This Summer will be our fifth consecutive year for our very popular Shark Safari's.

There are not many spaces left, as the people who have been on the previous Shark Safaris, have snapped up the places. However there are still a few. 

The Available Safari starts on 4th July 2020 from Hurghada for a week, and will head for Shark waters, namely Brothers, Elphinstone and Daedalus. Some tour operators call this itinerary "Simply The Best". 

If you want to see sharks, you have a great chance of seeing them in the Summer months at the locations we will be heading for. We haven't failed to spot at least five different species of shark during our week long Sharks Safari's. We even got to see Whale sharks, Manta and Dolphin in the water. There's even a FREE Shark Awareness Course you can sit on while on the Liveaboard.

If anyone would like to take up the last few spaces, please contact us on info@elite-diving.com reference Shark Safari 2020.

Yes, they are back. If you book early enough, you can get good deals on a Direct Easy Jet flight from Manchester to Sharm with Easy Jet.

We've said for Years that you get the best diving in Sharm during June, so what  way to celebrate direct flights returning to Sharm from UK than booking a holiday to come and dive with us at Elite during June.

"The early Bird Catches The Worm". So don't wait and don't hesitate. Book your Easy Jet flights now while they are still low.

Keep your eye's peeled for Easy Jet flying from other airports in the UK soon.

Mola Mola have been seen from time to time in Sharm but they are very rare here, and when they have been seen, it's usually a fleeting glance from the boat as we pass them in the water and then they dive deep straight away.

This time was an exception, not only one, not even two, but THREE Mola Tectra, (very close family to Mola Mola - Sun Fish) and they weren't in a rush to flee, giving our divers a ring side seat as the three cartoon like characters swam in formation around and past them, in no hurry whatsoever.

Let's hope they will pay us a visit on a regular basis.

For the photo, a big THANK YOU goes to Andrej Hajdinjak who dives with us about three times per year. As they say, You got to be in it to win it. Well done Andrej

​10 very interesting facts about Sunfish
1. Mola mola is actually the scientific name of the ocean sunfish. Along with three other family members, its closest relatives are the puffer and triggerfishes.
2. The largest ocean sunfish weighed 2.5 tons — which is comparable to an SUV — and the fish is considered the heaviest of the world’s bony fishes.
3. Despite lacking a tail, the ocean sunfish uses its modified dorsal and anal fins for powerful and agile propulsion.
4. The sunfish may sunbathe to regulate its body temp. After making deep dives in cold water, its time spent lazing at the surface is extended.
5. They lack a swim bladder — a fish’s version of a buoyancy compensator — but it has a layer of subcutaneous jelly that keeps it neutrally buoyant in seawater.
6. The sunfish has just 16 vertebrae, the fewest of any fish. Humans, in comparison, have 33.
7. Bycatch is considered the gravest threat to the ocean sunfish. In a South African fishery, an estimated 340,000 mola were caught in a single year.
8. The sunfish is prone to infestation by parasites, harboring some 54 species. It co-opts seabirds and other fishes, and sometimes even breaches to help rid itself of these pests.
9. The fish is one of the most prolific of all vertebrates: one female can produce an estimated 300 million tiny eggs per clutch.
10. The sunfish can make dives up to 490 meter deep, and one tagged individual traveled 1,800 km in three months.

Thanks for the video Andrej Hajdinjak.

As the direct flight ban from UK to Sharm has been lifted, Alun, Moyra and perhaps G (if he's not too busy in Sharm), have decided to exhibit in the Go Diving dive show at Coventry 21-23 February 2020 on The Egyptian Tourism Stand.

We won't have a big team there, but I'm sure some of the team that has helped us in the past will pop in to say hello.

The main point of attending most shows is to introduce ourselves to Divers that don't yet know us, and to tell them about the magnificent dive sites that we can take them to. Also to offer our services to people who want to learn or further develop their diver skills.

A big advantage to us attending these shows, is that we also get to meet up with divers who already dive with us. Most British dive shows are like a big reunion, so I hope many of the divers who have dived with us previously will pop to see us to say hello, and even meet up with us at the end of the day, perhaps for a drink or meal together.

We also love seeing them wearing their elite Shirts or Hoodies.

​To try and win a VIP package for Go Diving click here

​To get more information on the Go Diving show click here

Contact Go Dive for tickets and ask for their 2 for 1 offer.

Let us know if you'll be calling to see Alun, Moyra and perhaps G at the stand. e.mail Moyra on admin@elite-diving.com

​We had a Crazy week with our American friends from NABS last week! It is November and the Red Sea is still spoiling us.
The water temp is still 27°c, the corals and all year round marine life is spectacular. Night dives filled with Spanish Dancers and Octopus. And we are still getting our big surprises so late in the season. A nice big Hammerhead and huge Whale Shark again in the Local dive sites.
Ras Mohammed giving us yet more dives and snorkeling hours with the Whale sharks and to top it all off a super close encounter with a Dolphin and our regular sightings of Eagle ray's. A big thanks to all that was involved in a very successful Summit.

Dear Divers, colleagues and friends,
​
As divers and underwater ambassadors, any change towards a positive impact on the environment is one we can all agree on supporting.
Therefore kindly be informed that as of 27th November 2019, as per a recent decree issued by the Ministry of Environment, new Park daily fees will be applicable to diving operations and divers performing scuba diving and snorkeling activities in dive/snorkeling sites located in the following areas:

• Ras Mohammed National Park – Euro 7.00 per person
• Straits of Tiran – Euro 7.00 per person
• Local sites to Sharm El Sheikh – Euro 7.00 per person
• Blue Hole & Canyon in Dahab – Euro 12.00 per person

Applicable fees will be payable upon check out.
The new fees will be nurturing the funding of the National Park Authority and support its recently enhanced efforts aimed at protecting, maintaining, and monitoring the health of our beloved Red Sea, both on land and underwater.
The Ministry of Environment currently has the intention to charge the 6.00 Euro per person fee also for activities in diving/snorkeling areas located in proximity of Sharm El Sheikh coastline (i.e. “local dive/snorkeling sites”).

Please note that CDWS (Chamber of Diving and Waters-ports) is lobbying the relevant governmental bodies in order to prevent the payment of any fee for activities performed in “local” sites. Further updates in these regards will follow as soon as they will be available.
As responsible divers we greatly welcome this move and strongly believe in the implementation of environmental based restrictions, aimed at reducing the diving/snorkeling tourism impact on our lucky area of the world.

We look forward to diving with you.

A massive "THANK YOU" goes out to all our divers and everybody who voted for us in the DIVE Travel Awards. Your loyalty and continued support makes us feel so humble and honored that you hold us in such high esteem. 

Our Main Objective was to hold onto our number one spot for Red Sea Dive Centers for the second year running, and you got us there, but you've increased our position over all up to Third in the world where last your we were sixth.
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​We can't thank you enough, and this coming just after the opening of Direct flights from UK to Sharm. However, a special thank you goes out to those who have continually made the effort to get to us in Sharm through different routes. This has been a big factor to allow us to stay open as opposed to many Sharm Dive centers, who have closed, or as Dive magazine put it, put their dive center's in Mothballs.

The last few years have seen the best diving in Sharm for years, with many sightings of Manta and Whale sharks on a very regular basis. Long may it continue.

Now the Local Dive Authority have banned Intro dives from boats, there are far less boats around the reefs in Tiran and local sites, which in turn will help to keep the bigger pelagic's coming in to visit us divers. Anyone wishing to try diving or enroll on a Discover SCUBA Diving program, we can still do this from a beach.

Thanks again for your votes and continued support. All the Elite team are looking forward to seeing you diving with us in the near future.

We have to thanks everybody who has voted for us so far. This has pushed us up to 7th place in the Dive Center Resort Awards so far, but there's still time for us to climb higher or even slip back down.

For those of you who still intend to vote and haven't got around to it yet, your vote can make a massive difference to the outcome as we are told that the top ten places are all very close. 

​I know life gets in the way of doing things sometimes, but if you could just place your vote (whoever it is for) (I hope it's us), this could make a big difference at the end of the month when the winners are announced.

We need all the help we can get. Thank you.

​Whitespotted Puffer (Arothron hispidus)

We'd like to thank everyone who has voted for us so far, you've put us at mid-table so far. There is still time left for those who haven't got around to it yet to make your vote count.

At the moment, we are just behind two other Red Sea Dive centers. We are used to being higher, and with the amazing year we've had, and the awesome team we have, we hope you can help to put us closer to the top. I know our team deserve to be there. They work so hard although they enjoy every minute. They've seen so many great marine animals this year and they get as much joy seeing the look on the faces of our guests when something spectacular appears. 

So if you haven't got around to voting yet, and you intend to, please do so now. Don't put it off for later if you'd like us to be further up the list.

Hope to see you out in Sharm for more diving soon.

Thanks

Alun

​Click here or on the picture above to vote