Sharm El Sheikh - Scuba Diving In The Red Sea

As one of the most popular scuba diving resorts in the Red Sea, we thought we would take a closer look at Sharm El Sheikh, to see why huge numbers of scuba divers visit here each year.

Sharm El Shiekh is located on the Southern tip of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, and is today the main destination for those wishing to scuba dive in some of the Red Sea's best dive sites. From Sharm El Sheikh, day boats regularly visit dive sites such as the Thistlegorm Wreck, the Straits of Tiran, the Dunraven Wreck and Ras Mohamed.
Getting to Sharm El Sheikh is relatively easy from most major western airports, and there are numerous airlines offering cheap flights to Sharm El Sheikh from Manchester, Gatwick and other major UK airports. These cheap flights, coupled with the huge increase in hotels and other forms of accomodation in Sharm El Sheikh have resulted competitive prices for those seeking a cheap scuba diving holiday. The main airport in the region is Ras Nusrani, which also serves as the destination airport for those travelling on to the resort of Dahab further north on the Sinai Peninsula. There are a number of luxury coach and bus companies operating trips to Sharm El Sheik from Cairo, although the distances involved do tend to deter people on a limited timeframe.

Today, there is a large number of excellent hotels in Sharm El Sheikh, including the Hilton, the Movenpick and the Intercontinental.

There are a huge number of dive operators in Sharm El Sheikh, many of which are very well established and extremely well organised and equipped. The dive industry in Sharm El Sheikh is undoubtedly big business, and the huge numbers of day boats leaving the harbour each morning is testimony to this.

Of the dive operators in Sharm El Sheikh, there are a number of better knowns dive operations including the Oonas Dive Club, the Red Sea Diving College and the Camel Dive Club. Today, these operators are able to offer a complete package for a scuba diving holiday, including the accomodation in Sharm El Sheikh, the diving, and even the bars and restaurants in which to discuss the days diving afterwards!

As with the majority of scuba diving in the Red Sea, the diving in Sharm El Sheikh is excellent, and offers a wide range of dive sites for divers of all levels of experience. For the more experienced divers, sites such as the Thistlegorm Wreck or Shark and Yolanda Reef can prove to be the highlight of a scuba diving holiday. For beginners, or those wanting to learn to scuba dive, there are a huge number of shallower reefs, which offer good diving in an environment highly conducive for those wanting to learn to scuba dive.

Throughout the Sharm El Sheikh region, the coral reefs offer a good range of both hard and soft corals, and the marine life on the reefs is comparable to other destinations such as the Maldives and the Great Barrier Reef.

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New Destination Of The Month Feature

We have recently launched a new feature on the Scubaworld.tv web site called Destination of the Month, and this first issue covers all the various opportunities for scuba diving in Aqaba in Jordan.

Each month, we will cover a new destination, flagging all the various dive sites and dive resorts, as well as the very best destinations within that country to dive at.

This first issue on Aqaba covers this little known jewel, which offers some of the finest examples of coral to be found anywhere. Having escaped the larger numbers of scuba divers who regularly visit the other Red Sea diving resorts such as Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada, Aqaba offers scuba diving in absolutely pristine conditions.

We'll be sure to keep you posted on any new launches on the site in the coming months, and as usual, please feel free to let us know your thoughts on the new channels and new site design.

Worlds Best Dive Sites #3 - Thistlegorm Wreck In Egypt

A truely legendary dive site, the Thistlegorm wreck has everything that a wreck diver would look for. Lots of life, interesting cargo in and around the wreck itself, and more importantly, a story that surrounds the legendary wreck itself.

On 6th October, 1941, the SS Thistlegorm was carrying a full load of cargo including motorbikes, lorries, uniforms and other supplies when it was spotted by a German plane. Subsequently, two German bombers were dispatched to the area where the Thistlegorm was spotted, they found it, and subsequently sank it. The Thistlegorm wreck now lies in approximately 30 metres of water, in the northern most part of the Red Sea, off the west coast of the Sinai Peninsula.

Today, large numbers of scuba divers visit the Thistlegorm wreck each day, to marvel at the cargo strew around the sea bed near the hull, and then to slowly penetrate the wreck itself, where much of the original cargo still can be found.

Despite the large numbers of scuba divers visiting the wreck of the Thistlegorm, there is a good amount of marine life in and around the wreck, and you are likely to encounter large numbers of jacks, snappers and barracuda around the wreck of the Thistlegorm.

Overall, the Thistlegorm is definately worth a visit and the long trip out to the wreck by boat, the majority of which leave from Sharm El Sheikh early in the morning. Do expect to pay extra for the long distance out to the wreck, however after you've done your two dives, your memories of the Thistlegorm Wreck itself will stay long in your thoughts, not the few extra dollars you paid to get there. If you would like more information on diving in the Red Sea, or Red Sea liveaboards, why not visit the Scubaworld website, which covers all aspects of diving in the Red Sea in detail.