Written by Ben Schulz (Tauchen) / Co-written by Tal Tamir and Elizabeth Langenberg

Egypt Diving: Top tips for a country whose possibilities for divers seem almost endless.

Diver Safety in Egypt

Egypt has always been known for its thirst for growth. It’s no surprise that when it comes to dive centers and liveaboards, you’ll find an extensive catalog with various services. In recent years, new regulations and regular quality controls in the country have helped improve safety standards for divers.

Since 2018, local authorities have had more control over diving centers and liveaboards. Frequent checks are made to ensure that depth limits are observed, documented, and followed. Egypt diving profiles have to be noted down on all dive boats, whether day trips or liveaboards ensuring that the magic limit of 40 meters has been observed.

The intense competition among diving centers means that no one can afford bad publicity. Word spreads quickly about poor service and inadequate rental equipment. Despite this, variations in service quality still exist, and we aim to help you make informed choices.

Important Safety Standards to Look Out For

How do you find a dive center in Egypt, for red sea diving that offers high-quality service and safety standards?

1. Write them an email before you book with them. Their feedback is the first indicator of service (Did they reply professionally? How long did it take them to reply? Did you get a reply at all?).
2. General appearance of the dive center upon arrival like cleanliness, organization and elaborate utilities.
3. Rental equipment (whether you need it or not) should be clean and in good condition, this is also a good indicator of how well the tanks will be looked after and is a general sign of how professionally the dive center operates.
4. A professional dive center will always ask to see your certification and request either a medical “fit for diving” certificate from a physician or a filled-out medical questionnaire (depending on local laws) before taking you into the water.
5. Be happy if they insist on a check-dive. It’s always a nice chance to get used to the diving procedures again, and it’s for your own safety. It also shows that a dive center cares and helps the dive center pair you with the correct group for future dives.
6. A professional dive briefing will be clear, covering all key points about the dive and dive site, and should always include safety measures.
7. Professional dive centers have emergency oxygen on their boats and in their center.
8. If in doubt about air quality, request to see the compressor. It should be clean and in a cooled room. The dive center should be more than happy to show it to you.

Ensure a smooth hassle-free Egypt diving vacation

The following points will help you plan and enjoy a nice, relaxed, and smooth vacation in Egypt and the Red Sea:

1. Flight cancellations, delays, or rebookings, can mean sudden changes and adjustments to your travel plans, especially on liveaboards. You can insure yourself against financial losses caused by such changes. Choosing the right dive & travel insurance in the planning phase will alleviate the troubles of unplanned expenses or lost vacation days.
2. Entry made easy. If you want to avoid long queues upon entry, just book the eVisa. On the visa2egypt website, you will find all the necessary information. Depending on how long you want to stay in the country, there are different options for you. After receiving the visa, simply print it out and show it at the passport control. If your tour operator is handling the visa for you, you can skip this step. 
3. Choosing the right dive spot is important. Egypt diving offers a lot of different dive sites and destinations to offer, wrecks included.. If you are a beginner, you may want to dive from land or on a daily boat instead of heading for a liveaboard trip straight away. Everything is possible, make the right choice for you.
4. Many live-aboard trips are stunning but challenging. There are some designed especially for beginners. Get in touch with the tour operators and ask them about the level of their trips. You may have the chance to get your next diving certification and improve your diving ability.
5. Keep hydrated and cover up! Although temperatures in Egypt can be excruciatingly hot, most of the time a nice breeze will cool you off so you won’t always feel how hot it is. That is very enjoyable, but also misleading and dangerous. One of the main reasons why divers end up in decompression chambers is due to dehydration. Remember that just by breathing, your body loses 0,5 – 1 l of fluid on a single dive. Add the exhaustion of the heat and do the math!
6. Buying medicine: the prices for any medicine are generally cheap compared to Europe or the States, but most Egyptian pharmacists know that and try to charge you much more. What they don´t know is that by reading this article you have just learned that prices for medicine are fixed and can be found on the package, you just have to look for it. In many cases the prices are even written there plainly for you to read, in some cases they are in Arabic.
7. In the event of an incident: if you have to see a doctor or even go to a hospital, remember to have your credit card and/or a lot of cash money with you. Without a huge down payment, you usually won´t be treated, not even in an emergency. Therefore having the right diving accident or Dive&Travel insurance coverage that pays directly to the medical service providers will save you a lot of trouble!

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