Dahab - 29th April 2005

Duration : 1 week - Still 4 places left

Diving in Dahab : Both Jane and I have worked in Dahab before and found the diving to be something special. The reef is in good condition and there are several absolutely brilliant sites including the Canyon and the Blue Hole.

Like all dive sites in Dahab the Canyon starts off with a gentle stroll into the water. Once you are deep enough to submerge you gently fin through a shallow lagoon until you make your way though a cut in the coral and out onto the reef. After swimming north east for awhile across coral bommies you come to a crack in the coral and the canyon beckons below. As you glide down the colour of the water changes slowly to a deeper blue until you reach the bottom and look up and see your bubbles floating up towards the surface, occasionally bouncing off protrusions on their way up. Heading up the canyon it starts to close in a little until you reach a swim through leading into the light. Swim through it and you are in the goldfish bowl. A spherical chamber full of small glass fish with the light streaming through the many holes. As you swim out through the exit you know you will come back. This is an advanced dive though Open Water students can also swim into the goldfish bowl.

Dahab is perfect for training students with several sheltered sites with very easy access to the water including the Lighthouse and Mashraba. On day 2 of your course you will probably visit Eel Garden where you will see small eel gently moving with the current before they hide from the approaching divers. I have taught in many places in the world and I found Dahab the easiest to teach all levels of students as it has the easy shallow dive sites through to the dramatic drop offs for the Advanced course.

Cost : £522(plus £20 courtesy of Gordon Brown's new flight tax which comes into force on 1 Feb 2007) including flights, taxes, transfers, half board(breakfast and dinner) in a twin room. If anybody would prefer not to share then the single supplement is £10/night. I have arranged this holiday through Regal Dive who are always voted in the top three dive travel agents in the UK by readers of Diver magazine. They are ABTA, CAA and ATOL protected.

Hotel : The hotel is the luxurious 4* Swiss Inn.

The rooms are standard rooms with balcony or terrace, air conditioning, ensuite bathrooms with shower and hairdryer, satellite TV, mini bar and telephone.
If you would prefer to stay in the Sea View rooms there is a £28 supplement per person.

There are two restaurants and three bars including a pool bar and beach bar.

12 of us stayed here 2 years ago and the hotel was brilliant(Nice icecream as well!!). There are a few photos from the trip here

Diving :   The diving is being arranged through Sinai Divers. A 5 day, 10 dive package, costs £129. 12 dives costs £145. This price includes guide, tank and weights. Full equipment can be rented out there at 25 Euros/day or we can rent you the equipment for £10/day. For those taking Open Water or Advanced courses with Dive Wimbledon the equipment is included. We will be instructing the courses with a local guide accompanying us. It is possible to do more dives/day, night dives or less days diving.Let us know and we can quote you the prices.

Dive computers can be rented for £35/week.

Courses : We will be running the following courses depending on demand :

PADI Open Water Diver
PADI Advanced Open Water Diver
PADI Rescue Diver
PADI Divemaster
PADI Enriched Air Diver
PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy
PADI Underwater Digital Photography Specialist
PADI Deep Diver
PADI Night Diver

Enquire for package prices.  

Visa : The Egyptian Visa is obtained upon arrival at the airport in Egypt for £12 for UK citizens though you may prefer to arrange it before your departure. For other nationalities check the Egyptian Consulate website.

Payment : If you are interested in this holiday please contact Roger on 02085406874 or by email to confirm. A deposit of £150 is required and the balance two months before the trip. Please either send a cheque payable to Dive Wimbledon to 34A Hotham Road, South Wimbledon, SW19 1BS or call with switch/maestro or debit card details. The balance of the holiday can be paid by cheque, debit or maestro card. Credit cards can be used but they incur a £10 charge leveled by the tour operator.