Sea excursions

Your first dive in the Red Sea: what actually happens

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AV
Anorya Team · 12 juil. 2026 · 1 min read

No licence, no experience, about seven metres down. A straight account of an intro dive from start to finish.

An introductory dive needs no certificate and no previous experience. What it does need is about twenty minutes of attention during the briefing, because everything that makes the dive comfortable is decided there.

Your first dive in the Red Sea: what actually happens

The briefing

You will be shown four things: how to clear water from your mask, how to equalise your ears, the hand signal for "something is wrong", and how to breathe — slowly, and never holding your breath. That last one is the only genuinely important rule in shallow diving. Everything else the instructor handles.

Going down

The descent is where most people struggle, and it is almost always the ears. You equalise by pinching your nose and swallowing or blowing gently, and you do it early and often, before it starts to hurt. If one ear will not clear, you go up half a metre and try again. Nobody is in a hurry.

Your first dive in the Red Sea: what actually happensYour first dive in the Red Sea: what actually happens

What it does need is about twenty minutes of attention during the briefing, because everything that makes the dive comfortable is decided there.

At seven metres the colour is still there — red has not been filtered out yet — and the reef is close enough to touch, which you should not. Twelve to fifteen minutes goes quickly. Most people surface wanting to go straight back down, which is why so many holidays here end with a full course booked.

Your first dive in the Red Sea: what actually happens
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Frequently asked questions

We really have some of the lowest prices that can be offered while keeping the quality of service high. We are an online booking company working directly with large organizers in Egypt, so we can offer very favorable prices thanks to the large flow of tourists. Buying from us, you get quality service and don't overpay intermediaries.
The organizers' fleet has plenty of vehicles - cars, minivans and large comfortable buses. Vehicles for short, medium and long distances are equipped with air conditioning and safety systems, and buses with toilets are provided on long routes. All vehicles are regularly serviced and sanitized, hold the necessary tourist permits, and drivers are inspected before every trip.
We work without prepayment. Group excursions are paid on the bus or during the trip. The exceptions are individual excursions where plane tickets or documents are involved. The organizer comes to you - there is no need to look for anyone to pay. You can pay in cash in dollars or euros, and an alternative payment method can be arranged.
Egypt is heavily regulated when it comes to tourism. For a car or yacht to run a tour, daily permission from the police and military is required, and organizers without a license don't get permits. That is why on some tours we may ask for voucher and passport details (this applies to marine excursions, individual tours and some group tours that leave the city). For other excursions only the number of people is needed.
Some hotel guides wrongly claim insurance does not apply to third-party excursion organizers. That is not true. Your travel insurance is valid throughout Egypt, and once you are on the organizer's ship, bus or transport they carry full insurance responsibility for passengers - otherwise they could not obtain a tour permit at all.
Please check your belongings when you leave the bus or boat at the end of the tour. If something is lost it is hard to recover, as vehicles leave immediately to be cleaned. We will always help you look, but we cannot guarantee a 100% return - so please be careful!
We have a large daily flow of bookings, so most excursions run every day (or on set weekdays per the program's schedule). After booking we send the exact hotel pickup time. Many trips are shared with small hotel groups who bought the same tour from operators - the only difference is that our price is 40–60% lower.
Tour photographers are independent and do not work for the company, so any arrangement with them is your responsibility. We do not recommend paying in advance unless you are sure the photos will be delivered. If you do not want photos, tell the photographers early to avoid any pushiness.