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.

1. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.