Dive Review of Red Sea Aggressor II in
Red Sea/Hurghada, Egypt

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Red Sea Aggressor II: "Northern Red Sea Diving in November, 2018", Nov, 2018, by Kevin Peterson, CA, US ( Sr. Reviewer 8 reports with 8 Helpful votes). Report 10784 has 3 Helpful votes.
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	There was a promotional price for the Northern Red Sea trip that was very attractive. Both northern and southern routes were available. To begin with, I want to state that I felt very safe traveling as an American tourist in Egypt. The conditions there are now peaceful and the people are anxious to make foreigners feel welcome. A word of caution, though, is that everyone expects tips for everything. In fact, if a total stranger becomes very helpful, expect to be obligated to give them money. Although this was generally true of most of the people in Egypt, I did not feel any pressure from the liveaboard crew to tip them, though it was appreciated. The weather was great. I was expecting Egypt to be hot and dry but in November it is cool and breezy with occasional rain. Temperatures were in the 70’s and this also meant the water was on the cool side so that a light wet suit was a good idea. The diving was great! The water was generally clear with not too much current. The coral reefs were healthy and full of life. We did not see any sharks or other such large animals except dolphins on one day, although I did see some of the largest Moray Eels I had ever seen. There were turtles seen more than once, but not a lot. The reefs are protected areas. There are also many wrecks to dive that were not intentionally sunk to be artificial reefs. This area is near the busy Suez Canal shipping lanes and some wrecks are over 100 years old. We got to dive on the SS Thistlegorm which was sunk by German planes in 1941 and discovered by Jacque Cousteau in 1955. Most of the fish were familiar tropical varieties although I saw one variety of butterfly fish with markings I had never seen elsewhere. There was also a species of stingray with blue spots on it like polka dots. I had never seen this before. On more than one dive we saw large Napoleon Wrasse that have no fear of divers. One thing this crew did that I thought was unique was to let divers dive either guided or unguided. Those who dove unguided had to have a buddy but could go where they wanted to at their own pace. This was refreshing because when you are trying to take pictures sometimes you don’t want to feel rushed by playing follow the leader. The entire staff bent over backwards to be helpful and accommodating. This was one of the most comfortable boats in the Aggressor fleet that I have been on so far. Our suitcases and dive bags could be stored elsewhere on the boat instead of having to stay in the cabin. One thing to be aware of is that it is required to have a SMB (safety sausage) with a reel for each buddy group. This was not mentioned before our trip and I had to buy a reel on board the boat to use with my SMB. Meals were excellent prepared with a middle eastern diet by a very good Egyptian cook. Service on board the boat lived up to the high standards expected on Aggressor trips. My week was a very enjoyable one and I look forward to diving here again someday.
Websites	Red Sea Aggressor II
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Australia, Palau, Yap, Hawaii, Belize, Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, Caribbean (many islands), Key Largo, California (including the Channel Islands as well as Monterey), Mexico, Costa Rica, Bonaire, Curacao, Epcot Center in Disney World, etc.
Closest Airport	HRG	Getting There	Fly to Cairo then to Hurghada
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm, no currents
Water Temp	74-80°F / 23-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	50-100 Ft/ 15-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Must have a buddy. Could dive guided or unguided. If diving Nitrox must observe depth limits.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	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
UW Photo Comments	Professional videos and photos were made and offered of our dives and suggestions were available to help improve your own skills.

Report currently has 3 Helpful votes

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Dive Review of Red Sea Aggressor II in Red Sea/Hurghada, Egypt

Red Sea Aggressor II: "Northern Red Sea Diving in November, 2018", Nov, 2018,

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 Aggressor II in
Red Sea/Hurghada, Egypt