Oh, sh.t!!!! Sheeeee-it!
Now I'm writing about scuba.
God forbid.
In this forum, of all places.
Alas nothing here about religion, guns, Reps and Dems, or the usual stuff.
Sorry.

Still with me?
Here goes.

Never mind the brave ones of Taba Hilton and/or the smugglers of Gaza, but
thankfully diving in Egypt isn't restricted to the Gulf of Aqaba-aka-Gulf of
Sina?.
Apart from a week in Aqaba I have never been that far up North, so I will
refrain from comment.

But ...

I found diving around Sharm el Sheik exciting and then I must confess that I
haven't even been any to the famous wreck sites.

Hurghada has the reputation of being trampled by hordes of divers.
The small fisherman's village of 15 years ago now sprawls for miles and
miles along the coast, with new hotels going up, where ever you look.
Over 500 boats are supposed to operate from this town alone, which means
over 7.000 divers, resulting in ... er .. say over 15.000 dives every day.
But still, while it is not my favourite place by a long, long shot, the
harsh realities of a tight budget placed me there a few times and I found
out that there are still very good dives to be made.
The murenes, barracuda's, green turtles, napoleon wrasses and even dolphins
I've seen there, very close up, together with the rich variety of marine
life, just defy desciption.

El Gouna, a bit to the North of Hurgada is a new development, stamped from
the barren grounds for tourism only.
It lacks the crowds of Hurghada and the diving is said to be easier. Less
exciting. Tamer, if you like.

Safaga to the south of Hurghada is supposed to be much better, but I haven't
been in the water over there, so what can I tell you?
It is less of a hotspot, there are less boats on the horizon and logically
the pressure on the environment is less, too.

Or so they say.

Same goes for El Qesir, still further south, where the swiss M?venpick hotel
has a very good reputation among divers.

For me the real action starts as far south as Marsa Alam.
Nowadays you're spared the long, hot trip by mini bus; since a few years the
place has its own airport.

That's a boon and a curse.
It's much easier and much more relaxed to get there then in the old days,
but it attracts much more tourists.
So better be quick about it.
Don't wait too long or you might find yourself in a whole new Hurghada.

Diving Egypts southern coasts is as good as it gets.
But the best way to explore them are the live aboards', of course.
Take one halfway to Saudi and enjoy the wild waters of the Brother islands.
Enjoy excellent diving.
Or take a boat, bound for even deeper south, up to the borders of Sudan.
Excellent again.
All pristine reefs, all but virtually untouched by tourism.

But again, this is changing by the year.
Surfacing one morning at 7.30 I was amazed to find six more boats had joined
ours during our early morning dive at Elphinstone reef.
And more were coming up during breakfast.
Off course, us being first had a fleeting change seeing the hammerheads,
while the others did not.

O.K. So what more is good about diving in Egypt?
For one thing, the Red Sea definitely is one of the very most interesting
eco systems in the world and at places it is littered with divable wrecks.
WWII vintage and newer.
More to that, it is quite affordable and quite close, at least for us,
Europeans. (Damn!)

As for safety.
Behaving as expected from a respectful visitor, I've never felt
uncomfortable or less then safe in any of these places.
Least of all at a live aboard.
(Never compared this to London, though, Scott. Didn't feel threatened there,
eihter.)

The one mayor risk is the lack of potable water.
Only bottled water can be trusted.
Or maybe freshly boiled water (as in: you've personally watched it boiling
for some time).
Every other thing has to be avoided, including rinsed fruits of salads and
even ice.
But hey, that can't be new for anyone who gets around?

If you can live with that, diving in Egypt can be very rewarding, indeed.