If you are not familiar with the location of the Red Sea, it runs down the eastern coast of Egypt from the Sinai Peninsula, where you will find the Taba Hotels complex, down through Sharm el Sheikh, on down to Hurghada, and then Soma Bay and beyond. These are the names of the best known hotel and resort areas. It is a part of the world that has been a must for scuba divers and diving holidays for a very long time…
The question here is when is the best time to visit, because Egypt and the Red Sea have classically been a winter sun destination for European Holidaymakers. I have visited Taba and Sharm in the early Spring, when the weather was pleasant but it became very cool in the evenings; and Soma Bay in July when the temperature was consistently 45 degrees, but with no humidity and a good breeze it was more than bearable!!
The main difference between the two visits was the fact that at Taba it was relatively busy and Sharm was packed, whereas at Soma Bay there was only 10% occupancy in a superb hotel called Les Residence des Cascades!!
Having said that, there is increasing evidence that tour operators are now concentrating on Egypt’s Red Sea area in the summer months, believing it to be more profitable for them than Spain or the Mediterranean. This means prices that were low in the summer months are now rising with demand.
School holidays are now expensive but the season, as in Europe, now runs from May until October. This means the Red Sea tour operators have their capacity geared to these months. If you can travel in September (when, incidentally, the water is perfect for diving holidays) or May and June, then you may well find some real bargains.
One piece of advice is don’t book early. If you can wait until late April or early May before booking your diving holidays in June, it is likely the Operators will not have sold their allotment of hotel beds, so prices can tumble dramatically.
So when is the best time to go to the Red Sea for diving holidays? The answer is probably June.
You can check out some great ideas for vacations on the Red Sea at http://www.worldwidevacationspots.com/categories/The-Middle-East/Egypt/
Grant Robertson
Also in Your Affordable Holiday
Sharm el Sheikh Holidays In Egypt
Hurghada Holidays Accommodation
Best resort / hotel for diving holiday for mixed abilities?
There are approx 6 of us who want to go on a diving holiday to the Red Sea in May. We are of very mixed ability from never diving before to qualified instructor level so need somewhere to please all. We aren’t doing it on the cheap and would like a 5 star hotel, ideally half board or b&b. We would like somewhere with a bit of life but not full of clubs and English / Irish Bars! Can anyone recommend the best resort and a really good hotel?
Thanks for the info everyone. I think we definitely want to go to Egypt (Red Sea). Should we try Sharm el Sheikh, Hurghada, Dahab or somewhere else?
I would really recommend doing a PADI course before you go. It would allow you to have a lot more time for diving when you get there instead of wasting your whole time learning something you could have learnt at home.
Egypt – the red sea anytime! there are many resorts there and its a world famous diving location.
From previous experience though, i absolutley loved the Shandrani hotel in Mauritus, amazing dives with the most amazing corals, fish and wrecks. They also providing offical PADI training for every level you need with the types of dives on offer to!
Also the hotel is incredible! amazing food, perfect location, stunning weather. Additionally there are many hotels in close distance where you can get a taxi to for some drinks or meals if you want to see out of your resort.
When we went a 14 year old have an equally great diving holiday as the 21yr old, the 35yr old and the 40yr old.
- Go threre and you wont regret it for sure! although it was costly (for a reason!)
Why don’t you try Gozo – one of the Maltese Islands? They have a few PADI diving schools there and these will give you every help you need. The local people are just great – there is some nightlife but nothing rowdy. There is much to see and lovely restaurants, the waters are clear and it’s just a great experience. They have 5-star hotels – some on the coast – but the Kempinsky is just fabulous.
Your holiday wreaks of Sharm el Sheikh!!!
If you are heading from UK and are looking for a holiday kind of holiday with your diving, bars etc go for Sharm
On the other hand, I have spent about 5 weeks in Dahab over the past 2 years and find it very relaxed, and is much cheaper than Sharm. The bars won’t be as busy as Sharm but they do exist – but mainly at the hotels.
Enjoy your trip though – very jealous!
I recommend Jumeirah beach club resort in Dubai. It has its own diving club and qualified instructors to provide diving lessons. Visit http://www.thatsdubai.com/dubai-resorts.html to read more
References :
http://www.thatsdubai.com/dubai-resorts.html
I guess you should target Marsa Alam. It is in the most south part of Egypt, on the Red Sea. This part of Egypt is new (like Sharm El Sheikh 25 years ago), very expensive, but what you will see while diving is unbelievable.
Most Hotels there are actually resorts and 95% are 5 stars.
Arrange your booking through a travel agency otherwise you’ll be screwed.
References :
Been there before
the sheraton in sharm el sheikh is the place for you. the in house aquarius dive centre has something for everyone. you can learn in the house reef or go off on day trips to the best sites in the northern red sea. i went there twice last year and it’s all very organized and i would recommend them to anyone.
References :
own experience
I’ve travelled to the Red Sea a few times now and I love it. There are dive schools all over the place and most of the 5* hotels have their own in-house school. The weather outside the peak summer months is perfect too – it gets a bit too hot for most people during July and August.