We are going to Sharm el shark for a holiday soon and I wanted to take a 4 day Padi diving course.
anyone done this out there
or anywhere for that matter how good is the training will I die ??

is there anywhere online I can swot up before I go .

I woke up only this morning thinking about the fact it’s now 15 years since I did my PADI open water course in Austrila. Was great, and I loved it. Haven’t dived for about 10 years, and TBH would need to start again.

I know that the snobby element of BSAC refer to PADI as Pay And Die Instantly, but that wasn’t my experience. Largely because the diving was nothing *particularly* out of the ordinary (by that I mean within reasonable depth, though night diving was just ace – like night riding, but more real life scary shadows).

No idea about Sharm el-Sheikh, but some google ought to throw up somewhere sensible.

You can do all the theory before you go to save some time out there but it is a bit more expensive. The PADI course book is available on ebay and in charity shops if you really want to do some pre-reading. You don’t need to though as the course is designed to take you right from nothing, in fact if you have a bit of sciencey knowledge you’ll find the theory a bit too easy. Its a bit daunting at first, breathing underwater isn’t normal. If you are comfortable swimming in the sea you shouldn’t struggle. And if you are happing swimming underwater its a breeze.

Generally the training in Sharm is pretty good. The dive conditions are about as perfect as they can be, warm, calm, good vis, etc. Its all about safety and PADI has lots of rules that are mostly followed in Sharm.

The diving out there is first class, some of the best in the world. You’ll love it

BSAC refer to PADI as Pay And Die Instantly

Its usually ‘Put Another Dollar In’ as everything costs money and there’s always another speciality course to sell you.

remember to watch out for sharks at Sharm

Thanks
we are off to Sensatori Sharm which has a dive centre in the hotel complex so just got to get the expense passed by the CFO .

done lots of snorkelling in the past so happy in the water.

I’ve used Emperor Divers in Sharm and been very impressed with their setup

From memory (going back 15 years) the instructor doing my BSAC course told everyone some horror stories about PADI courses and how some of the hand signals were different to BSAC’s which quite often caused confusion depending where in the world you dived. I dare say PADI instructors had similar BSAC stories though.

However, 15 years on and the people I know who dive now have all (but one) trained with PADI and apart form the constant “there’s a course we can offer you for that” they all reckon it was good solid training. From the things I read and the experiences of friends I can’t say I’d be bothered who I trained with now. I’d probably go with whoever offers training closet to me.

Did mine in the Maldives about 3 years ago…

Pro’s:

Great course,
Friendly and experienced staff,
Great location,
Was able to dive a year later (Barbados) without any refamiliarisation, just needed a local guide/buddy,
Happy with what I paid for what I got (did Openwater + Wreckdiver + Advanced)
Memories, Coral Atols, Whale Shark (bigger than a bus), Flying Fish (bigger than a Ford Focus), Sharks, Eels, Turtles and millions of fish in all sorts of colours. Like being dunked in an aquarium 🙂

Con’s

6 Days out of my holiday, and while exciting, it wasn’t relaxing,
You have to study (classroom time + exams)
You have to study in the evening between the days,
My wife didn’t want to do it, so she was alone on shore for 6 days.

My 2 penneth,

M.

Speaking as a PADI Divemaster perhaps I am a little biased but I’ve never seen the typical problems claimed to be associated with PADI in Egypt. In Sharm I’ve dived with Camel Divers and had little to complain about. Scuba diving on the whole is pretty safe, personal responsibility needs to be accepted and inherent risks acknowledged (as they are comprehensively disclaimed by PADI in the paperwork you will need to sign). Just relax and enjoy; the Red Sea has some of the best diving in the world.
No need to swot up. The OW classwork is very straightforward. If you have time you might want to consider doing an OW referral course so you get the confined water dives and classwork done in the UK so it doesn’t eat into your holiday.

My wife didn’t want to do it, so she was alone on shore for 6 days

That can be big issue. I would always recommend somewhere with shore diving in that situation. Dahab or St Lucia, say. You can dive in the morning, your partner can sit on the beach and watch your bubbles if they like, then meet for lunch, all very civilised, same in the afternoon. Boat diving usually means out first thing back just about in time for dinner.

PADI always had a poor reputation compared with BSAC.
TBH nowadays, there is probably little difference. It will depend on the quality of the instructor.

My recommendation would be to do the basic course in the UK, so you can advantage of the fantastic diving in the Red Sea, not wasting time in the hotel pool doing drills and sitting through lectures.

The referral course means you essentially do the swotting before you go. It costs, but you get straight into the practical lessons out there. I’ve been taught PADI, BSAC and NAUI and it all comes down to the instructor. I’ve had more good dives than bad (and a load of great dives) and the bad was more down to food poisoning than anything else!

Careful – it is more expensive as a hobby than most anything else!

I also learnt in the Red Sea, more years ago than I care to remember. You’ll be fine, except… DON”T drink any water unless from a bottle. Don’t eat any salad or anything else that might have been washed under a tap.

Depending on the operator, you might want to take some seasick tablets – a lot of boats I’ve been on out there don’t have a deep enough keel, consequently they roll a lot. Consequently, you’ll get sick.

I did my PADI in Sharm and have dived there on numerous occasions, TBH I have not been to a bad dive school there (though I did in OZ) and they were all a similar level – so I reckon you should be fine. It is likely there is a school associated to the hotel you stay at. The last place I went even had a jetty and decent divable reef off the hotel!

As many have said you can do your theory here, but personally I’d do the lot there – better than lounging at the pool!

Doing my first live aboard this year in the Maldives and doing Hanifaru bay…I cannot wait!!!

Careful – it is more expensive as a hobby than most anything else!

^^^^^^^^^^^^ it makes collecting mountain bike bling look cheap

Good fun though, and I’m doing my diving in the Forth

I would definitely recommend the referral option. As mentioned above it means you are not sat in a class room/bottom of swimming pool while on holiday. However I think the biggest benefit is that in UK you have a bit more time to correct minor problems, once you are at an overseas resort it can be a bit of a conveyor belt operation with you having to have the qualification before going home. I have seen a few people diving who I am amazed have been through the course…

The Advanced Open Water is worth doing if you can fit that into the holiday too. A lot of the other PADI speciality courses are a bit of a waste of money – don’t be forced into these.

All excited now even though its not till september gonna give it a whirl
the open water course now need to figure out a treat for Mrs T

Blimey, reading this brings back some memories.

I dived in Sharm (BSAC trained) before the hotels and resorts were even there, was just a very small town with a few huts on the beach. We went on a diving safari, camping on the beaches and diving off the coast. Wake up, kit up, walk in, come out and breakfast. was mega, fish the size of dining tables in 6 feet of water off the beach.

All gone now however, anyone who tells you it’s the best diving never saw it 20 years ago!

I would also recommend a referral – you don’t waste time on holiday watching videos and studying

also UK divers do skills in the pool really thoroughly so that the open water dives are the final check (if the water is cold in the UK and the trainees spend too long doing skills, they get too cold and it all goes to pot) so if you do skills in the UK before you go, you sail through the open water dives on holiday when others can struggle

emperor divers are excellent and i used them in Dahab to do my PADI ow

as said do the classwork in the uk before you go and the open water stuff in resort

its great and sharm is a great place to see loads of stuff

As above do the stuff here you can then do the exams and dive stuff there. I’ve taken/been on 2 school trips to Hurgadah (scary thing to do with 21 kids). They were in the sea on day two and were diving day 3 (with a pod of 30+ dolphins).

The BSAC / PADI signals thing is weird but then one is international and more likely to be recognised by other divers/buddies IMHO.

trout – Member
Thanks
we are off to Sensatori Sharm which has a dive centre in the hotel complex so just got to get the expense passed by the CFO .

done lots of snorkelling in the past so happy in the water.

snap, we are off there in September too and I`m just trying to work out the best way to do it as well 😀

Did my Padi Open Water last summer, in Spain not Sharm, but the tips about doing the coursework at home first are spot on – 90% of it is common sense, and the rest needs a little more work (the dive tables, for example). If you can get the closed water (pool) dives done in the UK first that would be an advantage too.

Timewise I spent most of the mornings away from the hotel, but then that was with a 30min drive to the dive school. Realistically you could be up early and back by 11-12 without any major problems. Assuming your wife doesn’t jump out of bed at 7:30 every morning while on holiday you’re only actually going to be away from her for a couple of hours daily.

Dom When you there we are 8TH for 10 days might get to say hello.

Mrs Trout is happy to lose me for a while as ( in her words ) I am a pain in the arse on a beach or round the pool and get on her nerves when she wants to chill and read a good book .

We`re out 9th – 21st 😀
You going to make a proto dive light for the occasion 😀

Three diving instructors, an Australian from NAUI, a Brit from BSAC and an American from PADI are on the RIB on their way out tot he dive site, when it hits a reef and starts to sink.

The BSAC guy jumps up and says “We’re sinking, quick, put your scuba gear on, inflate BCDS, get in the water and start finning for the shore”
“Calm down mate” replies the NAUI guy “just finish the tinnies, scuba gear on, wait till the boat sinks, fire off some rockets and wait in the water till chopper arrives”
“No” says the PADI guy “scuba gear on, inflate BCDs, when the boat sinks stay ont he surface for 10 minutes, then we’ll descend and I’ll charge you £150 ea for the Wreck Diving Speciality”

I have been thinking about this btu in Thailand, have a look at my thread here, lots of useful advice:
http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/thailand-and-diving

Oh shout for Trimix he was a dive instructor in Sharm so will be able to help you out, otherwise drop me an e-mail and i’ll pass it onto him.