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Check out these great dive holiday deals from Oonasdivers
Fancy getting away from it all? UK-based tour operator Oonasdivers have some very tempting dive holiday offers for you to take advantage off.
Here are the details:
Oonasdivers | Red Sea | Sharks Bay Umbi Village | Sharm el Sheikh from £450
Just 10 minutes away from Naama Bay but a million miles away from the hustle and bustle, Sharks Bay is located in a picturesque bay with everything on site – its own private jetty, dive centre, boats, restaurant, Bedouin café and 3 types of accommodation. Combine this with their friendly, personal approach and this makes it the perfect resort for your next diving holiday.
November 2015
07 – 14 Nov only £555
14 – 21 Nov only £500
21 – 28 Nov only £490
28 Nov – 05 Dec only £485
December 2015
05 – 12 Dec only £485
12 – 19 Dec only £485
January 2016
02 – 09 Jan only £450
09 – 16 Jan only £465
23 – 30 Jan only £475
30 Jan – 06 Feb only £450
Prices are per person and include flights, transfers, 7 nights B&B and 10 boat dives. Single supplement applies.
For more information on these itineraries click here.
Oonasdivers | Red Sea | Marsa Alam from £795
The popular and unique villages of Marsa Shagra and Marsa Nakari in the southern Red Sea offer unlimited and unguided diving on their beautiful and diverse house reefs. From either village you can also dive the breath-taking sites of Elphinstone, Dolphin House Reef and many more.
Marsa Shagra
Definitely the most well know of Oonasdivers’ Marsa Alam destinations, Marsa Shagra is located just half an hour from Marsa Alam airport. Shagra boasts one of the most beautiful house reefs in the Red Sea region.
October 2015
07 – 14 Oct only £825
14 – 21 Oct only £865
Prices are per person and include flights, transfers, 7 nights full board and 5 days unlimited diving.
Marsa Nakari
A smaller, quieter and more remote alternative to Marsa Shagra, Nakari is situated a further half an hour down the coast. Another fantastic house reef and a more personalised service. Expect the silence and serenity of the desert atmosphere and the world-renowned beauty of the Red Sea reefs.
October 2015
07 – 14 Oct only £795
14 – 21 Oct only £835
Prices are per person and include flights, transfers, 7 nights full board and 5 days unlimited diving.
For more information on these itineraries click here.
Oonasdivers | Red Sea | Liveaboards from £670
One of the best ways to see the most awe-inspiring dive sites of the Red Sea. Liveaboards offer everything a diver needs – comfort, relaxation and lots and lots of diving.
Emperor Asmaa – FREE Nitrox
Offering genuine value for money, Asmaa is a popular liveaboard drawing diver’s back time and time again. Completely refurbished in January 2015, Asmaa offers comfortable accommodation in 10 twin bed cabins, 4 of which are upper-deck.
October 2015
14 – 21 Oct – Fury & St Johns only £995
January 2016
01 – 08 Jan – North & Wrecks only £670
08 Jan – 15 Jan – North & Wrecks only £685
15 – 22 Jan – North & Wrecks only £715
22 – 29 Jan – North & Wrecks only £745
29 Jan – 05 Feb – North & Wrecks only £755
Juliet
One of the few smaller liveaboards left in the Red Sea. Juliet takes a maximum of just 14 guests. At 28m this means more space, more flexibility and more personal attention to you.
Her amazing and attentive crew will guide you to the very best dive sites in the northern Red Sea. Juliet is a great option for small groups and clubs.
November 2015
21 – 28 Nov – North & Wrecks only £890
28 Nov – 05 Dec – North & Wrecks only £885
December 2015
05 – 12 Dec – North & Wrecks only £785
12 – 19 Dec – North & Wrecks only £785
Prices are per person and include flights, transfers, 7 nights full board and 6 days diving.
For more information on these itineraries click here.
Oonasdivers | South Africa from £1250
Shark Diving South Africa – Scuba Addicts Lodge
Get up close and personal with some of the world’s most magnificent creatures…… SHARKS.
January 2016
23 – 30 Jan only £1250
February 2016
20 – 27 Feb 2016 only £1250
Prices are per person and include flights, transfers, 6 nights B&B and 10 Shark Dives.
For more information on these itineraries click here.
Oonasdivers | Maldives | Liveaboards from £1690
Explore one of the world’s best scuba diving destinations in comfort and style. Join one of Oonasdivers’ popular Maldives liveaboards and pick the itinerary that suits you.
October 2015
09 – 17 Oct – Emperor Voyager (The Best of the Maldives) £1755
16 – 24 Oct – Emperor Atoll (The Best of the Maldives) £1750
November 2015
27 Nov – 05 Dec – Emperor Atoll (The Best of the Maldives) only £1760
27 Nov – 05 Dec – Emperor Voyager (The Best of the Maldives) only £1835
December 2015
04 – 12 Dec – Emperor Atoll (The Best of the Maldives) only £1690
04 – 12 Dec – Emperor Voyager (The Best of the Maldives) only £1760
Prices are per person and include flights, transfers, 7 nights full board, 17 dives and FREE Nitrox.
For more information on these itineraries click here.
Oonasdivers | Caribbean | Tobago from £1035
Fancy a diving holiday with a difference? Sample the true Caribbean in Tobago – soak up the island’s warm atmosphere whilst diving in the colourful waters. Perfect for non-divers too.
Blue Waters Inn
Tobago’s best kept secret, Blue Waters Inn is perfectly located in Speyside. Access the top dive sites whilst enjoying the beauty of your surroundings.
October 2015
02 – 09 Oct only £1185
09 – 16 Oct only £1165
12 – 19 Oct only £1155
Prices are per person and include flights, transfers, 7 nights B&B and 10 dives including full equipment.
Chic Boutique
Introducing you to the unique, intimate and stylish Chic Boutique. Located in Pigeon Point you are just minutes from the best dive centre in the area, Undersea Tobago, who will guide you to explore the stunning underwater world.
October 2015
02 – 09 Oct only £1095
09 – 16 Oct only £1075
12 – 19 Oct only £1035
January 2016
11 – 18 Jan only £1095
18 – 25 Jan only £1095
25 Jan – 01 Feb only £1095
For more information on these itineraries click here.
Oonasdivers | Sudan | Royal Evolution from £2530
Embark on an adventure into the pristine Sudanese waters. Join one of the most sophisticated liveaboards in the Red Sea for her extended 13 day cruise.
November 2015
25 Nov – 09 Dec – Abington Reef, Shaab Rumi & Umbria Wreck only £2530
February 2016
24 Feb – 09 Mar – Abington Reef, Shaab Rumi & Umbria Wreck only £2600
Prices are per person and include 14 nights full board and 12 days diving.
For more information on these itineraries click here.
Oonasdivers | Canary Islands | El Hierro from £665
Dive El Hierro with Shane Gray
El Hierro is the smallest of the Canary Islands, with an extraordinary and captivating landscape both above and below the water. This trip is fully guided by Shane Gray, a well-known figure in the Irish diving community, and his wife Ollie.
November 2015
09 – 16 Nov – Dive El Hierro £670
23 – 30 Nov – Dive El Hierro £665
February 2016
22 – 29 Feb – Dive El Hierro £710
Prices are per person and include flights, transfers, 7 nights self-catering and 10 dives.
For more information on these itineraries click here.
To find out more or to book, contact the Oonasdivers team now by calling +44 (0)1323 648924, email info@oonasdivers.com or visit www.oonasdivers.com.
Photo: Gavin Parsons
Jake Davies boards Ghazala Explorer for an unforgettable Red Sea diving experience…
The second day’s diving was a day full of wreck diving at Abu Nuhas, which included the Chrisoula K, Carnatic, and Ghiannis D. The first dive of the day was onto the Chrisoula K, also known as the wreck of tiles. The 98m vessel remains largely intact where she was loaded with tiles which can be seen throughout the hold. The stern sits at 26m and the bow just below the surface. One of the highlights of the wreck is heading inside and seeing the workroom where the machinery used for cutting the tiles are perfectly intact. The bow provided some relaxing scenery as the bright sunlight highlighted the colours of the soft coral reef and the many reef fish.
Following breakfast, we then headed to the next wreck, which was the Carnatic. The Carnatic is an 89.9m sail steamer vessel that was built in Britain back in 1862. She ran aground on the reef back in 1869 and remains at 27m. At the time, she was carrying a range of items, including 40,000 sterling in gold. An impressive wreck where much of the superstructure remains, and the two large masts lay on the seafloor. The wooden ribs of the hull provide structures for lots of soft corals, and into the stern section, the light beams through, bouncing off the large shoals of glass fish that can be found using the structure as shelter from the larger predators that are found outside of the wreck.
The final wreck at Abu Nuhas was the Ghiannis D, originally called ‘Shoyo Maru,’ which was 99.5m long and built in Japan back in 1969 before becoming a Greek-registered cargo ship in 1980. The ship then ran aground on the reef on April 19th, 1983, and now sits at the bottom at a depth of 27m. Heading down the line, the stern of the ship remains in good condition compared to the rest of the hull. The highlight of the wreck, though, is heading into the stern section and down the flights of stairs to enter the engine room, which remains in good condition and is definitely worth exploring. After exploring the interior section of the ship, we then headed over to see the rest of the superstructure, where it’s particularly interesting to see the large table corals that have grown at the bow relatively quickly considering the date the ship sank. After surfacing and enjoying some afternoon snacks, we made sure everything was strapped down and secured as we would be heading north and crossing the Gulf of Suez, where the winds were still creating plenty of chop.
The next morning, it was a short hop to Ras Mohammed Nature Reserve for the next couple of days of diving. The 6am wake-up call came along with the briefing for the first site we would be diving, which was Shark & Yolanda. The low current conditions allowed us to start the dive at Anemone City, where we would drift along the steep, coral-filled wall. These dives involved drifts, as mooring in Ras Mohammed wasn’t allowed to protect the reefs. As a dive site, Shark & Yolanda is well-known and historically had a lot of sharks, but unfortunately not so many in recent years, especially not so early in the season. However, there was always a chance when looking out into the blue.
The gentle drift took us along the steep walls of the site, with plenty of anemone fish to be seen and a huge variety of corals. It wasn’t long into the dive before we were accompanied by a hawksbill turtle, who drifted with us between the two atolls before parting ways. Between the two reefs, the shallow patch with parts of coral heads surrounded by sand provided the chance to see a few blue-spotted stingrays that were mainly resting underneath the corals and are always a pleasure to see. With this being the morning dive, the early sunlight lit up the walls, providing tranquil moments. Looking out into the blue, there was very little to be seen, but a small shoal of batfish shimmering underneath the sunlight was a moment to capture as we watched them swim by as they watched us.
Towards the end of the dive, we stopped at the wreck of the Jolanda where the seafloor was scattered with toilets from the containers it was carrying. This provided a unique site to make a safety stop, which was also accompanied by a large barracuda slowly swimming by, along with a hawksbill turtle calmly swimming over the reef as the sun rays danced in the distance.
For the next dive, we headed north to the Strait of Tiran to explore the reefs situated between Tiran Island and Sharm El Sheik, which were named after the British divers who had found them. We started on Jackson before heading to Gordons Reef, where we also did the night dive. All the atolls at these sites provided stunning, bustling coral reefs close to the surface and steep walls to swim along, which always provided the opportunity to keep an eye out for some of the larger species that can be seen in the blue. Midwater around Jackson Reef was filled with red-toothed triggerfish and shoals of banner fish, which at times were so dense that you couldn’t see into the blue. Moments went by peacefully as we enjoyed the slow drift above the reef, watching these shoals swim around under the mid-afternoon sun.
The night dive at Gordon’s Reef was mainly among the stacks of corals surrounded by sand, which was great to explore under the darkness. After some time circling the corals, we came across what we were really hoping to find, and that was an octopus hunting on the reef. We spent the majority of the dive just watching it crawl among the reef, blending into its changing surroundings through changes in colour and skin texture. It’s always so fascinating and captivating to watch these incredibly intelligent animals, in awe of their ability to carry out these physical changes to perfectly blend into the reef. Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the boat to enjoy a well-deserved tasty dinner prepared by the talented chefs onboard.
Check in for the 3rd and final part of this series from Jake tomorrow!
To find out more about the Northern Red Sea reef and wrecks itineraries aboard Ghazala Explorer, or to book, contact Scuba Travel now:
Email: dive@scubatravel.com
Tel: +44 (0)1483 411590
Photos: Jake Davies / Avalon.Red
The Shark Trust is excited to announce that, for two more days only, all donations, large or small, will be doubled in the Big Give Green Match Fund!
Donate to Basking in Nature: Sighting Giants
The Shark Trust is hoping to raise £10k which will be doubled to £20k. This will go towards Basking in Nature: Sighting Giants. And they need YOUR help to reach they’re goal.
The Shark Trust’s citizen science project is to monitor and assess basking sharks through sightings; encouraging data collection, community engagement, and promoting nature accessibility. This initiative aims to enhance health and wellbeing by fostering a deeper connection with British Sharks.
Campaign Aims
- Increase citizen science reporting of Basking Sharks and other shark sightings to help inform shark and ray conservation.
- Provide educational talks about the diverse range of sharks and rays in British waters and accessible identification guides!
- Create engaging and fun information panels on how to ID the amazing sharks and rays we have on our doorstep! These can be used on coastal paths around the Southwest. With activities and information on how you can make a difference for sharks and rays!
- Promote mental wellbeing through increasing time in nature and discovering the wonders beneath the waves!
Donate, and double your impact. Click Here
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