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Debunking the top 5 myths heard about Sharm el Sheikh at DIVE 2018
Camel Dive Club & Hotel recently had the marvelous experience of sending a representative; yours truly, to DIVE 2018 at Birmingham NEC over the rather chilly weekend of 27 and 28 October 2018. Even though there are still no direct flights from the UK to Sharm el Sheikh, it was definitely not a waste of time attending. The Experience Egypt stand, where Camel Dive Club & Hotel co exhibited was busy from the minute we opened with many of the British public asking similar questions.
Based on this, I figured that many more of you might have heard incorrect information about one of the top dive destinations in the world. Therefore, here I go, trying to debunk the common rumours.
- Sharm el Sheikh Airport is CLOSED! – UNTRUE
Sharm el Sheikh Airport is open for business as usual and has never been closed. With over 51 airlines flying in everyday from all over the world, including direct flights from (in no particular order): Holland, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Austria, Estonia, Switzerland, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Lebanon, Latvia, Giorgia, Armenia, Lithuania, Belorussia, Poland, Ukraine and the Czech Republic. It is definitely not closed.
2. Sharm el Sheikh must be a ghost town. – UNTRUE
With currently over 45,000 people arriving in Sharm el Sheikh every week, I am not sure where we would hide all these people for Sharm to give the impression of a ghost town. I won’t lie to you, it has been a tough few years for this charming town but it is definitely on the up. November even saw Sharm hosting the World Youth Forum for the second year running. This event brought thousands of youths and world leaders from around the globe, representing over 60 delegations.
The only ghostly events occurring recently have been the local Halloween celebrations, including the annual party at the historic Camel Bar located in the heart of Na’ama Bay.
- It is difficult to reach Sharm el Sheikh from the UK – UNTRUE
It is true that there are still no direct flights from the UK to Sharm. But with so many other options in the form of Turkish Airlines and Pegasus Airlines (via Istanbul) from many UK airports, Egypt Air (via Cairo) from Heathrow and a variety of other routes direct from European Airports, there is no excuse not to visit the tranquil and safe resort.
My personal preferred method is with Egypt Air who Camel Dive Club & Hotel used to send me to the show. I left Sharm el Sheikh at 05:30 in the morning and arrived in Heathrow at 13:00 lunchtime. For the return, I decided to take the red eye flight so that I could sleep on the plane. I left Heathrow at 22:30 that enabled me to land in Sharm in time for a late breakfast at 08:45. There were brief stopovers in Cairo on each trip, which I gratefully used to stretch my legs and grab a quick coffee, to ensure I arrived refreshed at each destination.
Additionally with 2 bags of 23 kilograms and 8 kilograms of hand luggage, my extra Christmas supplies were not limited so your dive equipment wouldn’t be either.
- There are no British divers visiting Sharm el Sheikh – UNTRUE
The number of British divers we have embraced diving with us during 2018 at Camel Dive Club & Hotel this year has increased by 32%. This is thanks to many loyal, repeat guests but also new divers who had decided to take the opportunity to visit the legendary Sharm dive sites after hearing about the amazing sightings that have been experienced in 2018.
- The Diving must be brilliant now – TRUE
Ok this was a red herring, but I didn’t want to miss the chance to share with you that 2018 has been one of the best years of diving that has been experienced in the last twenty or so years according to long term residents, instructors, return divers and me!
The Sharm diving public has dived with schools of dolphin, whale sharks, mantas, turtles, sailfish as well as a whole range of different sharks in addition to the usual Red Sea suspects. All of these encounters have been framed with the stunning Red Sea hard and soft corals that are currently blooming.
So before you strike Sharm off your list of your dive destination for 2019, remember not to believe everything you hear. Come and visit us now in Sharm el Sheikh, where the summer never ends.
We look forward to seeing you soon!
For more information please about Camel Dive Club & hotel, please visit the website by clicking here.
Today we are diving one of the outer reefs from an inflatable. As we reach the bottom, a reef octopus eases its way into the cover of a small crack in the coral while displaying it’s incredible ability to change colour. They are arguably one of the most charismatic of reef dwellers and it is always exciting for me to simply hover and watch. I would have spent longer and waited for it to come and investigate me, but as dive time is limited we wanted to move on and find a turtle.
The waters around Somabay are well protected and hold a rich variety of marine life. The reef edges are thriving colonies of coral and shoaling fish, while nearer the sea bed plenty of wildlife is still to be found.
Then we located the turtles. They are very used to divers and so show little concern when slowly approached. In fact occasionally one will come over to see what you are doing. There is always huge excitement when diving with a turtle. The shear thrill of sharing a moment with another species.
What a fantastic way to finish a wonderful few days diving and I would like to thank SOMABAY, ORCA DIVING and THE BREAKERS for making my stay such a good one.
I had a great time, with diving everyday either on the house reef or on one of the offshore reefs by inflatable or larger day boat. Orca diving provided high quality equipment and facilities while the staff were all very friendly and welcoming. The Breakers was right on the coast with nice rooms, good food and once again friendly staff making the whole trip a real pleasure.
Soma Bay covers an entire peninsula and is home to several resorts as well as residential compounds.
As well as scuba diving, Somabay caters for many other sports and activities, and so is perfect for families as well as individuals and/or groups. And of course there is always time to lay peacefully on the beach under the Egyptian sun.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
Day three of my trip to Somabay and we were spending the day on the Lady Christina and diving on the wreck of the Salem Express.
Diving wrecks for me is always one of mixed emotions. The excitement of diving a wreck is more than often tempered by the thought of loss of life when she sank. The Salem Express was a passenger ship and a roll-on/roll-off ferry travelling from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Safaga, Egypt. Most passengers were of poor class travelling home from their holidays while around 150 people were returning home from their pilgrimage to Mecca.
The ship struck a reef and sank within 20 minutes. Passengers were trapped below deck and the ship was filled with fear and panic.
The wreck area is strewn with personal belongings from the crew and passengers such as a transistor radio and a flat iron for clothes. A diver at sometime has put them in a prominent place to be seen.
Tragically only one life boat was launched while the others went down with the ship. More than 600 men, women and children lost their lives here.
It’s a stark reminder that the sea can be unforgiving and so when we dive on such wrecks we should do so with humble regard.
Returning to the surface, shoals of fish are gathered under our boat and seem to be welcoming us back into the light.
Back at the Breakers I sat in the dining area with a beer and a very good meal while my thoughts still remained with the day’s dive on the Salem Express.
Check in for part 3 tomorrow for Jeff’s last day of diving with Somabay on the off-shore reefs looking for turtles.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
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