surface of the water and attached to your breathing equipment by a six-metre rubber tube. This means you can not dive deeper than six metres but there is so much to see at shallow depths this is hardly a drawback.
The biggest attraction of snuba is the fact you don’t need previous diving experience. Within 30mins of arriving at the snuba centre, our group of mainly non-Scuba divers was standing on the beach ready to step into the sea.
Just down the coast from the snuba centre is another underwater attraction – Dolphin Reef – where visitors have the chance to snorkel or scuba dive with dolphins. On our arrival the instructor told us there was no guarantee of contact with the dolphins but within minutes, two came to check us out, swimming just inches away.
That night, the ocean theme continued with a visit to the Red Sea Star restaurant. Accessed by a wooden jetty it is built on the sea bed with a bar above the water’s surface and a restaurant six metres below where a window table gives you a view of the coral reef and its marine life so you can watch tropical fish swim as you tuck into your plate of seafood.
With a whole host of activities on offer in Eilat, there is easily enough to occupy yourself during a week-long holiday. But visitors who fail to venture out of the town are missing out. It may look barren, but the surrounding landscape of the Negev desert is spectacular, dotted with bizarre rock formations and wildlife.
We took a camel trek up to the highest point in the area for a view of the region, with Jordan to the east, Egypt to the west and Saudi Arabia to the south. We watched the setting sun turn the Edom mountains of Jordan from an sandy orange colour to a deep rose pink.
The following day we took a tour by jeep, visiting Solomon’s Pillars and the ancient mining sites in Timna National Park. From there we set off into the vast rocky desert, down bumpy tracks and through dry river beds. En route we saw ibex and gazelles as well as hyrax, a large rodent that lives high in the rocks. We stopped for lunch under an acacia tree while our guide cooked us Bedouin bread and brewed some sweet peppermint tea over an open fire.
By the end of the day, I was feeling quite the adventurer and wanted to stay in the desert. But we weren’t really prepared for a night under the stars so it was back into the jeep for the journey back to the hotel.
It was hard to believe that we were less than 1hr’s drive from the Eilat with its gleaming resorts and international restaurants.
It features Europe’s only snuba diving centre, the world’s largest wind tunnel for human flight and an underwater restaurant and bar.
For a small place Eilat has its fair share of unusual tourist attractions and I wanted to see them all in five days.
I was particularly intrigued by the idea of snuba. Described in the tourist material as a cross between snorkelling and scuba diving, it turned out to be a much closer to the latter.
Instead of carrying the air tank on your back, it is supported by a small raft on the surface of the water and attached to your breathing equipment by a six-metre rubber tube. This means you can not dive deeper than six metres but there is so much to see at shallow depths this is hardly a drawback.
The biggest attraction of snuba is the fact you don’t need previous diving experience. Within 30mins of arriving at the snuba centre, our group of mainly non-Scuba divers was standing on the beach ready to step into the sea.
Just down the coast from the snuba centre is another underwater attraction – Dolphin Reef – where visitors have the chance to snorkel or scuba dive with dolphins. On our arrival the instructor told us there was no guarantee of contact with the dolphins but within minutes, two came to check us out, swimming just inches away.
That night, the ocean theme continued with a visit to the Red Sea Star restaurant. Accessed by a wooden jetty it is built on the sea bed with a bar above the water’s surface and a restaurant six metres below where a window table gives you a view of the coral reef and its marine life so you can watch tropical fish swim as you tuck into your plate of seafood.
With a whole host of activities on offer in Eilat, there is easily enough to occupy yourself during a week-long holiday. But visitors who fail to venture out of the town are missing out. It may look barren, but the surrounding landscape of the Negev desert is spectacular, dotted with bizarre rock formations and wildlife.
We took a camel trek up to the highest point in the area for a view of the region, with Jordan to the east, Egypt to the west and Saudi Arabia to the south. We watched the setting sun turn the Edom mountains of Jordan from an sandy orange colour to a deep rose pink.
The following day we took a tour by jeep, visiting Solomon’s Pillars and the ancient mining sites in Timna National Park. From there we set off into the vast rocky desert, down bumpy tracks and through dry river beds. En route we saw ibex and gazelles as well as hyrax, a large rodent that lives high in the rocks. We stopped for lunch under an acacia tree while our guide cooked us Bedouin bread and brewed some sweet peppermint tea over an open fire.
By the end of the day, I was feeling quite the adventurer and wanted to stay in the desert. But we weren’t really prepared for a night under the stars so it was back into the jeep for the journey back to the hotel.
It was hard to believe that we were less than 1hr’s drive from the Eilat with its gleaming resorts and international restaurants.
eilat
Getting there: Superstar offers seven nights’ bed and breakfast in April at Herods Palace Sheraton Resort for £888 on scheduled El Al flights. Peltours charges £319 for seven nights’ bed and breakfast at the Red Mountains Hotel or £675 at The Princess. Thomson’s lead-in price at King Solomon’s Palace is £449 for seven nights’ bed and breakfast. Flights are from Gatwick and Manchester on Mondays.
Where to stay: among the four and five-star hotels are King Solomon’s Palace, the Dan Eilat and the Eilat Princess located outside the town. Nearly all of the hotels have gyms but couples who want to centre their holiday on fitness should opt for the Vitalis. Alternatively, you could stay at Vitalis’ sister hotel, Herods Palace. Guests can book treatments at the Vitalis.
What to see and do: Eilat boasts 10 scuba-diving centres. A five-day Professional Association of Dive Instructors’ Open Water beginners course costs £175 at the Red Sea Sports Club with Peltours. Snuba ($40 for an hour) is a great alternative for those with no diving experience. At the Airodium you don a special suit and crash helmet and experience skydiving in the world’s largest wind tunnel for human flight. The hour-long session costs $40.
Where to eat: all the hotels have restaurants. The Brasserie at King Solomon’s Palace is reputedly one of the best. There’s also a wide choice in town including the Red Sea Star underwater restaurant and The Last Refuge, another good seafood restaurant. For meat eaters El Goucho is a must. At this popular Argentinian restaurant huge slabs of steak and whole chickens are served ‘asada’ (cooked on the grill).
Nightlife: the Three Monkeys pub has live music and stays open late. Alternatively there’s the C-Bar, a trendy dance club. For something different head for Bar Nisha, a sushi and jazz bar below the Howard Johnson Plaza Neptune hotel.
TABLE: Red Sea: offers a host of activities