We decided to stray away from the hustle & bustle of the usual Egyptian diving haunts & head for more sedate location of Dahab. The group consisted of six from Naas, two from Dalkey Scuba Divers & two from Dundalk.

 

 

We took  the 6 hour, Thursday morning 8am direct flight from Dublin - Sharm el Sheikh with Futura Gael (€409) & then a one hour bus ride to Dahab which is north of Sharm el Sheikh on the Sinai Peninsula. This got us to our hotel , The Bedouin Moon late afternoon in time to enjoy something to eat, a bottle of cold beer and an early night, ready for diving Friday morning. The Hotel is very basic but comfortable, definitely not suitable for those looking for a 5 Star hotel but then we are here for the diving. It has a very nice pool, internet access, simple food, AC in rooms and friendly staff.

I only realised on the second night that you had to switch on the AC by remote after turning the switch on the wall to off to get it to work. The mozi’s were very happy with this arrangement as they attacked every inch of me after I slept on the veranda. (Yes, you heard me “every inch”!)  

 

 

The Reef2000 dive centre is attached to the Bedouin Moon hotel so no trouble travelling or wasting any time. It is a well equipped Dive Centre with a nitrox membrane compressor and full techy Trimix setup if needed. We booked it through Lani O’Regan, an Irish girl who runs to centre. Having e-mailed Lani we met her at the Belfast Dive Show & done a deal for the group, using nitrox for the 13 – 14 dives over the six days. This included a boat trip out of Sharm to do two dives on the Thistlegorm & one dive on return journey on Yolanda Reef at Ras Mohammad. We left Dahab by bus at 3am in the morning to catch a day boat out of Sharm el Sheikh at 4am and arrive on the Thistlegorm at 9am. Although this is a bit of a marathon it is a trip well worth doing as the Thistlegorm is a great wreck dive & difficult to arrive home & not be able to say that you have dived it! 

 

We also had a second days boat diving with three dives at Gabr El Bint which is south of Dahab. Some of these dives were subject to strong currents & I was certainly glad of my Tuesday nights pool training!  

 

From day one you realise that it is going to be a relaxing week. After getting through the usual disclaimer paperwork, signing your life away on the first morning we loaded up the pickups with our dive gear & headed a few miles south. On arrival at the dive sites you are greeted by the Bedouins who operate restaurants/ large tents where you can rest, eat & drink in between dives & pay at the end of the day. The tents have open sides that allow the cool breeze to blow through while keeping the strong rays of the sun away.

 

 

 

 

We were divided into two groups of five (A Team – Naas SAC) & four (Team Special Needs – Dalkey & Dundalk). The two dive leaders who looked after us very well for the week were two Bedouin’s Mo (PADI Dive Master)& Sabri (PADI Instructor)   

 

 

 

Diving all the big named dive sites that are only a short pickup ride from the Reef 2000 and to the north of Dahab, the famous “Blue Hole”, “The Bells” and “The Canyon”. While there is any amount of depth on these dives we did not go below 30 meters & our dive times were 50 - 55 minutes. There were a lot of small fish life but not that much big fish or large shoals to be seen. I guess they are fished out like most other parts of the world. The fact that we were not flying out until 4pm on the Thursday meant we got the full six days diving while having a 24 hour surface interval resting by the pool before flying home.

 

 

 

 

I think everyone enjoyed their weeks diving & found it very relaxing & affordable. Eating out in Dahab is very reasonable but be careful when eating fresh fish as Tony learned how to do the Cairo quick step while there & lost 6kg in the process!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reef 2000 contact details: