Red Sea Scuba Diving Holidays
Dive Liveaboard Trips and the Ras Mohammed National Park, Egypt
Aug 8, 2009
The Red Sea is located between Asia and Africa. The most northerly point forms the Sinai Peninsula and it then stretches over 1000 miles south to join the Indian Ocean between Ethiopia and Yemen.
The Red Sea has remained relatively wild, desolate and pristine. It is is fascinating mix of clear, turquoise sea teeming with marine life, reefs and corals and the barren desert landscapes that surround it. The long, narrow Red Sea is surrounded by arid mountains on both sides. No rivers flow into it and the sea has a very high salt content, requiring divers to use more weights.
Because of the abundance of species, Red Sea diving is considered by many to offer the best diving in the world. It attracts divers, underwater photographers, marine scientists and leisure seekers.
The underwater topography is as spectacular as its marine species. The living reefs stretch way out to sea, forming caves, lagoons, underwater gardens and plateaus.
Liveaboard Diving Opportunities
A liveaboard is a boat specifically designed to offer visitors a stay on board (typically between 3 days up to 7 days). This allows guests time to travel to more distant dive sites and it ensures that they enjoy maximum dives on a vacation, without all the logistics of getting to and from a hotel and launching to the dive sites two or three times a day in the heat.
Up-market liveaboards offer cabins with private en-suite bathrooms and showers, air conditioning, an in-house bar and dining room. Meals are provided and all the visitor has to worry about is getting up in the morning in time to swallow down a coffee and get equipped for the first dive of the day!
Generally, a diver makes between 3 - 4 dives a day. A typical cruise day starts at 07:00 hrs with the first dive, the last being either a sunset or night dive. There are about 3 hours in between dives to allow the body to recover before diving again.
Prices for liveaboard packages start at around £700 for 7 days, including flights from London.
What Diving Qualifications are Necessary?
A PADI Open Water Diver license is acceptable on liveaboards provided the diver has an intermediate level of diving experience. Similar licenses from any other internationally recognized scuba association are also acceptable on cruises.
Although there are some deep and exposed dive sites, there are easy sites too and usually enough dive masters on board to ensure that a diver will not dive beyond his or her depth limits.
Liveaboard Checklist
Remember that living space on a liveaboard is confined and the dive tourist will be cut off from land. Make sure before hand that the captain is well qualified and that the crew are able to handle diver-specific problems such as decompression sickness, marine life stings and bites and that they have a full first aid kit on board.
The diver should ensure that he or she has sufficient medicine for minor ailments such as headaches, motion sickness and fevers.
Ensure that there are enough life jackets on board and that there is enough fresh water available.
If insurance is not included in the package price, be sure to get independent scuba diving insurance.
Ras Mohamed National Park
Ras Mohamed was declared Egypt’s first and only National Park in 1983 and is an area of stunning geological features both on land and under the water.
The Main Beach remains one of the best dive sites to see the vertical coral walls for which Ras Mohamed is world renowned. The vivid corals, brightly colorful tropical fish and other marine species provide a magical underwater world of color. There are swimming and snorkeling opportunities in the warm, clear waters for those who are not scuba divers.
If there is time, a land tour is fascinating since in the desert there is an abundance of animal life including jackals, gazelles and ibex. The desert has unusual rock formations and craggy coastal landscapes that are worth exploring.
Source:
Red Sea Diving Center - The Red Sea Coast
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