Diving from A-Z

All the information you need to know about the diving trips and the scuba diving courses.

A DAY ON THE BOAT,
What is a typical dive day like?
We will pick you up from your hotel in the morning to bring you to the center is necessary or otherwise we take you straight to the jetty, where you will get on the boat.
When the tanks and boxes have been loaded, you will leave the jetty and head to your first dive site.
There are two dives a day, with an optional (payable locally) third dive if the conditions allow. Lunch is served between these dives, and is buffet style, suitable for vegetarians and meat lover alike.
Once all diving is completed, we will go back to the jetty where your box will be moved for you, ready for the next day. Please make sure everything is back in your box before you reach the jetty!
You will find the Sinai Scuba transfer waiting for you on the Jetty to bring you back to the diving center or your hotel. Of Course you are also welcome at the diving center to enjoy a post-dive drink!
Booking, How can I book direct with Sinai Scuba? Simple click on the Book now button on this website and you will be directed to the booking page of Sinai Scuba.

CANCELATION POLICY, Please give us as much notice as possible if you wish to cancel a daily diving activity.
All trips should be cancelled by 4pm the day before you are due to go, otherwise a cancellation fee will be added. If you don’t show in the morning of the trip, then you will be charged full price.
Cancellation fees for courses vary, please consult the counter in resort.

CERTIFICATION FEE, This is payable at the center for all PADI courses. On completion of your course, you will fill out your Personal Identification Card (PIC). You are issued with a temporary card, valid for 90 days, and in the mean time your actual card will arrive at your home address.

CHECK DIVE, If you have not dived for 6 months, then normally we will ask you complete a check dive on your first day. This is for your peace of mind and ours alike – to ensure you are correctly weighted and safe and comfortable in the water before encountering possible currents.

CHECK IN, first day diving what do you need to bring?
Certification card
Log book
Passport
Towel
Any personal diving kit
50le if you require lunch on the boat
Travel agent voucher (if applicable)
If you start a course you will need to bring:
Any existing certification cards Log book (if you have one)
Passport
Towel
Any personal diving kit
Money for lunch / drinks
Any paperwork you have (manuals, knowledge reviews etc) Travel agent voucher (if applicable)

CHECK OUT, On your last day, we will prepare your bill for you to settle when you come back from the boat. If it is more convenient, you can come into the center the next day, just let us know. The bill will be calculated in Euro, but you can pay in sterling, euro, US Dollars or Egyptian pounds. If you wish to pay by credit/debit card, please be aware the bill will be converted into Egyptian pounds for payment.

CLIMATE, The climate of the Red Sea is the result of two distinct monsoon seasons; a northeasterly monsoon and a southwesterly monsoon. Monsoon winds occur because of the differential heating between the land surface and sea. Very high surface temperatures coupled with high salinity makes this one of the hottest and saltiest bodies of seawater in the world. The average surface water temperature of the Red Sea during the summer is about 26 °C in the north and 30 °C in the south, with only about 2 °C variation during the winter months. The overall average water temperature is 22 °C. The rainfall over the Red Sea and its coasts is extremely low, averaging 0.06 m per year. The rain is mostly in the form of showers of short spells, often associated with thunderstorms and occasionally with dust storms. The scarcity of rainfall and no major source of fresh water to the Red Sea result in the excess evaporation as high as 205 cm per year and high salinity with minimal seasonal variation.

COURSES,
Do I have to be able to swim to be a Scuba diver?
Before completing the PADI Open Water Diver course, your instructor will have you demonstrate basic water skill comfort by having you:
Swim 200 meters. There is no time limit for this, and you may use any swimming strokes you want. Float and tread water for 10 minutes, again using any methods that you want.
I’ve done all my studying at home, do I need to bring my manual with me?
Yes! Its possible that you may need it as reference during your course.
Do I need to bring any dive equipment?
All of our courses include equipment hire in the price.
What if I want to bring my own kit?
You are more than welcome to bring any personal kit you have. We will just issue you the equipment you require.
Do all courses require a manual?
At the moment, the following courses require each student to have a manual:
Scuba Diver
Open Water
Advanced Open Water / Adventure Diver
Deep Diver
Enriched Air (Nitrox) Diver
Digital Underwater Photographer
EFR
Rescue Diver
& All professional level courses
Do I still need to provide a passport size photo for courses?
No, we will take a digital picture and submit it for you, unless you doing the Divemaster course where you will still need to provide a photo.

DIVING INSURANCE, available at the center.
Its obligatory to have a valid diving insurance. If you don't have one you can obtain insurance from the diving center.
We are affiliated with Divemaster insurance, for more information see www.divemasterinsurance.com

EXTRAS, We offer many different’ excursions – Dunraven, Thistlegorm, Dahab ,Early starts & late starts. All of these run when there are at least 6 people wishing to go. For this reason, unless you are a group we cannot guarantee you these trips will go in any given week, but we will always do our best to get the group together.

FISH FEEDING AND FISHING, Fish feeding and bottom fishing upset the equilibrium of the reef. Please do not feed or fish on the coastline. Improve your buoyancy and look but don’t touch! PADI Specialties such as Peak Performance Buoyancy and Underwater Naturalist are available to improve your awareness of the environment and help you interact with it in a mutually beneficial way.
Resting, standing or walking on a coral surface, damages the fragile tissue surface of the coral animal. Exposed to bacterial attack and disease, it will often not recover from this impact. Please avoid walking on the reef. Use the floating jetties or marked reef access points to enter the water.

INFORMATION WE NEED, We will need payment details, but also your hotel arrangements, date of arrival and departure and any special requirements as well as your passport number. If you are daily diving, be aware that you will be asked for the date of your last dive so we can correctly check you in according to your requirements.

NON DIVER, Can non-divers come on the boat?
Of course! We realize that many people bring their families when on diving holidays. We can also provide you with life-vests for use on board. Anyone is welcome and will only pay as a ‘passenger on boat’, whether they snorkel or not.

PAYMENTS, we accept payments in all major currencies and credit cards.

TIDAL RANGE, In general tide ranges between 0.6 m in the north, near the mouth of the Gulf of Suez and 0.9 m in the south near the Gulf of Aden.



WATER TEMPERATURE, water temperatures range between 20 degrees in the winter and 28 in the summer. So in the summer a 3 mm shorty is sufficient for most divers where as the person who get easily chilled may want a 7 mm or even a dry suit in January and February. Visibility is good all year around ranging between 60 and 200 meter. But the area is known for its strong winds, especially in the winter and unpredictable local currents.