Learn to dive in Egypt – Marsa Alam – PADI dive course
In Egypt, you can learn to dive at the Blue Ocean Dive Center in Marsa Alam.
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Features
Starting at
Learn to dive in Marsa Alam, Egypt
Would you like to learn to dive? Then this diving vacation is perfect for you! In Egypt, you can get your PADI at the Blue Ocean Dive Center in Marsa Alam. This is a PADI 5* IDC center. That means it is a very professional and experienced dive center offering PADI diving courses.
You will stay this diving vacation at the Abu Dabbab Diving Lodge. Abu Dabbab is a nature reserve, 35 km south of Marsa Alam airport on the Red Sea. It is an ideal place to learn to dive because of the calm conditions and the possibility of diving from the shore.
A 300-meter walk from Abu Dabbab Diving Lodge is the Blue Oceans diving school that works in conjunction with the Diving Logde. On Abu Dabbab’s house reef you will find two beautiful coral formations. The southern and northern reefs are separated by seagrass meadows, suitable for both divers and snorkelers. Blooming wildlife and marine life are visible from the beach. Abu Dabbab is synonymous with an abundance of colorful fish, turtles and amazing bouquets of soft and hard corals. Abu Dabbab is the place to encounter the extraordinary bowhead guitar shark. The idyllic scene is completed by the presence of a small shipwreck full of coral and a dive through the gorge with an underwater cave and vibrant tunnels!
Amenities: At the dive center they have good rental equipment, easy dressing room for shore diving, rinse tanks, a private crate and storage compartment, showers. Really everything has been thought of to make shore and boat diving as easy as possible.
Best travel time: Year-round diving is excellent in Egypt. In the winter months, the Red Sea cools down considerably so some divers probably find the sea more pleasant between June & September.
Average Temperatures
Wetsuit advice for Abu Dabbab, Egypt
In the heart of summer (June through September), a 3mm, shorty or even a skin will suffice. From October it gets colder and we still recommend at least a 5mm and maybe a 7mm from November to April).
PADI Open Water Diver Course
The PADI Open Water Diver course is the most popular and recognized diving course in the world. In 4 days you can get your Open Water certification. This certification allows you to dive anywhere in the world to a depth of 18m. This course is very complete. You will have theory lessons, 5 dives in sheltered water and 4 dives in open water. You can do most of the theory at home, online, already prepared. Handy!
Minimum age: 10 years for junior certification and 15 years for standard certification. With the junior certification you are limited to a depth of up to 12m.
What will you experience on this trip?
View itinerary here
Day 1 - Arrival in Marsa Alam
Today you will fly to Marsa Alam in about 5.5 hours. Which airport you fly from we will discuss together as there are often options from a lot of airports in europe.
Once you pass pass passport control and get your luggage off the bantam you arrive in the arrivals hall. Here a staff member of the Abu Dabbab Dive Resort is already waiting for you. In about 30 minutes you drive, along the coast of the Red Sea, to the diving resort.
Once we arrived, it was time to settle into the room, explore Abu Dabbab’s beautiful bay above water and have a drink on the beach. The vacations have really started now.
Day 2 - Start of PADI dive training.
Today is the first day of dive training. In the morning, after breakfast, walk from your resort to the Blue Ocean dive center. Here you will meet the dive instructor who will teach you how to dive for the next four days.
After getting acquainted, it’s time to really get started, today you will go over theory* and work in the pool on different diving skills.
* There is the possibility to do all the theory part online at home, before your diving vacation starts. That way you don’t have to study too much in your “free” vacation hours after diving. Do you want this? Let us know.
Day 3 to 5 - Continued PADI dive training
The dive training consists of a total of 4 days. In addition to theory and practice in the pool, you will also make 4 dives in the sea! In the end, this is what you do it all for. During these “outdoor dives,” you’ll put into practice the skills you’ve practiced in the pool. Together with your instructor, you float weightlessly through the water. You now truly enter the diving world where colorful corals, sea turtles, rays, tropical fish and more await you.
On Day 5, the last day of training, you complete your dive training and may officially call yourself an Open Water diver. This title allows you to dive to 18m deep anywhere in the world from now on. Congratulations!
Day 6 - Two shore dives or boat dives
Now that you are an official PADI Open Water diver, you get to dive with the other divers. Today you can make two more beautiful dives, if you feel like it. You can also relax at the beach. The choice is yours. Want to dive even more? Then you can book that by arrangement on the spot with Blue Ocean.
Today; anything goes and nothing must.
Day 7 - Relaxing & exploring
During the diving course, you learned that you should not dive between 12 and 18 hours before your flight. Therefore, today is the day to relax, above water. For example, go on Desert Safari!
On a Desert Safari you will discover the authentic and stress-free lifestyle of the Bedouin behind the scenes of the Sienna Red Sea Mountains. You will see how Bedouins prepare tea according to an ancient recipe and bake their bread the traditional way.
After camel riding, enjoy a delicious BBQ and an open oriental dinner buffet. You are invited to a dazzling Oriental display of Tanura, a belly dance show and a fire-breathing fakir performance. During your desert adventure, you will watch the sun slowly set to give way to a dark sky with twinkling stars. A great way to end your vacation.
Day 8 - Home
The relaxing diving vacation in Egypt is unfortunately at its end. Today you will pack your suitcase again and check out of the diving lodge. You will be transferred back to Marsa Alam airport to fly home. The flight takes about 5.5 hours.
The accommodation
The stay and surroundings
Abu Dabbab Diving Lodge
Abu Dabbab Diving Lodge was completely renovated in 2014.
The resort consists of 62 wooden bungalows. Each bungalow has one large double bed or 2 twin beds, air conditioning, a refrigerator and a private bathroom. Outside a sitting area on the small terrace in the somewhat wildly overgrown garden. Of course, there is also a swimming pool.
Abu Dabbab Lodge’s restaurant serves an international buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner, while beach restaurants and bars serve à la carte food and drinks on Abu Dabbab Beach.
Abu Dabbab Lodge is a residence of nature lovers, divers and snorkelers from all over the world.
Travel costs
What is included
This travel package is US$ 916 per person, based on 2 people in one room. Are you going on a diving vacation with someone who can already dive? Then our EWDR Dive Package trip is ideal for your fellow traveler. Hhe travel package can be expanded as desired. A number of things are included by default in this travel package.
Prices are subject to price changes, increases or changing exchange rates. Flights are always based on the cheapest possible booking class.
Want to know more about the possibilities? Get in touch with us!
Included in this trip, from US$ 916 p.p.
- 7 nights in a 2-person lodge
- Full board
- Transfers to and from Marsa Alam airport
- PADI Open Water training
- PADI OW Manual & Certification Fee
- Diving equipment during the PADI Open Water course
- VZR, Calamity Fund & Administration Fees
Excluding
- Flight to Marsa Alam from US$ 579 p.p. but usually around US$ 737
- Visa at Egypt airport approx. US$ 26
✈︎ The quoted (international) flight prices are indicative prices and based on departures from Europe.
However, we can arrange flights from any location worldwide.
Booking your own flights is of course also possible.
Optional
- 1 day unlimited house reef diving US$ 109 p.p.
- 1 unguided dive house reef US$ 29 p.p.
- 2 unguided dives house reef US$ 57 p.p.
- 1 boat dive US$ 53 p.p.
- Complete diving equipment excl. computer and lamp US$ 21 per day
- Dive computer US$ 6 per day
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Frequently asked questions about this diving vacation
Dive sites
At Abu Dabbab, you make dives from the shore in Abu Dabbab Bay as well as boat dives further out. You can even dive at the famous Elphinstone.
Yes for boat dives, 60 minutes or 50 bar applies. For shore dives, you can stay under as long as is responsible.
The shore dive sites are literally within walking distance. The boat dive sites range from a 5-minute boat ride to about a 20-minute boat ride to Elphinstone.
On the boat dive days there are 2 standard dives in the package, on site you can extend this to 3 if there is enough demand for the afternoon dive. This costs €50 for 1 boat dive. You can also choose to make another unguided dive on the house reef, this costs €28 for 1 dive.
On the unlimited days, you can dive as much as you want between 06:30 and 18:30. Of course, it is important not to go into deco!
Yes for sure, a beautiful house reef where you can dive left or right. The diving is very varied.
Yes! On the unlimited house reef days, this is included in the package as standard. Note, however, that this is unaccompanied. You can dive until about 18:30 on those days and the sun sets between 17:00 and 18:00. The diving school waits until everyone is out of the water in the evening.
Yes, you certainly can. The diving school Blue Ocean Dive Center is a PADI 5-star IDC center. That means they are very professional and can offer many different courses up to dive instructor level. You can also learn to free dive here as well as various specialty courses.
Above all, ask us about the possibilities.
It is about a 5-minute (400m) walk from the resort to the dive center located right on the water. Your dive gear is kept at the diving school.
Diving equipment
They have Din tanks and INT adapters here.
Yes, for an additional charge of €3 per dive.
Yes you can, a complete diving set costs €20 per day. Excluding dive computer a €6 per dive and dive light a €6 per dive.
Yes you can, Nitrox costs €3 per dive when using a 12L tank.
Other activities & excursions
Absolutely, it’s beautiful!
Several excursions can be included, including several desert safaris. You can also visit dolphins by boat to swim with them.
Abu Dabbab Dive Resort has its own resort and the bay also has several cozy joints where you can go for snacks and drinks.
The last day, before you fly home, includes excursions, souvenir shopping at the local tents in the bay, swimming with dolphins, snorkeling on the house reef or just relaxing on the beach.
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