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Dave Morgan at work in UK

First of all I think I would take the cheap flight from Sharm to Hurghada,
or probably Cairo to Hurghada if you cannot get to Sharm direct
and catch a liveaboard there. You'll get further South in the Red Sea out of
Hurghada and the diving just gets better the further south you go. Brothers
alone is worth that extra bit of travel.

I have flown Tel Aviv to Cairo on El Al, and of course you can get Cairo to
Sharm via EA and/or their code shares, but I'm not certain if Israel to
Sharm direct is available. El Al doesn't do it and EA still doesn't fly into
or out of Israel. There are a lot of charter carriers over there and you
might find direct via one of them.

Misr Travel
630 Fifth Avenue Suite 1460
New York, N.Y. 10111
Telephone: (212) 332-2600
Toll Free Phone: (800) 223-4978
Fax: (212) 332-2609

Ask for Eunice Roy. She has helped me with some very difficult itineraries
in the Middle East over the years and is spectacular. Misr travel has fixers
in almost every city in the Middle East it seems, so you are never left
without local contact and help. I have never, ever had to wait in line at
customs or immigration when flying into Egypt. My fixer meets me, sticks a
visa in my passport, walks me past security and lines, and off I go without
any check or delay. The service at most other M. East major airports is
similar.

Once in Cairo we were checked into the Ramses Hilton, my wife found
something about the hotel disconcerting and wanted to move. Sometime after
midnight I called our local contact and he had us moved across the circle to
the Nile Hilton in a matter of minutes. I'm not sure how they do it, lots of
palm money I'm suspect, but Misr is incredibly effective.

I recommend them without hesitation. They do have some dive trip offerings
but I have always booked my own diving and boats so I cannot speak to their
efficiency with the diving portion of thier trips.

Tell you what, there are a lot of Israeli nationals who vacation in Sharm.

I remain more careful than ever before and my choice of hotels has changed
some. Bottom line, I haven't found it any  more dangerous than it was, but I
have found that some of the traditional hospitality is served with a bit
more effort. We Americans are **always** identified before even speaking.
It's probably the sneakers that give us away :^)

I was diving in Eilat last May and was very pleased with Meduza Diving Center. It's a
first class operation with hot showers, rinse tanks, etc.  The diving was all from
shore because of a wall very close to shore. We stayed at Hotel Americana which was
OK.

In Israel you must show proof of dive insurance as well as logged dives within the
last 6 months.  I dove with a rental 3mm shorty, but 3mm full suit would probably be
ideal.

It's a good idea to bring at least a dive computer and compass if you plan to rent
gear there.

Adam

The Israeli Government is sensitive to those people who visit their
country and may be traveling on to other Islamic countries which they
do not have diplomatic ties. They will upon request not stamp your
passport when you enter the country. Instead they will stamp it on a
separate piece of paper which you had better not lose. The other option
is to get an insert into your passport that can be stamped while
entering and exiting Israel. Once you leave Israel you remove the
insert and hide it in your luggage.

I have done both when visiting countries without diplomatic ties to the
Israel and the USA. Both work just fine.

I have to say that I find it sad that Egyptians are starting to turn
away people who have visited Israel. But on the other hand the current
American adminstration has pretty much screwed the rest of the world no
matter what side your views are on.

Allen

It may be worth considering this (if you can speak French):
http://duneredsea.com/fr/ct.htm