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Dive Review of Reef Diving Centre/(stayed in a AirBnb) in
Mediterranean/Tel Aviv

Reef Diving Centre/(stayed in a AirBnb): "Once in a lifetime experience", Jun, 2018,

by DAVID SHEM-TOV, LONDON, GB (Sr. Contributor Sr. Contributor 21 reports with 4 Helpful votes). Report 10324 has 1 Helpful vote.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations N/A Food N/A
Service and Attitude N/A Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 3 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 3 stars
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 2 stars
Comments While the English language website only refers to their dive center in Eilat, the Reef Diving Group have an affiliate in Tel Aviv, situated at the Tel Aviv Marina. This operation mainly services students and local divers who cannot make it to Eilat, although I was buddied up with an English tourist on the day I went. All staff spoke good English. They were strict about reviewing diver credentials and insurance and required clients to have dived in the previous 6 months to avoid a checkout.

Shore dives are offered daily and boat dives on most weekends (Friday and Saturday.)

For ILS360 ($100, Nitrox tank and all gear included), I joined a two tank excursion on their hard bottomed covered skiff accommodating 6 divers and two guides. First dive was at Sea Wolf, a purpose-sank 30m former navy boat standing upright in the sand at about 30m. It was a fairly unremarkable wreck with moderate amount of fish life. After 30 minutes we were ushered to the surface. We had been on the surface for less than 15 minutes before the next dive at Gordon rocks. It was shallow, at less than 7m. I was surprised to find a couple of rays and three nudibranchs. We were back at the dive center less than two hours after we left. All in all, it was OK. Most staff were friendly, though I found the impatience of the skipper and guides a little grating. I would rate it as a once in a lifetime experience. (I.e., once in a lifetime is enough!)

A recent article in UK's DIVER magazine ([divernet.com link]) spoke about diving off the beach in Hadera, 40km north of Tel Aviv, where warm effluent from a power station on the shore attracts 3m+ requiem sharks in winter. Dives are conducted from the shore in shallow waters with low visibility. (The operator is located 60km away in Modi'in and drives a pickup to the shore.) This intrigued me. Alas, I was in Israel during the wrong season to try this.
Websites Reef Diving Centre   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience Over 1000 dives
Where else diving Cocos, Socorro, French Polynesia, Galapagos, Truk, Palau, Maldives, India, Thailand, Red Sea, Mediterranean
Closest Airport Tel Aviv [TLV] Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm
Water Temp 26-28°C / 79-82°F Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 8-10 M / 26-33 Ft

Dive Policy

Dive own profile no
Enforced diving restrictions We were buddied up, and given a briefing.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles None Whales None
Corals 1 stars Tropical Fish N/A
Small Critters 2 stars Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics N/A

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 2 stars Boat Facilities 1 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 1 stars Shore Facilities 1 stars
UW Photo Comments I suppose you could ask for a rinse bucket with fresh water for your camera if you wanted, but this is not a destination for UW photographers.
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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