recommended locations for beginner divers (from london)

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uk_yeeling - 29 Aug 2004 11:20 GMT

hi,

i have decided to go on a week's diving holiday so that i can learn to
dive. only problem (?) now is deciding *where* to go on this holiday.
my initial idea is to go to the red sea (sharm el sheikh or dahab),
but i'm still not 100% sure... does anyone have any recommendations?

i am looking to go mid-september, and will be flying out of london.
i'm looking for a week's deal for less than 1000GBP (including
flights, hotel, diving, transfer, etc) so i'm not sure if that rules
out destinations further afield (such as the carribean).

thanks in advance!

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Richard Faulkner - 29 Aug 2004 13:35 GMT

>hi,
>
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
>
>thanks in advance!

During a sailing holiday, I learned to dive in Madeira in June and
really enjoyed it - fish, rock formations, small boat, 30m deep,
sunshine, and so on. I had a great time.

Janet, (my other half), learned to dive in Sharm in March, and was
disappointed with what she saw in Madeira - She said that if I liked
Madeira, the Red Sea would blow my mind. She also said that the general
feeling is that Dahab is a bit quiet. We're going to Sharm for 2 weeks
in November (Sheraton Hotel). Apart from spending money, I think the 2
weeks, including paying for 5 days diving, or so, will come in at around
£1000 each.

I think if you are going on a diving holiday, the Red Sea looks
favourite, but you will probably be spoiled for other places you might
go in the future.

Have a good time

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Richard Faulkner

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Dillon Pyron - 29 Aug 2004 19:59 GMT

>hi,
>
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
>
>thanks in advance!

Personally, I'd recommend learning to dive at home and then spending
your entire vacation (American for holiday) doing real diving. You'll
blow anywhere from 3 to 5 days learning.

Signature

dillon

When I was a kid, I thought the angel's name was Hark
and the horse's name was Bob.

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Lattes - 30 Aug 2004 17:22 GMT

> Personally, I'd recommend learning to dive at home and then spending
> your entire vacation (American for holiday) doing real diving. You'll
> blow anywhere from 3 to 5 days learning.

Agreed, although the downer on that is that you are going to end up learning
mostly in a pool if you are in the UK or freezing your a.s off in the Ocean.

Red Sea is good, would not suggest Dahab b/c it is all beach diving and more
difficult especially for beginners than boat diving. Also, Red Sea has quite
a bit of Current which may be intimidating depending how comfortable you are
in the water.

I learned in Koh Tao which was quite perfect, shallow sandy bottoms in some
areas were good for learning, warm water was a bonus and not too much
current in MOST dive spots (although those at the north and south tips of
the island could get pretty heavy)

Look around and see what you find, Sharm is BETTER diving than Koh Tao but
starting off you won't really know the difference because you will spend
most of your time concentrating on breathing instead of concentrating on the
marine life.

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