Red Sea Life Diving Center — Attraction in Red Sea

I have returned to the UK disappointed from my experience. I booked via PADI Travel because of the affiliation with the diving centre and my previous positive experience on a trip organised through PADI Travel.

My primary reason for visiting Hugharda was to dive and through the options provided, I felt that the Desert Rose/Undersea Adventure was the right one for me given the easily accessible onsite diving centre. On my first day at the resort, I attended Undersea Adventures diving centre to discuss the schedule of my dives over the coming days and the types of activities I wanted to participate in. I pointed out I was very keen to go wreck diving and asked if they could accommodate this. Initially, I was told that there wouldn’t be a problem to do this but then the staff outlined that there was likely to be an extra charge apportioned for this and it also needs to be agreed with other divers on the boat on the particular day as to whether this would be an option. I did speak with other divers on the boat and some also wanted to do this but then we were informed by the team that we couldn’t as there weren’t enough people to participate.

The diving experience was very mixed. I had one day of diving, which was great, at Small Giftun. However, the others did not fulfil my expectations of the dives I had anticipated to go on. An example of this is that we visited the same dive spots in two consecutive days, with the second trip having significantly reduced visibility compared to the previous day and also the divemaster/guide getting lost during the dive. I raised this with the diving centre and they said that they had a diving log book of places they had taken people before so couldn’t understand how this had happened. I find this to be very poor management to have something like this happen on consecutive days with a number of the same divers in attendance who had done the same trip before. It was also the same crew on the boat so it makes no sense as to how this could occur.

I did ask on a number of occasions about going to visit the local dolphin house but the answer was always we had will need to see if this is possible the following day. On the second last day, the answer was we had to wait until the afternoon and finally in the afternoon they told me it was not possible to do this dive for the lack of participants and the inability to organise the diving trip until 3-4 more days (by which my holiday was finished). Also, on my last day I was told that this particular trip took place from another place that had to be reached by car. If I knew this from the outset, then I would have arranged a trip independently and not discussed this with Undersea Adventures and I would have been able to have this experience, as well as the wreck diving, which could have happened from elsewhere.

I did speak with guest relations at the Desert Rose but they have no connections to the diving centre other than renting the space to the management as to where it’s located. I also spoke with the management at Undersea Adventures but found some of their reasoning to be poor, particularly around how they schedule the activities and that a lower number of people participating in the dives means that they only visit a limited number of sites rather than the full range of options that had been explained to me when I met the staff at the introduction. I think there has been a lack of transparency around the range of opportunities I could have had as part of my dives...

I am a DM. I booked well in advance a 5 day nitrox diving package along with an OW course for my daughter and nitrox course for my wife. Results: This dive center offers poor experience for experienced divers. Probably it is OK for DSD or a 1-day dive. Overall pretty bad organisation. Long waiting time. Unknown daily schedule. No information and no communication. Very bad logistics (outdated rental equipment, nitrox tank not filled properly, no nitrox compressor on-site, damaged tanks, etc). Dive boat is old and food on board is poor. Dove multiple time same dive site (same day!) over 5-days booking! This is unacceptable when travelling from far away as so many dive sites are available in Hurghada. No efforts are being made by the staff to carefully select dive sites. Diving not so interesting especially because group of divers are put together without accounting for personal experience. Some divers clearly inexperienced, finished air after 25 minutes or had hard time equalising, etc etc. causing disruption during the dives. Divemasters and instructors are not so knowledgeable. Nitrox "course" charged €155 was a total joke (actually no course except a 1 minute discussion on the boat with an "instructor" who obviously had nothing to say about this important PADI specialty course). OW course first day began 2 hours late in a classroom then straight into a cold pool. Overpriced 90€ extra cost for diving Salem Express (other divers did not get a surcharge from other dive centers in Hurghada). But that diving trip was the only day we had good diving probably because not organised by RSL... Overall my feeling is that this dive center is only interested about taking your money and doesn't care about making your experience good. My advice: look for...

We were a bit disappointed with the overall service and diving experience, especially on the first day. Quick first dive to the wreck El Mina was okeyish, with a detailed briefing from Ahmed and attention to the group.

2nd and 3rd dives not so much. The group size was about nine people, which made it impossible for the new guide to properly look after everyone. It felt quite unorganized — they mixed experienced divers with beginners doing their first dives (baptisms), who needed constant attention. The guide was lucky that some of us were experienced enough to manage on our own. I only saw him look back to check on the group maybe once during the entire dive. There were also several promises about potential marine life sightings. Of course, nature is always unpredictable but, in the end, the most exciting creatures we saw were a pair of lionfish.

The second day, however, was much better — though that was arranged through another dive shop in Marsa Alam. The reef at Elphinstone was beautiful, and we were lucky to spot a white tip shark right at the end of our safety stop. The organization there was noticeably more professional, with smaller and more homogeneous groups and proper briefings. The guide also paid real attention to every diver.

Unfortunately, the overall price we were charged felt excessive — around €400 per person for five dives plus a “refresh” session in front of the dive center, which was honestly a bit of a joke. Given the quality of service, I wouldn’t return and would recommend looking for other dive centers, ideally based in Marsa...