TRAVELSPECIAL
Essentials
Getting there : Flights to Hurghada are available from most major airports in the UK and through most popular airlines , budget and otherwise . It ’ s worth shopping around for the best deals .
It ’ s a moray !
A grand day out
I also sampled what turned out to be two very enjoyable , half-day reef trips . Used , I ’ d imagine , for training purposes and checkout dives due to their closer proximity and shallower depths , that description would do them a disservice .
Crammed with tons of life including stonefish , moray eels and inquisitive puffer fish , while having overdosed on lionfish in various Mediterranean waters , where these invasive killing machines have decimated the natural species , it was great to see them , complete with shoals of glass fish , in their true habitat .
I ’ m never happier than when I get to see some ‘ big stuff ’ and while the young hammerhead who had been patrolling the
house reef at a distance for several days escaped me , I did get up close and personal to a big , old turtle . Seemingly enjoying a good rub against the fauna there was no doubt he or she had seen it all before as there was little reaction despite several divers gathering to observe .
All of the reefs I visited seemed to be in rude health , and each also appeared to have their own individual ‘ personality ’, whether it be colourful fauna , prolific fish life , the rock structures themselves or the wrecks and the history behind them .
To top off my stay , a school of dolphins accompanied the boat on the return journey after my final dive of the trip . Hopefully it won ’ t be another 20 years before I visit the Egyptian Red Sea .
When to go : Red Sea temperatures peak in the period July to September , but with diving possible throughout the year it can make a great off-season escape from a mid-winter UK .
Dive Centre : The ORCA Dive Club Soma Bay offers a five-day , full day boat trip diving package ; two boat dives per day with cylinders and weights included for £ 311 . A single boat dive is £ 73.00 , while a House Reef Dive costs £ 32 ( all including tanks / weights ). Equipment rental including wetsuit , BCD , regulator and computer is £ 21 per day . ( A £ 4.32 marina and £ 4.32 diving permission surcharge are also payable per day ). Contact : Web : somabay . com Email : info @ orca-diveclub-somabay . com Tel : + 20 122 529 8115 .
Lionfish herding glassfish
58
Hotel : The Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge . A double room with sea view starts at £ 73 per person / per night on a half board breakfast & dinner basis . All rooms feature air conditioning , satellite TV , a safe , minibar and free wifi . Web : thebreakers-somabay . com Email : info @ thebreakers-somabay . com Tel : + 20 127 755 4460 �