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Trip Report
Diving holidays in Egypt
This is my 2 weeks Egypt itinerary. Hurgada and Dahab diving combined with a cultural visit to Luxor.
AfricaEgypt13 days / March 2020
Highs & Lows
The vibes of Dahab, wonderful underwater life, great food, visiting the tombs in Luxor, travelling through a sandstorm
I wouldn't go back to Hurghada
Itinerary Overview
Dahab Diving
My diving holidays in Egypt started in Dahab. The city is just an hour's drive away from touristic Sharm el Sheik, and it is a wonderful, laid-back town with amazing dive spots.
Because there are so many reefs close to shore, for Dahab diving you don't need a boat and can easily fill your stay with shoredives only. We did 2 dives a day, with some relaxing in between. Some days we stayed in the region of Dahab city (Lighthouse, Eel garden), other times we drove a bit further by car (Canyon, Blue Hole).
If you want a break from diving, you can hike to Abu Galoum from the Blue Hole for snorkeling and quiet beach time. You should also definitely go to the desert! We spent an evening in the desert with the guy dressed like a cowboy from restaurant Crazy Fish (Jack? John?). Other possibilities are to sleep in the desert or to visit Saint Catherine's monastery.
Also, great food all over the place, I would go back just to eat the vegetarian moussaka of Nemo restaurant.
Hurghada Diving, frankly there's not much else to do in Hurghada
We went diving in Hurghada with Blue Paradise, which was okay but not fantastic. Every day you leave by boat and do 2 dives with a break to eat and chill in between (you stay on the boat). We did Abu Ramada, Fanadir, and one I didn't write down.
I was expecting a lot more 'bigger animals' than in Dahab, but the underwaterlife looked more or less the same. Therefore I definitely prefer Dahab over Hurghada (no need for a boat, nicer vibes, less touristy). For big animals you need to go further south to Marsa Alam and take an overnight boat apparently.
As for the city of Hurghada; I didn't like it at all. Resorts everywhere and not much else.
Luxor Ancient Egypt culture
In Luxor, we visited Valley of the Kings and the temple of Hatshepsut on one day. The Karnak temples are very very big, so we visited these the day after and combined it with a visit to the city center (since it's on the same bank). Eventually, we did not visit Luxor temple because after seeing Karnak we figured it would be a bit much. Ramses III was very close to our lodgings, so we did this on our day of arrival. We couldn't do anything else that day because there was a big sandstorm (which was pretty awesome to witness!).
Make sure you get a guide to visit the Valley of the Kings, because you need someone to tell you which are the best (most colorful, most interesting) tombs to visit, and give you some insight into the symbolism and history. The tomb of Tutankhamun costs extra but we were told it's actually a very modest tomb with few paintings so we didn't visit it.
Q & A
What would you have changed?
I would not go to Hurghada, and would rather have stayed more time in Dahab diving.Restaurant recommendations?
Just look for authentic Egyptian food.Packing tips?
Dress modestly in Luxor. Know that Egypt in winter is not very hot. Our diving school had a swimming pool but it was too cold. If the sun is out, it's perfect, but we had a lot of cloudy days as well, when you need a sweater.Transportation Tips?
There is a night train from Luxor to Cairo that we had tickets for, but with the start of the Covid pandemic, we had to go back home a few days sooner.Any surprises?
Egypt diving is amazing! I didn't expect to see such a wonderful, colourful reef.
Lodging
Dahab Divers. Good diving school, nice accommodation. Location is really central on the strip; ideal for shoredives as well as for good restaurants.
We booked an airbnb that turned out to be very far from the city center. The address that we were given in advance was not the actual address of the apartment. This meant 2 hours of traveling time to the diving boat each day. Pay attention: in Hurghada you usually go diving by boat (no shoredives), and the boats are not necessarily located near the address of the diving school you choose. So don't choose your accommodation based on the address of the school, but ask for the location of their boat since this will be the place you need to get to early in the morning.
We stayed at airbnb 'Malkata House', which was very beautiful and had great food. It was not very expensive at the time but felt very luxurious. It was situated at the border of the city so had a view over the desert. It's also just a stonethrow away from the Ramses III temple. I would recommend staying on the west bank because it is a lot quieter than the east bank which has the city center. It's easy to get to the east bank by boat if you want to go to the center, but there is a lot to visit on the west bank as well so you'll have to cross the river anyhow.