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Dive Review of Bubbles Dive Club/Sheraton Sharm El-Sheikh in
Red Sea/Sharm El-Sheikh

Bubbles Dive Club/Sheraton Sharm El-Sheikh: "Beautiful diving only slightly disorganized", Oct, 2018,

by Joel Snyder, AZ, US (Sr. Contributor Sr. Contributor 29 reports with 30 Helpful votes). Report 10790.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 4 stars Food 2 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 4 stars
Dive Operation 4 stars Shore Diving 5 stars
Snorkeling 4 stars
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 5 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments We did a resort-based dive vacation (not a liveaboard) to get an inexpensive taste of Red Sea diving. For five days of diving, hotel, meals, and flights from Rome, total bill was 900 Euro/person, a super-bargain. Our hotel (Jaz Belvedere) was very nice and accommodating, even if the food was "all-inclusive buffet style" which was the low point of the trip. But we were there to dive!

We did a mix of shore diving and boat diving. Shore diving was outstanding: no current, approx. 81 F degree water (last days of October), easy entry and exit either from a pier or just walk in. In both cases, we were allowed to dive our own profile and had a great time. Super-small critters were a bit unusual (but you could find them with some patience), but the corals were brilliant and the small-to-medium reef fish were outstanding---anthias, parrots, triggers, butterfly, angels, you name it, available in beautiful colors and in profusion. Some large specimens, including a 6'foot Napoleon Wrasse who just hung out and cared nothing for the divers and photographers swarming him.

Boat diving was even better, although a bit disorganized between transport confusion and dock confusion; one day, we had to turn back and cancel because of weather conditions that could probably have been predicted before we got on the boat. Typical agenda is 2 dives followed by lunch followed by return, but as dive fanatics we went for 3 dives, which was not a problem and not a rush (although light was fading at the end of the day). In any case, the dive shop, run by Italians, was very accommodating and managed to pull off everything they promised. It's not a vacation for the uptight, though. Schedules in Egypt are relaxed.

Our goal was to see if we liked the Red Sea for a future liveaboard trip, so this was a great success and we'll be returning soon. If you haven't tried Red Sea for fear of dealing with Cairo's chaos, search for direct flights to Sharm and it's like you never actually entered Egypt. If you were looking for Egyption culture in Sharm El-Sheikh, sorry, there is none. It's a bubble just for divers and vacationers.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving Asia; Carib; Mexico; Hawaii; Red Sea
Closest Airport SSH Getting There Nonstop flights from European cities (avoiding Cairo) are easy; we had a 3-hour flight from Italy which was very easy and stress-free

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm, choppy, no currents
Water Temp 79-81°F / 26-27°C Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 30-60 Ft/ 9-18 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile no
Enforced diving restrictions No specific restrictions. Once the divemaster determined that we would not kill ourselves, they were more relaxed. But we had to stay with the guide at all times which was a bit restricting, except when shore diving.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins 1 or 2 Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 5 stars Tropical Fish 5 stars
Small Critters 3 stars Large Fish 3 stars
Large Pelagics N/A

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

Subject Matter 5 stars Boat Facilities 2 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities 2 stars
UW Photo Comments Bubbles uses a variety of boats, and none of them are really set up for photographers (e.g., no rinse tank, for example). The photographic opportunities are great, but you're better off assembling your gear before getting on the boat and expecting to handle disassembly back in your room.
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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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