News
Check out the latest May liveaboard dive holiday deals from the Scuba Travel team
UK-based tour operator Scuba Travel has some great deals coming up on liveaboard dive holidays this May. Save £500 on the Best of the Maldives, combine diving with freediving and yoga in the Red Sea, or take advantage of the last spot on Hurricane’s southern Red Sea trip at a bargain price.
Here are the details:
Last female share space – just £825 – Hurricane – 3rd May
Last space available for this 7 night package with 18-20 fully guided dives and return direct flights to Marsa Alam. Climb aboard Hurricane and find out why she has won the prestigious ‘Liveaboard of the Year Award’ and is so popular with guests.
This trip includes an optional photo workshop with Mario Vitalini: small group of only six people with guaranteed 1:1 sessions for only £75 per person. Join him for sublime reef diving in the southern Red Sea stretching south from Marsa Alam to within a breath of the Sudanese border. Come face to face with the remarkable diversity that makes the deep south so rich and rewarding for divers. Walls, shallow caves, softly draped pinnacles are all on the menu alongside pelagic encounters. Marvel at the beauty and splendour on one of the most special southern Red Sea liveaboard holidays. Click here for more information.
Find out more about this trip here.
Relax and explore the wonders of the Red Sea with Emma Farrell aboard Cyclone – 13th May – only £1250
Package includes return flights with Easyjet to Hurghada, 7 nights full board and fully guided dives. Combine diving, snorkelling, yoga and freediving in a relaxing week aboard Cyclone. Spend a week on a luxury boat exploring the reefs and wrecks of the northern Red Sea at your own pace… and in your own way.
Freediving and yoga guru Emma Farrell will be on board, so there will be yoga in the morning which is suitable for all levels including complete beginners, yoga nidra (sleeping yoga) at night under the stars, and as much freediving and scuba as you like the rest of the time. Divers can also dip their toes into the world of freediving with a FREE Try Freediving Course worth £75. Existing freedivers can freedive recreationally or take a course. There will also be talks and presentations every evening on everything from dolphins to sinus massage.
Cyclone is a true Red Sea classic liveaboard that meets the high standards of Scuba Travel’s modern Red Sea liveaboards. She is a spacious 32m long, all cabins are ensuite with individual aircon and plenty of space to stow your belongings for the week.
Find out more about this trip here.
Save £500 on the Best of the Maldives – 26th May – Carpe Diem – only £1695
Save £500 on this package to the Maldives, which includes return flights, 7 nights full board and an average of 3 fully guided dhoni dives per day.
The Best of the Maldives itinerary is always popular and allows you to dive the classic sites that make the Maldives so famous. The itinerary varies depending on the season, so that you can focus on the hottest sites around Male and Ari Atolls. Dive the many channels, drifts and pinnacles, encountering the manta, whalesharks and reef residents as you go.
Experience all this from the exceptional Carpe Diem liveaboard which combines superb service and on board comfort at affordable prices. All cabins are ensuite and have a TV & DVD and the communal areas are spacious and luxurious.
Find out more about this trip here.
To find out more about Scuba Travel and the dive holidays they offer, call 0800 0728221, email dive@scubatravel.com or visit www.scubatravel.com.
Gear News
Scubapro Free Octopus Promotion 2024
Free Octopus with every purchase of a SCUBAPRO regulator system
Just in time for the spring season, divers can save money with the FREE OCTOPUS SPRING PROMOTION! Until July 31st SCUBAPRO offers an Octopus for free
with every purchase of a regulator system!
Get a free S270 OCTOPUS with purchase of these combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with A700
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with S620Ti
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with D420
MK25 EVO Din mit S620Ti-X
Get a free R105 OCTOPUS with purchase of the following combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with G260
MK25 EVO or MK17 EVO with S600
SCUBAPRO offers a 30-year first owner warranty on all regulators, with a revision period of two years or 100 dives. All SCUBAPRO regulators are of course certified according to the new European test standard EN250-2014.
Available at participating SCUBAPRO dealers. Promotion may not be available in all regions. Find an authorized SCUBAPRO Dealer at scubapro.com.
More information available on www.scubapro.com.
Blogs
Northern Red Sea Reefs and Wrecks Trip Report, Part 3: The Mighty Thistlegorm
Jake Davies boards Ghazala Explorer for an unforgettable Red Sea diving experience…
Overnight, the wind picked up, making the planned morning dive a bit bumpy on the Zodiacs to the drop point on Thomas Reef. There, we would dive along the reef before descending through the canyon and then passing under the arch before ascending the wall with a gentle drift. The site provided great encounters with more pelagic species, including shoals of large barracuda, tuna, and bigeye trevally.
Once back on the boat, it was time to get everything tied down again as we would head back south. This time, with the wind behind us, heading to Ras Mohammed to dive Jackfish Alley for another great gentle drift wall dive before then heading up the coast towards the Gulf of Suez to moor up at the wreck of the Thistlegorm. This being the highlight wreck dive of the trip and for many onboard, including myself, it was the first time diving this iconic wreck. I had heard so much about the wreck from friends, and globally, this is a must on any diver’s list. Fortunately for us, there was only one other boat at the site, which was a rarity. A great briefing was delivered by Ahmed, who provided a detailed background about the wreck’s history along with all the required safety information as the currents and visibility at the site can be variable.
Kitting up, there was a lot of excitement on deck before entering the water and heading down the shoreline. Descending to the wreck, there was a light northerly current which reduced the visibility, making it feel more like the conditions that can be found off the Welsh coast. At 10m from the bottom, the outline of the wreck appeared as we reached the area of the wreck which had been bombed, as our mooring line was attached to part of the propeller shaft. Arriving on deck, instantly everywhere you looked there were many of the supplies which the ship was carrying, including Bren Carrier tanks and projectiles that instantly stood out.
We headed around the exterior, taking a look at the large propeller and guns mounted on deck before entering the wreck on the port side to take a look in the holds. It was incredible to see all the trucks, Norton 16H, and BSA motorcycles still perfectly stacked within, providing a real snapshot in time.
Overall, we had four dives on the Thistlegorm, where for all of the dives we were the only group in the water, and at times, there were just three of us on the whole wreck, which made it even more special, especially knowing that most days the wreck has hundreds of divers. Along with the history of the wreck, there was plenty of marine life on the wreck and around, from big green turtles to batfish, along with shoals of mackerel being hunted by trevally. Some unforgettable dives.
The final leg of the trip saw us cross back over the Suez Canal to the Gobal Islands where we planned to stay the night and do three dives at the Dolphin House for the potential of sharing the dive with dolphins. The site, which included a channel that was teeming with reef fish, especially large numbers of goatfish that swam in large shoals along the edge of the reef. These were nice relaxing dives to end the week. Unfortunately, the dolphins didn’t show up, which was okay as like all marine life they are difficult to predict and you can’t guarantee what’s going to be seen. With the last dive complete, we headed back to port for the final night where it was time to clean all the kit and pack before the departure flight the next day.
The whole week from start to finish on Ghazala Explorer was amazing; the boat had all the facilities you need for a comfortable week aboard. The crew were always there to help throughout the day and the chefs providing top quality food which was required after every dive. The itinerary providing some of the best diving with a nice mixture of wreck and reef dives. I would recommend the trip to anyone, whether it’s your first Red Sea liveaboard in the Red Sea or you’re revisiting. Hopefully, it’s not too long before I head back to explore more of the Red Sea onboard Ghazala Explorer.
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
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