As you may have read from our previous posts about Sharm el Sheikh here on Scubaverse, the diving is great, the reefs are healthy and the dive sites are uncrowded. We had a wonderful 10 days staying and diving with Camel Dive Club and Hotel. So how can you get there?

Many people believe that Sharm is closed, but this is not the case. The current government advice (Jan 2017) is that staying in Sharm el Sheikh is fine, but for “precautionary measures” Sharm airport is not advised apart from essential travel. The UK and Russia are the only two countries in the world that still have flight restrictions to Sharm airport, so we can only hope that these are lifted soon. At the moment, you cannot get a direct flight from the UK to Sharm el Sheikh, but there are plenty of other options for travel and there are great deals to be had once you are there too.

We flew from Heathrow to Cairo, and then an internal flight from Cairo to Sharm, using Egypt Air. There were no long waits at the airport between flights and we got a whopping 46gk (two 23kg bags) each of check in baggage on top of the usual hand luggage. This meant that we could happily pack all our dive gear, including warm winter suits, all our underwater photography equipment and still have room for more; a real luxury for the traveling underwater photographer!

There are plenty of other options with Turkish Airlines (again with good baggage allowance, and an extra bag for divers) from lots of regional UK airports, and you can also fly via lots of European airport too, so you can use up some air miles should you want to, or stop to have a nice weekend city break to recover on the way to or from your diving trip. Here are some options to consider:

Flight options from UK to Sharm:

• Turkish Airlines (via Istanbul)
• Pegasus Airlines (via Istanbul)
• EgyptAir (via Cairo)

Direct regular flights to Sharm:

• Italy – Meridiana and Neos (from Milan, Bologna, Verona and Rome)
• Germany – Germania (from Dusseldorf and Munich)
• Belgium – TUIfly (from Brussels)

Ornella and the team at Camel Dive Club are happy to help you find the best flights to join them as part of the service when you book.

Many people contacted us via social media when they saw that we were out in Sharm to ask how we got there, but mainly about travel insurance. Many divers believe that because of the government advice, you cannot get insured, but this is also not true. Friends of Scubaverse, Westfield Sub Aqua and Marine Insurance Services, offer cover for travel and diving in Sharm. We are sure there are others offering this too, but most people we spoke to had used this option.

Finally, many are put off because they think the price of a trip diving in Sharm will be too high now that the package trips and cheap flights have stopped. But, whilst the flights might be a little more (and there are certainly some great deals out there) the diving and hotel packages have come down to try to encourage more divers to return. This means that overall, there are some great deals to be had.

Camel Dive Club have the following offers:

7 nights at Camel Hotel + 5 days diving for only 311 Euro per person sharing

7 nights at Camel Hotel + 1 day diving + PADI Advanced Open Water course for only 377 Euro per person sharing

7 nights at Camel Hotel + PADI Open Water Course for only 350 Euro per person sharing. SPECIAL PRICE for 2 people booking together

NO SINGLE SUPPLIMENT in selected dates

Packages include:

• Seven nights in a double/twin room at 4 star Camel Hotel, including buffet breakfast
• Guided diving (two boat dives a day, tanks and weights) / PADI Open Water Course / PADI Advanced Open Water course
• Free nitrox (two 12lt tanks per day, 32%)
• Airport transfers

For bookings and more information contact info@cameldive.com. All the above offers have LIMITED AVAILABILITY.

We felt completely safe while we were there and during our transits through the airports. Security is as tight as we have seen anywhere on our travels, with our bags being checked several times throughout the process. Many Europeans, who have access to direct flights, are heading back to Sharm, and if you want to go back and dive the Thistlegorm, Ras Mohammed and the Strait of Tiran, then we hope this helps you plan your trip.

www.cameldive.com

www.egypt.travel/diving-in-egypt

For more from Nick and Caroline visit www.frogfishphotography.com.