Recommend a dive holiday

TheBazman

Looking for ideas for a diving holiday. Been lucky enough to do quite a bit of diving in Indonesia, Malaysia, Burma, Thailand and the Maldives but trying to organise the next one. We were looking at Egypt due to ease if location, but also Oman. Someone mentioned the Sardine run in South Africa but that seems a little on the difficult side along with the cooler water.

Any other suggestions or experience with the above?

truebluesac

Iv been in eygpt a few times and its great although theres abit of un rest there at present . Malta and gozo are up the list for close trips . Iv also been to cuba and that was a great trip .

Corkbah

if you have the money … micronesia, south pacific islands, Belize, mexico, indonesia

all dependent on the time of year and what you wish to see….. humpback whales are around south pacific islands in till mid november, then they move up towards Hawaii….. you'll find loads of sharks in south pacific islands - lemon sharks, reef sharks, black tip, white tip …hammerhead (at deeper depths) etc

what do you want to see/experience ?

Hawaii has plenty to see (its expensive to get there and stay there) - and while on land if you are on the right island (BIG Island - with the national volcano park) you can actually get within a couple of feet of flowing lava !! …. fantastic experience ! (even if it is an illegal trek)

TheBazman

Cheers folks. Probably not going to travel as far as the Pacific/Hawaii. Likely to be going in March/April. In general I like big stuff, not macro.

Yeah Egypt is a bit dodgy in terms of unrest however all the diving trips bypass Cairo and other volatile areas.

Had a look at Malta there and it seems water temps at the time we would be going would be around 15c so would prefer quite a bit warmer. Actually saying that Egypt would be only around 20. I guess warmer water will require a fair bit of travel.

Corkbah

march/april is a great time to see great white sharks breaching in south africa (while not actually diving its still a spectacle watching these beasts jump out of the water).

you could always do some cage diving to see great whites in their natural habitat (not sure if normal diving is permitted) …..and as you mentioned the great sardine run (not sure if thats on in march/april…i thought that was a june/july thing) …but that would only be a small flight away from south africa (maybe 2/3hours)

mocata

Malta is good for wrecks, great value too. Not much fish life. Cozumel in mexico has a wide range of stuff, Cenotes are bucket list dives, and cozumel reef is just like egypt. Whale sharks and Manta rays guaranteed too in season.

Meanaspie

TheBazman wrote: »

Looking for ideas for a diving holiday. Been lucky enough to do quite a bit of diving in Indonesia, Malaysia, Burma, Thailand and the Maldives but trying to organise the next one. We were looking at Egypt due to ease if location, but also Oman. Someone mentioned the Sardine run in South Africa but that seems a little on the difficult side along with the cooler water.

Any other suggestions or experience with the above?

Sardine run is amazing, and highly recommended but is totally unpredictable occurring anytime from May - July. It's not that difficult to arrange you can have a number of different dive operators look after all your transfers and accommodation, all you have to do is get yourself to Durban. I used http://www.scubaaddicts.com/ and highly recommend them. I was living in Botswana at the time though so my cost was greatly reduced! Only thing is it's alot of jumping in and out of the boat and generally not a lot of actual dive time due to the bait balls often dispersing as quickly as they form....

Corkbah wrote: »

march/april is a great time to see great white sharks breaching in south africa (while not actually diving its still a spectacle watching these beasts jump out of the water).

you could always do some cage diving to see great whites in their natural habitat (not sure if normal diving is permitted) …..and as you mentioned the great sardine run (not sure if thats on in march/april…i thought that was a june/july thing) …but that would only be a small flight away from south africa (maybe 2/3hours)

I was under the impression that the best time for breaching was towards the end of August? I know that's the time of the year I went and there was breaching a plenty! I used http://www.white-shark-diving.com/ and again highly recommend as they are extremely environmentally conscious!

mocata wrote: »

Malta is good for wrecks, great value too. Not much fish life. Cozumel in mexico has a wide range of stuff, Cenotes are bucket list dives, and cozumel reef is just like egypt. Whale sharks and Manta rays guaranteed too in season.

Did my DM in Malta spent over a month living and working there during the course. Totally agree it's got some amazing wrecks but life is very little. One of the best things about Malta is that you're pretty much guaranteed diving everyday if one location is a blow out the island is so small they just drive to a better location! These are the guys I trained with http://www.neptunesdiving.eu/ small operation which means more friendly and a lot of leeway in site choices!

BigDuffman

+1 for Malta. The stoney bottom all around the bottle means the vis on busy sites is good as the bottom doesn't get kicked up. Great wrecks. However as other posters have stated there's not much wild life.

I'm looking for a destination in January for a week myself. Was thinking Egypt. In my eyes the unrest just makes things cheaper also getting caught up in a coup is the best excuse ever to get off work.

Pawwed Rig

I went to Lanzarote last year and there was some nice diving to be had

alwayssideways

Sardinia is another option. I was there in October. Great for cave diving.

TheBazman

We are in the process of booking Oman - a liveaboard from Salalah. Looks decent albeit I dont think the diving is particularly difficult. I believe there are chances of seeing hump-backs but obviously not guaranteed.

BigDuffman

I've settled for Egypt, sharm el sheikh in January. Cheap 4/5* all inclusive deals near dive sites so can't go wrong. Although I did come across this http://findingmesomegillyweed.wordpress.com/2012/06/06/diving-the-lost-city-of-shi-cheng/ and now want to go to China

Meanaspie

I'd recommend a liveaboard for the Red Sea, have used www.scubatravel.com excellent crowd and I was on the Whirlwind can't recommend it enough

BigDuffman

Anyone stayed in Sharm el sheikh before? I'm looking for. 4/5* hotel for myself and herself. Looking for a hotel near the main diving areas. I'm confused about where exactly the main diving areas are!?

Naama bay
Shark bay
Or just Sharm el sheikh

tinkerbell

How about the Galapogas? The diving there is meant to be unbelievable.

Catmologen

BigDuffman wrote: »

Anyone stayed in Sharm el sheikh before? I'm looking for. 4/5* hotel for myself and herself. Looking for a hotel near the main diving areas. I'm confused about where exactly the main diving areas are!?

Naama bay
Shark bay
Or just Sharm el sheikh

Naama Bay is the main town area with most of the Pubs and Restaurants shops etc. Its about a 10 minute walk from the center of Naama Bay to the main Jetty where the boats leave for the day trips to Ras Muhammad, Tiran, Thistlegorm etc. The diving from the main beach in Naams Bay is atrocious and should be avoided except maybe for a shakedown dive. I've stayed and dived with Camel whose diving set up is 5*+ but their accommodation is more like a 3*. Great price and location and a cracking rooftop bar that does great food.

Sharks Bay is about 15 mins drive from Naama Bay. There is great shore diving from some of the beaches there. The Hilton hotel in Sharks bay comes highly recommended and might be closer to the standard of accommodation you are looking for.

If you are looking for a dive center then i would recommend either Camel mentioned above or Moon Divers. If you need any more info let me know and ill do my best to help.

locum-motion

Catmologen wrote: »

Naama Bay is the main town area with most of the Pubs and Restaurants shops etc. Its about a 10 minute walk from the center of Naama Bay to the main Jetty where the boats leave for the day trips to Ras Muhammad, Tiran, Thistlegorm etc. The diving from the main beach in Naams Bay is atrocious and should be avoided except maybe for a shakedown dive. I've stayed and dived with Camel whose diving set up is 5*+ but their accommodation is more like a 3*. Great price and location and a cracking rooftop bar that does great food.

Sharks Bay is about 15 mins drive from Naama Bay. There is great shore diving from some of the beaches there. The Hilton hotel in Sharks bay comes highly recommended and might be closer to the standard of accommodation you are looking for.

If you are looking for a dive center then i would recommend either Camel mentioned above or Moon Divers. If you need any more info let me know and ill do my best to help.

I've been 3 times. Stayed and dived with Camel each time. Wouldn't even think of going anywhere else.

jonnyalways

probably too late now. But i would recommend Tanzania and Mozambique. Moz for the whale sharks if you like the big stuff. In tanzania I did great diving off an island called pemba.

Meanaspie

Tanzania and Mozam are a tad more expensive than Sharm!! But if it was a choice between those two Mozam wins hands down best diving I've ever done the sea life is incredible - liking being inside finding Nemo!

TheBazman

tinkerbell wrote: »

How about the Galapogas? The diving there is meant to be unbelievable.

That is on my list but will be a couple of years down the line.... It's seriously expensive and far away. This year it will be Oman.

jonnyalways

Interesting, I had been looking at Egypt or Jordan but decided against it due to the upheavels, (went to Indonesia instead). Enjoy your trip and let us know what Oman is like.

vince

ocean college dive centre nama bay will pick you up from any hotel top quality folk been 12 times