Let me say up front that if you have found this page by searching for diving holidays in the Red Sea look no further.  We had the most fantastic holiday with Aquarius Red Sea Diving Club.  See the underwater photography

Experienced divers might want to skip the next bit and go straight to Cheap Diving Holidays

Because of health issues I was very wary of taking a course on holiday.  I'd come close a few times but the idea of 6 or 8 people all being trained at once plus a potential language barrier really bothered me.  What would happen if the instructor was dealing with some-one else in difficulty when I had a problem?

When I made contact with Chris who runs Aquarius Red Sea Diving for the first time it began to seem a reality.  First they have a lot of English staff so if you have any concerns of language barriers you can forget that straight away.  Next I would say that I actually felt there was a real effort to understand that I may have problems rather than just getting a standard email back with the prices.

We chose a quiet time and the course was tailored to my needs.  Although I didn't expect to do very much when we booked I felt so confident in their hands I went on to finish my PADI Scuba Diver Certificate.

Karen Curtis was our instructor and we couldn't have felt in better hands.  (see Karen's underwater photography).  If you have health or panic concerns you will need to get permission from your GP to dive and of course you should have basic swimming skills and water confidence but often people need reassurance before they get this far.  Do email Aquarius if you feel unsure.  If you don't have basic skills you might like to consider a residential swimming course in the UK first.

One of the things that worried me most was the tendency of most holiday dive centres to tout for business with a 5 minute swim in the resort pool and follow up bookings with VERY short pool sessions and then straight into the sea.  WOW - if that isn't enough to frighten of any timid divers I don't know what is.  And that's a great shame because just like learning to swim we all need to go at our own pace.

Would you really want to miss something like this Hawksbill Turtle (courtesy of Karen Curtis) just because your first experience was a bad one?  OK so I'm not saying there aren't plenty of good centres out there - just make a point of seeing if they will talk to you before you get there.  If they can't be bothered making any effort to get your business what do you think they will be like once they have your money?  More underwater photography

If you don't feel ready for a course you can always try the PADI Discover Scuba which looks great fun.  It much depends on your outlook though.  It was quite hard work doing the Scuba Diver course - we did the theory up to the full Open Water stage and returned in November to complete our open water certification.  Next year we ill think about the advanced dives.

 

Cheap Diving Holidays

Watch this spot - we'll be adding more ways to dive on a budget in the red sea.

In the meantime I would suggest that the Coral Sea Resort which is where Aquarius Red Sea Diving are based (see below) is a VERY economical way of doing things especially out of season.  Go just before or after the kids school holidays and you can get 2 weeks all inclusive for as little as £500 each (we went with First Choice).  Book your diving direct via email and get 10% discount on all your dives or PADI Courses.

 

	AQUARIUS Diving Club in Hurghada  c/o Marriott Hotel Tel:+20 65 3446950 Fax:+20 65 3442394
	AQUARIUS Diving Club in Hurghada  Palm Beach Resort Tel:+20 65 3500035 Fax:+20 65 3442394
	AQUARIUS Diving Club in Makadi Bay  Royal Azur Beach Resort  Tel:+20 65 3590308 ext 5810  Fax:+20 65 3442394
	AQUARIUS Diving Club in Sharm El Sheikh  Sheraton Sharm Hotel  Tel:+20 69 362070 ext 8707  Fax:+20 69 3602099
	AQUARIUS Diving Club in Sharm El Sheikh  Coral Sea Resort  Tel:+20 10 1686223  Fax:
	AQUARIUS Diving Club in Marsa Alam  Awlad Baraka Ecolodge  Tel:+20 12 2488062  Fax:+20 65 3442394