Dive Review of Red Sea Diving College/Eden Rock in
Red Sea/Sharm el Sheikh

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Red Sea Diving College/Eden Rock, Feb, 2011, by Peter Korn, CA, US ( 2 reports). Report 5935.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	I had the luck(!) of going back to Sharm - where I had first learned to dive 14 years ago - just at the start of the protests that led to the ouster of President Mubarak and the military takeover of the country. With Internet access down, no ATM machines would function, and by gov't order the banks were closed - and I hadn't arrived with much cash. I cannot thank the staff at Red Sea Diving College enough for how they helped in this somewhat challenging time - allowing me to overpay by credit card and then refunding the difference so I could have some cash, and then arranging an inexpensive taxi to take me to the Taba border in Israel, where I needed to be for business meetings. I arrived on an overnight flight from the UK on Friday morning (a few hours after Internet access was lost), and two hours later was on the boat for my first dives. Not surprisingly, these weren't particular great (Ras Katy & Temple dive sites). They were local - and not the stunning corals that the Red Sea is known for - and I was tired. The second day was far better, with two calm seas allowing unusual access to two sites in Tiran - Woodhouse & Jackson - that had lots of lovely corals. Less tropical fish than I remembered from 14 years ago though. I had planned a 3rd day diving on Sunday, but elected to sit that day out, as next was a planned 6 day live-aboard trip with the Torpedo Fleet. However, concerns about a potentially deteriorating security situation (Mubarak had pulled back police in Cairo and Alexandra and Giza and all-but-invited looting) and worries about future gasoline deliveries to Sharm from the port of Suez lead me to cancel the live-aboard and travel earlier than planned to Israel. The U.S. State Department directive to all U.S. Citizens to leave Egypt immediately also influenced my decision. I took advantage of Red Sea Diving College's winter package: multiple dives at a 10% discount with free Nitrox. I also paid extra for 15L tanks, which helped with my bottom time. I used their wetsuit (5mm separates) and fins. At the recommendation of Red Sea Diving College I stayed at the Eden Rock hotel. It was clean, relatively quiet, with a nice view from the balcony and a lovely shower. The hotel is set above the port, and is an easy walk to Red Sea Diving College (as well as the boats). I would stay there again. And I would dive again with Red Sea Diving College if/when I return to Sharm. A separate comment on DAN Travel Insurance: I was disappointed to discover that it doesn't cover missed trips due to "civil unrest" - which meant that the insurance I had taken out was useless to me in attempting to recover my pre-paid liveaboard trip. Unfortunately those funds are gone, and I will avoid pre-paying (and forgo any discounts that provides) in the future.
Websites	Red Sea Diving College Eden Rock
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	51-100 dives
Where else diving	Fiji, Cozumel, Hawaii, California
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	currents
Water Temp	74-75°F / 23-24°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	30-80 Ft/ 9-24 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Varied depth limits - depending upon experience & buddy. But in no case deeper than 30m
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	The dive boat was spacious - plenty of room to set up gear. Dedicated rinse tank for cameras - but this wasn't so big, and when 3 divers had gear (one a very large rig with twin flashes and a housed SLR), it was borderline full. A fourth photographer wouldn't have had enough room. to share it. Staff were sensitive to camera gear, and helpful getting into/out of water with cameras.

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Dive Review of Red Sea Diving College/Eden Rock in Red Sea/Sharm el Sheikh

Red Sea Diving College/Eden Rock, Feb, 2011,

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

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

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

Dive Review of Red Sea Diving College/Eden Rock in
Red Sea/Sharm el Sheikh