Hi Team Nuweiba :) First off sorry for the really stupid mistake of not amending the subject line on the API request email sent last week, it applies to all travellers and not just new travellers as implied. 4 weeks, 2 days, 22 hours, who says Im counting! T-shirts are being sorted and we are sorting out a nice design and I am getting quotes done so you should all know shortly :) If you havent expressed an interest you can still have one, just let me know :) If you havent finished paying for anything (be it courses, trip, dive packs, or flight extras) and need too, now is the time. To make sure you get what you want and asked for, speak to Roger and make that final payment :) Apologies again to those that have had this information before, from previous years, but there are some new members that are travelling with us this year :) The water temp = 23C and air = 26C on 22/01/2014 API === On a separate email but if you havent replied to it yet then please make it a priority please :) Flight Information ================== Monarch Airlines from Gatwick South Terminal 02/03/14 - Departure Flight to Egypt is ZB 248 @ 12:00 (midday) arriving at Sharm el Sheik 19:20 (7:20PM) on 02/03/14. 09/03/14 - Departure Flight to UK is ZB 249 @ 20:20 (8:20PM) arriving at London Gatwick South Terminal 00:05 on 10/03/2014. Baggage allowance ================= Monarch Airlines - Scheduled Flight (ZB prefix e.g. ZB248) ● Baggage allowance: 20kg (Maximum of 32kg per bag) ● Hand luggage: Hand luggage dimensions must not exceed 56cm x 45cm x 25cm (including handles and wheels) and must not weigh more than 10kg. ● On production of a valid Dive Licence / Certificate (PADI or BSAC) passengers travelling to Egypt carrying Scuba Diving equipment are allowed an additional 5kg allowance free of charge. Any passengers that cannot produce a valid dive certificate or those in excess of this additional 5kg allowance will be charged the applicable sports equipment fee. ● Dive equipment: Extra weight allowance can be pre-booked, at 20KG Flight Extras ============= ● Dive equipment: Extra weight allowance can be pre-booked. The cost is £25 per set, per sector. Subject to a maximum weight of 20kg per scuba dive bag. (£50 return) ● Extra Legroom: Long haul* - £40 per seat, per sector (£80 return). *Please note all prices are subject to change without notice. Transportation ============== To and from Gatwick - is entirely up to yourself, if you are driving and want to offer a car share for a share of petrol and the parking, let me know and I will put it out to the group or vice versa and you want a lift and are willing to pay for a share, then I will do the same for you :) To and From Sharm el Sheik airport & resort - Once we arrive at Sharm and clear Immigration and Customs, we will take a coach to the hotel, which normally takes around 2 hours (ish). We may or may not arrive at the hotel in time for dinner, so we will make a request for a light snack to be in the room when you arrive, this is normally some fruit, cold meats or cheese, and rolls. If you need any special dietary requirement please let me know :) Arrival procedure and visas at Sharm El Sheik Airport. ====================================================== Firstly we disembark from the plane and take a bus to the arrivals hall. In that hall we may or may not have a rep waiting for us to help us obtain an entry visa, if you want to. Basically you do not need to have a visa, you will be given a free entry permission stamp which counts as a visa when you pass through Immigration. If you do decide you want a visa the fee has increased from around £13 to £19. Visas are only required if you have a medical issue and needed to be evacuated to Cairo. I always get a Visa just to be on the safe side. The Egyptian Consulate site states: Nationals from UK, EU and USA travelling to Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba and Taba resorts ONLY, for a maximum of 14 DAYS, do not require a visa prior to travelling as a free entry permission stamp will be granted upon arrival. If they intend to travel outside of the above mentioned areas they MUST obtain a Visa. In addition to UK and EU nationals, citizens of the following countries can obtain visa upon arrival at any of the Egyptian ports of entry: Australia, Canada, Croatia, Georgia, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Macedonia, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Serbia, Ukraine and USA. Once you are through Immigration, we will then meet up with another Rep, while we wait for, then locate our luggage. We then once all the luggage has arrived, go through Customs, be prepared to declare high priced electrical items, with serial numbers if asked, and then meet another Rep who once we have all got outside will take us to the coach and the trip to the Resort. Scuba Review ============ A scuba review session for all divers requiring one (if you havent dived in the past 6 months) will be held on Wednesday evening of the 26th February from 8PM at Putney. We will do all the paperwork for the divers doing courses there as well. And divers renting equipment from us can collect it that night also :) Equipment Rental ================ If you are renting any or all equipment from us, then please make sure that we know you sizes, if we dont already know them, and what equipment you need. It can be collected any week day in the week before departure or by prior arrangement, or alternatively collected, and tested on the Scuba Review session :) Diving ====== The following speciality courses can be completed while we are away; Deep Diver Drift Diver Underwater Navigator Emergency Oxygen Provider Coral Reef Conservation Diver AWARE Fish ID Enriched Air Diver Night Diver Peak Performance Buoyancy Equipment Specialist Project AWARE Specialist Search and Recovery Diver Underwater Naturalist Also we will be running a Rescue Diver course and an Advanced Open Water Diver course, so if you arent booked onto those already and fancy one then please let us know :) For those of you, who havent been to Egypt before and even for this that have, Egypt runs at a different pace to most countries :) To that end, if we want to do a night dive, it takes at least 24 hours notice to arrange due to obtaining Police permission etc. so please keep this in mind when we are trying to plan dives and dive itineraries, as sometimes we need to know if you would like to do these dives a few days in advance :) The Hotel and resort information ================================ When we arrive at the hotel, we go to reception, and check in, you will need your passport information as the Egyptian authorities require it on the check-in information. You will also have to leave your passport with reception over night as they will take a copy of it. Your bags will be outside waiting and once you know your room number, tell the bell boys and they will take your bags up to the room for you. They normally do it all in one go, on a number of carts so you may get to your room first :) If the restaurant is still open, that is where you will find me and most certainly in the bar for a few beers before bedtime :) If there is time, I will also give a quick tour of the resort to those that would like it, but it is better in the daylight :). There are some shops in resort if you want to buy gifts to take home with you. There is also a bank, ATM and a pharmacy. We are on the All Inclusive Package which includes, all local beers and local spirits, plus local wines at dinner. 1 complementary large mineral water bottle per room, restocked daily. Pool bar is open 11:00AM to 11:00PM Beach bar is open 10:30AM to sunset (5.30PM). Ice Cream at the Beach bar 1.30PM to 4.30PM There is one main restaurant, called Blue Blue Restaurant which is open from; 7.00AM to 11:00Am for breakfast 12:30PM to 3:30PM for lunch 6:30PM to 10:30PM for dinner They run theme nights so each night will have a different food theme, and there is at least a choice 3 different course, plus a cold meats, salad, and a cooking (BBQ) station. so lots of variety. :) There is also a snack bar called Casa Pesto which is open seasonally, from 1.00PM to 4.30PM There is also an Al a carte restaurant called Abu Lou Lou Restaurant which is NOT free but we get a 30LE (Egyptian Pound) credit per guest dining there. Power in Egypt is 240V the same as in the UK and power sockets in the room are the round 2 pin European type normally. I would suggest you get 1 multi adaptor and a short 1m long 4 way UK extension that way you can get 4 UK devices on 1 socket, and not have to buy an adaptor for every electrical device you want to use :) The rooms have 1 key, and key fob, the fobs are used to turn the power on and off, as they fit into a small fitting as you enter the door and thus are removed when you leave. So power will be off when you leave the room. The rooms have showers, hairdryer, phones, TV, AC, Fridge and a small safe. Medical issues ============== There is an on call Doctor, as well as regular clinic, for staff and guests if needed. Please let me know while in resort if you need to use the Doctor. Vaccinations ============ Some vaccinations are recommended for Egypt. These are Hepatitis A, Typhoid, Tetanus and Polio. If you are not up to date on any of these then you may wish to visit your GP and become a dart board :) Dive / Travel insurance ======================= Dive and Travel insurance are required by Regaldive, as part of their terms and conditions. You can obtain dive insurance that includes travel elements or obtain them separately, whichever is easier for you. I would suggest using a comparison website like; moneysupermarket/travel-insurance/ comparethemarket/travel-insurance/ confused/travel-insurance To find travel insurance that suits your needs. Dive Insurance add ons can be purchased from; divemasterinsurance/idec-diving-accident-cover/ https://daneurope.org/web/guest/sport-plans divinginsuranceuk/travel%20insurance.htm First Day Arrangements ====================== For the non-divers amongst you then you dont need to worry about this part other than your partners may wake you up as they leave in the mornings for their dives :) For the divers, as the dive centre is around 5 minutes bus ride away, shuttle buses are laid on to take us back and forth once daily. On the first day there, they normally leave at 8.30 as we have kit to take and unpack etc. and paperwork to sort out. For the rest of the trip, normally 9. We meet the buses out side the front gates of Hilton. Packed Lunches and 3rd free dive. ================================= African Divers offer a 3rd free daily dive on their house reef. We have tried to move it to the Hilton Reef (Abou Lou Lou) but this would cost €20 per diver per day so is unrealistic. The issue rises, that the 3rd free dive is normally upon our return to the dive centre which is normally around lunch time, so as we only have one complementary shuttle run to take us backwards and forwards to the Hilton, if we go for lunch how do we get back to the dive centre? We have arranged for this to be done at a cost of €10 per single trip so €20 return, split between how many divers want to do the 3rd free dive. Alternatively we can arrange, via the Hilton, for a pack lunch each day but this request has to be at the latest by 9PM the night before. This is something to think about and let us know when we get there. Initially I will ask the hotel to supply us pack lunches and even if you go back for lunch they never worry. Well that is all I can think of that needs to be said. Any questions, let me know or come to club night on Tuesday 4th and ask away as we will be there then to answer your questions :)
Posted on: Thu, 30 Jan 2014 14:07:25 +0000
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