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One of the best dives you can do is in the Red Sea in Egypt. It’s a paradise for divers.
In this blog the following topics will be discussed:
There is also a lot more to do in Egypt besides diving, so choose a diving spot that suits your needs and wishes. For instance, you can stay in Hurghada and do a two-day trip to Caïro to visit the pyramids or go on a daytrip to Luxor. Egypt has so much to offer and diving is one of these amazing experiences in this beautiful country. In the blog The things you can do in the mysterious Egypt you can read about what to visit in Egypt.
Diving in the Red Sea
The Red Sea is so big, so where are the best diving spots? I wrote a blog about diving in Egypt where I give the nice places where you can go diving near Alexandria and of course I talk about diving spots in the Red Sea. Read about this on the blog Where to dive in Egypt.
Red Sea Diving Safari
We chose to go diving with Red Sea Diving Safari because they are eco-friendly, they have PADI diver instructors and they have three villages at the most beautiful places. They are the southern Red Sea’s leading tourism and diving destination of Egypt.
Of course, there are a lot of other diving organizations, so find an organization that suits your wishes and needs. We did a lot of research and always came back to this organization because they really do an effort for the environment and we also noticed it during our stay. Only one plastic water bottle is given and you can fill them again at a water tank. Everything else you drink is in glass. You can’t go in the water wherever you want because they protect the corals, there is only one place where you can enter the water. I could go on, but my point is we wanted to choose an organization that does an effort for the environment so this was perfect for us.
Red Sea Diving Safari has three villages that are located by the southern Red Sea coastline: Marsa Shagra Village, Marsa Nakari Village and Wadi Lahami. I’m going to talk about the three villages separately in this blog. We stayed at the Marsa Shagra Village because the other villages were closed. We went during low season and that’s why only Marsa Shagra Village was open, because that’s the biggest village.
Marsa Shagra Village
This village is the most known of their Marsa Alam destinations and it’s the most beautiful house reef. We stayed at this village and it’s amazing, we loved staying here. There’s a lot to do here. Of course you can go scuba diving (they have different packages) but you can also go snorkeling. They also organize different tours into the desert or to a city. Just being in this village relaxes you, you don’t need more.
They offer transportation to different airports and between cities. From Hurghada to Shagra it’s a three-hour drive and from Marsa Alam to Shagra it’s a 30-minute drive. There is also transportation to other diving destinations.
In this village you have different accommodation types so there is something for everybody and in every budget. You can sleep in a tent, a royal tent, a hut or in a deluxe chalet.
You can read everything about this village here. You can find all the rates on their website.
Marsa Nakari Village
The appeal of this village is that it’s near the Samadai protectorate (Dolphin House). The dolphins are the most popular attraction in this area. Not only the dolphins near this area are amazing but also the coral reef system of this offshore. Another attraction in this neighborhood is Wadi el Gemal. Marsa Nakari village is smaller than Marsa Shagra village (with an occupancy of 120 people) which also means that it’s quieter and there’s more personalized service.
Here they also offer transportation between cities but remember it’s a little bit further South. From Hurghada airport to Nakari it is a four-hour drive and from Marsa Alam airport to Nakari it’s around one-hour drive.
In this village you also have different types of accommodation. There is a tent, a royal tent, a hut, a chalet and a deluxe chalet. Read everything about this village here.
Wadi Lahami
This village is situated in the ‘deep south’. When you are a true explorer and love almost empty coastlines (except for the occasional herds of camels and the mangrove) then this is a village for you. They say that every diver should visit this village at least once in their lifetime and we are definitely going there once. You should explore the Fury Shoals (earlier this blog I talked about this), it’s the most pristine dive sites in the whole Red Sea.
Of course, in this village you also have different types of accommodation. There is a tent, a royal tent, and a chalet. You can read everything about this village here.
Our scuba dive experience in Egypt
We did four dives with Red Sea Diving Safari and it was an amazing experience. We did two dives at the house reef and two dives at Abu Dabbab (turtlebay).
Like I said earlier, we stayed at Marsa Shagra Village and we did two dives at the village. When we arrived at Marsa Shagra Village around 5 pm they gave us all the information we needed. They immediately asked if we wanted to dive so we could go to the diving center (it’s almost next to the reception) to ask when they can do a briefing. When we went to the diving center, they said they always do a briefing and give you all the information you need to know before you go diving. WOW, okay this was new for us but okay the next morning we got an appointment at 8:30 am to do the briefing. I think they do briefings everyday so that’s really handy.
The next morning, we went to the diving center to get all the information we needed and trust me, you get all the information.
They explain which dives you can do at their house reef and what you have to do before you go diving. You can do four dives at their house reef, dives that are pre-planned for you. Further, they also explain that everybody that is going to dive has to fill in the whiteboard. You put your name on the big whiteboard and the time you are going for a dive, where you’re going, which time you will be back, etc. After your dive you have to wipe this out but it’s for your own safety. When they see you’re not back in time they can start looking for you. They show where you can find the air tanks, where you have to put the empty tank, where you have to clean your equipment, etc. There was so much information and we weren’t used to it. After all the information we had to get ready for our first two dives at the house reef woooohooo we were so excited.
Luckily the lady helped us setting up our gear because it was months ago since we dove for the first time, so this was all ‘new’ to us. The funny thing was that we remembered most things, but they were doing some things differently. I think any place you go people will do it differently. For us it was also the first time we had to make a belt with weights. I had 8 kilograms with me, it all depends on the salt level of the sea, which suit you’re wearing, etc. (our suit was a 5 mm and that’s a pretty thick wetsuit, but the water was also cold).
Anyway, it was time to get into the Red Sea and WOW. We immediately saw a lot of beautiful coral. The marine life at Marsa Shagra Village was amazing, we did two dives at Marsa Shagra Village. We saw so many colors that we didn’t know were to look. There were so many lionfish and a lot of other colorful fish like Nemo. Yes, you read this right, we saw some Clownfish woohoo it made my day!
Okay, for us diving again after almost 6 months it was mainly getting used again to breathing underwater and it was awesome. It reminded us why we started diving in the first place, because it’s like you’re in a different dimension. Diving in Egypt is remarkable, everywhere you look you see all those colors and you really don’t know where to look. Anyway, I could go on and on, but you just have to see it yourself so here are some pictures.
Our third dive was at Abu Dabbab and again WOW. When you go into the water you immediately see some turtles under the surface. They told us that sometimes you see more turtles than other times but in this place you’re almost guaranteed to see some turtles. It was a lucky day because everywhere we were looking, we saw green sea turtles, it was crazy, there were so many turtles.
Again, we didn’t know where to look because when we saw a turtle going to the surface to breath the other one was eating the grass and another one was swimming around and another one. I could go on but you must experience it. We also saw a huge stingray!
The fourth dive was at the same place but on the other side where there were so many beautiful corals and there was a Dugong nearby because some other divers saw this beautiful mammal. Unfortunately, we didn’t see the Dugong but maybe next time.
I hope you enjoyed this blog about diving in Egypt. Like I said earlier, Egypt is a diving paradise and it’s worth more than one visit. When we’ve saved enough money, we are definitely going back for a diving vacation. When we are going back, we are going to another village but of course with Red Sea Diving Safari because we had the best experience. If you have any questions or remarks, feel free to contact us or leave a comment below!
