challenge.

    • Grace, We were glad to get the chance to scuba in the Red Sea even if this experience was not the best scuba experience. The Red Sea has been on our list for a long time. We would definitely want to go back. I must admit that I have more trouble snorkelling than scuba diving. I always seem to get water in my snorkel and I am far too buoyant to dive under when snorkelling (like hubby can). Watch for the coming blogs on our trips to see the temples and tombs in Egypt!. Linda

  2. Howdy Linda,

    Again, thank you for the beautiful pictures and the information on scuba diving in the Red Sea. I am not very proud to say it, but I have never even thought of trying. I watch the videos, thank you very much! Anyway, if you ever do come back to Egypt, I would love to meet you and David again.

    Best regards to both of you.

    Mervat

    • Mervat, I am glad you liked this first taste we had of scuba diving in the Red Sea. We will definitely be back to explore the underwater world more. We would like to get to Cairo and will definitely be in touch. Linda

  3. Sorry to hear that your scuba diving eperience in the Red Sea was not perfect. I think Sharm el-Sheik is a quite touristy spot. We have been diving further south – there are a lot of great spots reachable from the beach.

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