Red Sea (Egypt, Israel)

January 20, 2019 OzDive

Feb 2019

Marsa Alam

Egypt

Magnificent diving - truly a diver's heaven. Having dived the Pacific quite a bit I thought it was challenging to find equally good or even better dive spots in the world. Well surprise, this is one of them. Lots of big fish and pristine corals. Among many other species, we encountered Whale Sharks, Green Turtle, Eagle Rays and had about 45 min playtime with 2 Dolphins, which had fun to check out us and play with us. Most of the reefs are close to the shore with most house reefs still in great shape showing massive canyons of hard and soft coral (we stayed at the Concorde Moreen, which had the Orca Dive Club Moreen onsite). The dive spots further out (via boat or zodiac) go far deeper than 20m but here the chance is best to see big fish such as Napoleon Wrasse, Sharks, Dugongs, Whale Sharks, and Dolphins. Long story short, this is our new haven for diving - conveniently located just under 5h away compared to 2-3 day trips into the Pacific.

Apr 2019

Eilat

Israel

Frankly, we did not plan to go diving in Eilat but what kind of divers would we be if you do not take the chance to dive the Red Sea, also because we had such a great time in Marsa Alam. Eilat is located in Israel at the very South, right between Egypt and Jordan. Most reefs are shore dives and accessible through the various beaches. We did a double shore dive; the first dive was on the Satil Wreck, second dive close to the industrial gutter. The Wreck is beautiful, at 25m not too deep to enjoy a lengthy dive, great shape with many openings to check out. Also, the visibility is around 20-30m giving you plenty of options for wide-range and long-distance shots. The gutter was ok, there was a lot of debris in the water making it look like the 'Million-Dollar-Point' in Vanuatu. Toward the end, you come across a nice reef with lots of things to discover. Quick note, Eilat means a lot of tourism with many, many dive shops. So you can guess the quality of the diving. I went in April and had only 10-15 divers at the wreck. The dive guide mentioned that in peak season, up to 200 divers can be found in the water (on Fridays before the weekend). Again, plan your diving and manage your expectations. Great diving if you know when and where to go.