Red Sea Photo Workshop 2019

2019 Red Sea Underwater Photo Workshop
Join Craig Dietrich on an underwater workshop with remarkable soft corals and pelagics! Hop aboard the Blue Horizon and dive the amazing Brothers, Daedalus, and Elphinstone!
Aug 5-12 (liveaboard) & Aug 12-18 (land extension)
Price:
7 Nights for: $1,595 pp
(Also Includes Nitrox & Airport transfers for free!)
Optional 6-Night Land Extension: $1,140 pp (double) | $1,515 pp (single)
Why Join This Trip? - Why Travel with Bluewater?
Trip Information - Package Details - Itinerary - Accommodations
How to Get There - Payment - Trip Leader - Underwater Photos
Why Join This Trip?
✓ 25% off rental photo gear from Bluewater Photo
✓ FREE daily photo workshops by photo pro Craig Dietrich
✓ One of the most popular dive destinations in the world with over 1,000 fish species, many of them unique to the Red Sea
✓ Great itinerary featuring some of Red Sea's finest diving at the Brother Islands and Elphinstone Reef
✓ Beautiful reefs, lots of big fish and great wrecks
✓ Luxurious modern liveaboard at an affordable price - the Blue Horizon - with FREE nitrox and airport transfers
Why Travel with Bluewater?
✓ We book resorts/ liveaboards that offer the best overall value
✓ Gear discounts and other benefits
✓ Great support if flight/weather issues occur
✓ "Bluewater helped me out when I needed it most, the airline wouldn't let me board because of a Visa issue. They saved my butt" - Ray Tsusuki
Trip Overview
With awesome visibility and breathtaking soft corals, the Red Sea is one of the most popular dive destinations in the world. There are over one thousand species of fish in the Red Sea, 20 percent of which can be found nowhere else in the world.
Visiting Brothers, Daedalus and Elphinstone, this trip is a great all-around tour for divers with slightly more experience; offering challenging dives, big drop-offs, beautiful coral walls and plenty of large fish.
Blue Horizon boat (LEFT) & its dive deck (RIGHT)
Dive Overview
Water temps are between 74 - 84 degrees and a 3mm or 5mm full suit is recommended.
Brother Islands
The northernmost part of Egypt's offshore marine park is made up of two islands 60km away from the coast and 140km south from Hurghada. The larger island (complete with a lighthouse from 1883) is 400 meters long with a spectacular plateau on the southeast corner which is dotted with coral mountains and famous for thresher and grey reef shark sightings. The western side of the island has two impressive wrecks which both lie almost vertical on the side of the reef. The most spectacular is the Numidia, a large cargo steamer which sank in 1901 and now lies on the tip of the island between 10 and 80 metres covered in soft corals and frequented by large pelagic predators. The smaller wreck of the Aida (sitting between 30 and 65 meters) was a lighthouse authority supply vessel which sank in bad weather in 1957.
The smaller island, whilst only a little over 200 meters long, hosts an incredible concentration and variety of marine life. There is a pristine fan coral forest, a massive collection of hard and soft corals and compelling overhangs to explore. The highlight is the fish life; with regular seasonal sightings of hammerhead, thresher, grey reef, and oceanic whitetip sharks.
Daedalus
This huge tear-drop shaped reef rises from the seabed in the middle of the Red Sea, 80km offshore and more than 300km south of Hurghada. Easily recognized by its zebra-striped lighthouse, this reef offers some of the most amazing dives in the Red Sea. The sheer walls are covered in over-grown hard coral formations and a variety of reef fish. Napoleon wrasses and turtles are often cruising by, but make sure you keep your eyes open on the blue! Daedalus is one of those places where anything can happen... oceanic whitetip, grey reef, and thresher sharks are often sighted, but Daedalus is most famous for its scalloped hammerhead sharks which can often be seen in large schools out in the blue during the summer months. The sheer size of this reef means that you can do several dives here and never get bored!
Elphinstone Reef
A Red Sea legend; a finger-shaped reef, with north and south plateaus covered in hard and soft corals, unpredictable and exciting this truly is an awesome reef where hammerhead sharks are regularly spotted in the summer and oceanic whitetip sharks often congregate in large numbers during late autumn.
Read the reviews on diving the Red Sea and the recap on our previous Red Sea trip.
Package Details
Included in the 14 day/13 night package:
✓ Daily underwater photo workshops
✓ Transfers to/from the vessel and Marsa Alam airport or Hurghada airport
✓ 7 nights full board accommodation on the vessel (incl. meals, water, tea, coffee, soft drinks)
✓ All diving with 12 Ltr cylinder, air fills, and weights
✓ Nitrox
✓ All transfers and sightseeing throughout the land tour extension*
✓ 3 Nights accommodation at Sonesta Saint George Luxor hotel in Side Nile view rooms including breakfast*
✓ Full day tour visits of Luxor Temple & Karnak Temple*
✓ Full day tour visits of the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut Temple, Colossi of Memnon*
✓ 3 Nights accommodation at Le Meridien Pyramids hotel in Premium Pyramids view rooms including breakfast*
✓ Full day tour visits the Great Pyramid and Sphinx, Memphis & Sakkara*
✓ Full day tour visits the Egyptian National Museum, Khan El Khalili & Moez Street*
✓ English speaking local tour guide*
*Included in the 6-night land extension
Excluded in the 14 day/13 night package:
✗ $55 / person safari service fee that covers marine park fees, fuel supplements, port departure taxes etc.
✗ Domestic & International flights
✗ Tips
✗ Any meals/drinks not mentioned in the program
✗ Any personal extras
✗ Entry visa
Daily Photo Workshops
Workshops will be given daily on topics such as wide-angle underwater photography, ambient light shots, snorkeling with large animals, strobe exposure, and positions, avoiding backscatter and composition.
Liveaboard Trip Itinerary
This itinerary departs from and arrives at Port Ghalib.
Day 1 (August 5) - The itinerary starts at Port Ghalib. Check in is at 4pm-6pm. The boat will spend the night in port and depart the marina the following morning at approximately 8am.
Day 2 (August 6) - Visit a dive site local to Port Ghalib for a check dive before heading south for your afternoon dive on the way to St Johns.
Day 3 (August 7) - Explore St Johns.
Day 4 - (August 8) - Morning in St Johns before traveling north to dive in the area of Cave Reef before continuing towards Fury Shoal.
Day 5 (August 9) - A relaxing day of alluring reef diving in Fury Shoal.
Day 6 (August 10) - Travel north from Fury Shoal taking in the beautiful dive sites of the Wadi Gamal area.
Day 7 (August 11) - After an early morning dive at Elphinstone, enjoy a relaxed dive local to Port Ghalib allowing you to cruise into harbor in the early afternoon. Take advantage of an evening onshore to purchase souvenirs and enjoy Egypt's famous hospitality before your journey home or continuation to the land tour the next day.
Land Tour Itinerary
Day 8 (August 12) - Disembarkation & staff transfers to Sonesta Saint George Luxor hotel for accommodation in Side Nile view rooms.
OVERNIGHT: Luxor
Day 9 (August 13) - Buffet Breakfast; meet your guide at the hotel lobby at 08:00 AM & start the full day tour of the East bank visiting Karnak Temple & Luxor Temple, back to the hotel.
OVERNIGHT: Luxor
Day 10 (August 14) - Buffet Breakfast; meet your guide at the hotel lobby at 08:00 AM & start the tour of the West Bank, visiting Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut Temple & Colossi of Memnon, back to the hotel.
OVERNIGHT: Luxor
Day 11 (August 15) - Breakfast; checkout & staff transfers to Luxor airport to meet the Cairo flight: Egypt Air #362, depart Luxor 9:10am, arrive Cairo 10:20am.
Arrival Cairo airport & staff transfers to Le Meridien Pyramids hotel for accommodation in Deluxe Pyramids view rooms.
OVERNIGHT: Cairo
Day 12 (August 16) - Buffet Breakfast; meet your guide at the hotel lobby at 08:00 AM for a tour of the Giza plateau featuring the Great Pyramid and Sphinx, Memphis & Sakkara, back to the hotel.
OVERNIGHT: Cairo
Day 13 (August 17) - Buffet Breakfast; meet your guide at the hotel lobby at 08:00 AM for a tour of the Egyptian National Museum where you will be amazed by King Tut's treasures, spend the afternoon at Khan El Khalili Bazaars & El Moez street, back to the hotel.
OVERNIGHT: Cairo
Day 14 (August 18) - Breakfast; checkout & staff transfers to Cairo airport to meet the departure flight.
About the Blue Horizon
Blue Horizon's King (LEFT) & Twin cabins (RIGHT)
Blue Horizon's dining room (LEFT) & jacuzzi (RIGHT)
With a contemporary and stylish feel, M/Y blue Horizon takes Red Sea liveaboard luxury to a whole new level. With a large dining area, totally separate sky lounge with state of the art entertainment system, shaded deck area, and sun deck, there is always space to relax and enjoy the beauty of the Red Sea.
All cabins benefit from air conditioning, ensuite facilities, mini refrigerators, and personal entertainment systems.
See more about the Blue Horizon here.
How to Get There
The flight time is approximately 11 hours direct from US (East coast) and 14 hours direct from US (West coast). The closest airport is Marsa Alam (code RMF) which is about 15 minutes from the yacht at Port Ghalib. Transfers are provided from the Marsa Alam airport or Hurghada airport to Port Ghalib Marina. Check in is at 4pm-6pm on the day of arrival. The boat will spend the night in port and depart the marina the following morning at approximately 8am.
Upon your return into the marina on Thursday afternoon, you will be expected to vacate the vessel between 9am and 10am on the following morning. On leaving the liveaboard and depending on your return flight times, you will be provided with local day use facilities. Transfers back to the airport are also provided.
If you need assistance with flights, please contact us for flight suggestions and booking assistance.
Payment Schedule
> Deposit: $500
About the Trip Leader
After the Navy, Craig learned to scuba dive. Upon breaking the surface the first time, he knew this was a world he wanted to be a part of and a second passion was ignited. Longing to share that world with others, he put together his two greatest loves and ventured into the world underwater photography.
Craig’s underwater photography has been featured in multiple dive publications, won multiple awards and has been sold in upscale galleries from Carmel, California to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He now makes his living teaching underwater photography and selling his photography at art shows throughout the southeastern United States.
To learn more about Craig’s work, visit www.dietrichunderwater.com.
Got Questions? Ready to Book?
Call Bluewater Travel at 310-915-6677 or email info@bluewaterdivetravel.com and let them book your dream vacation at the best price!
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