Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #102655 in Books
• Published on: 2007-03-15
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Synopsis
Of the eight nations with Red Sea coastlines, Egypt has attracted the greatest number of diving visitors, and continues to do so. DIVE RED SEA offers fresh new insights into the classic Egyptian dives, as well as exploring a few spots that have recently been discovered.

Customer Reviews

Good overview for beginners
"There's something unmistakable about a Red Sea reef", writes Simon Rogerson. "To swim through one of this area's trademark maze of table and staghorn coral is to explore an underwater Eden, one of the most beautiful and diverse on the planet". This book is an attempt to nail down some of the classic dives sites of this fabulous sea. From the shallow coral gardens of Aqaba to the off-shore reefs of the `deep south', the Red Sea's best diving zones are described in some detail, accompanied by some pretty stunning photography. Of course, it's also an unforgiving sea - and hence the numerous wrecks which have been created, many of which are also described here.
In such a vast area (the Red Sea is 1900km long), there are always going to be places which are missed out or perhaps not given quite enough coverage in a book of this type. One of my own favourite areas is Dahab, which I think has the best shore diving in the region. The book only describes one dive there, the infamous Blue Hole, ignoring many other great spots. But that's Ok with me - it keeps the crowds down in the honeypots of Sharm. The chapters on Sudan, Eritrea and Yemen are also pretty thin but again, they don't really hold that much appeal to mainstream divers.
Another review here complains about the Red Sea map being produced sideways. Actually, I thought this gave quite an interesting perspective on the region. It's not like you're expected to use it to navigate to a dive site, is it? Overall, this is a great book for new visitors to the region.

Enjoyable and informative - a great read!
With fabulous pictures, beautifully written and excellent clear information, this is a really enjoyable book. I'm a keen but slightly nervous diver and always want to know everything before I put my toe in the water. For a few years now, I have been very happy with the variety of dives around Ras Mohammed and Sharm el Sheik but this book has inspired me and given me the courage to venture further afield.
I like the way the reader is provided with all the facts, and is allowed to make their own judgements. For example: in the case of the Salem Express, a ferry that sadly hit a reef and sank, it's made clear that not all wrecks can be treated like underwater playgrounds, and this book helps you make your own decisions.
I quote: "To dive the Salem Express is a sombre experience, like visiting a monument or cemetery" "The exact number of people on board is still a subject of debate: the official figure was 690, but it is now commonly believed that the ferry was overloaded, and that there may have been as many as 1,600 on board. Only 180 survived.
I also liked the detailed desciptions provided for every dive. For example: the account of the labyrinth of El Kaf conveyed so much magic it has made me want to rush for the travel agaent.
This book is a great read and useful for everyone - but especially for people like me.

A delightful and stunning read
When I first opened my copy of Dive Red Sea I was amazed at the amount of stunning images used and because the book is a large format you can really appreciate them. So ok some areas like Eritrea, Djibouti and Saudi Arabia aren't covered in huge detail but the more popular diving areas such as Sharm el Sheikh, Hurghada and Quseir are covered in great detail, even wrecks like the Thistlegorm. I really like the friendly and informative way the authors write. They give the reader a real insight into diving the Red Sea without going into such technical detail that you get bored.

If you've dived the Red Sea and want to find out about other diving sites available, or are thinking of diving in the Red Sea, then I would recommend Dive Sea Red.