Flying over seemingly endless mountains and the monotonous arid scenery of Egypt’s desert, it was hard to believe that the main attraction for those on board the Monarch flight was the Red Sea and the vivid, colourful life beneath its surface.
Billed as the best place to dive within easy reach of the UK – a 5hr flight – it was not surprising to see an abundance of dive centres and shops dotted along the main road into Sharm’s Naama Bay, the location of most large hotel chains.
Despite the resort’s diving notoriety, nothing prepared me for my first day’s diving. The scene at the dock as I tried to board the boat was more chaotic than Piccadilly Circus at rush hour.
Boats jockeyed for position at the dock, equipment littered the walkway, divers struggled to find the vessel they were due to board and snorkellers were herded on like sheep.
Despite the mayhem, and lack of punctuality – boats rarely left on time preferring to adopt the Egyptian timeframe of some time within an hour of the scheduled departure -Êthose who take a deep breathe and are patient will be rewarded.
Once on board, organisation quickly bubbles to the surface thanks to the experience of the dive schools – many are run by Europeans unfazed by Egyptian bureaucracy which even requires divers to take passports on some day trips.
Divers come and go by the hundred each week, causing some of the boats, equipment and staff to be a little tired, yet the dive guides’ enthusiasm never fades and they reel off the names of individual holidaymakers almost as easily as the variety of fish underwater.
Staying in Sharm, divers have a huge choice of 30 dive sites easily reached by boat on a day trip, while experienced divers can head further afield for highlights such as the World War II wreck The Thistlegorm.
Although some of the dive sites closer to shore are overcrowded, I visited White Knights, Far Garden and Tiran Island and was not disappointed. Diving conditions were perfect with visibility up to 20 metres, warm water with little currents or waves, and an abundance of coral and fish.
Disappointingly, the sharks remained shy throughout my stay, as did the mantas. On other occasions a lone turtle would glide by, while moray eels peered out from small caves, and barracuda lurked near the bottom.
Back on board, each day our Egyptian skipper and boat boys were keen to perform tricks and keep us amused in between dives before producing a lunch capable of sinking you to the bottom on your afternoon dive.
Back on shore, after the routine beer and ‘what did you spot’ scenario, visitors can choose from a quick bite at the resident McDonald’s, continue drinking at the Hard Rock or indeed take a pick from a variety of worldwide eateries.
Sharm may not exude Egyptian culture – the most notable exception being the abundance of shisha pipes, bartering bazaars or an excursion to a Bedouin camp – but it has successfully taken chunks from other countries and thrown it into one risotto of a resort.
Nowhere can this be seen better than the hotel/restaurant/bar Sanafir – where else in Egypt can you sip American beer, listen to a Brazilian band, surrounded by Italians, sip Turkish coffee and smoke shisha?