This was my first scuba diving in Egypt!

My visit to Sharm El-Sheikh was a surprise. I knew I wanted to go to Dahab, and so I had to fly into Sharm. I did a little research before arriving and decided to stay a few days in Sharm before heading to Dahab via local bus. Did you know that Sharm El-Sheikh means “Bay of the Senior”? Or the city is also known as the City of Peace?

My first visit to Sharm, Egypt

I was pleasantly surprised by my time in Sharm. Overall, I found it quite relaxing compared to the harassment in Cairo, Luxor, and (less so) Aswan. The Sinai Peninsula is one of the best places to snorkel and scuba dive in the world. When I was offered to go on an intro dive, of course, I said yes! Little did I know that next week I would be getting my Open Water scuba diving certification.

Also, a fun fact according to a local, Sharm is the only city in the world that has no traffic lights. Instead, they have a lot of roundabouts. Sharm was a very relaxing city and I felt quite safe walking around by myself. I stayed at a resort (not all-inclusive) but I got to use the pool and eat at some of the restaurants on the grounds. It was quite nice.

Scuba diving in Egypt? YES!

I asked my resort room host to pick me up at the airport. Then, when he was dropping me off, he mentioned that he’s a scuba diving instructor in case I want to go tomorrow. Of course, I said yes!

I did several intro dives with him, where I got used to the equipment and mostly hung onto his arm observing the amazing corals and fish. The sea life in Sharm is truly incredible. It’s like being in another world. Really amazing.

Making my way to Dahab…

From there, I took the bus to Dahab, where I wanted to sign up for another intro dive. There, the instructor suggested I get my open water certification. I had just enough days available, and we were able to work the schedule to be early enough in the morning. This way, I could get back in time for work (albeit exhausted).

… and getting my PADI Open Water certification

Getting my PADI Open Water scuba diving certification is one of the most challenging and rewarding things I have done in a while. I got certified with Ahmed from Bedouin Divers. I highly recommend this company. Ahmed was very patient and helped me overcome my fears and feel comfortable getting used to everything.

The certification process involved a lot of psychological challenges, overcoming my fears, technical knowledge about gear and safety procedures, six dives over three days, and a time-intensive online course and exam.

How was it?

I’m most proud of myself for the following: the first time the instructor purposefully flooded my goggles underwater I freaked out and surfaced to clear them, after inhaling a lot of water. By the end of the course, I flooded my goggles on purpose deeper underwater about ten times and cleared them underwater. I also took my mask completely off underwater, put it back on, and completely cleared it deeper underwater, without inhaling any water or panicking.

I’m also proud that I was able to keep calm while we practiced a variety of skills, including having the air turned completely off underwater, removing gear and putting it back on underwater, removing the breathing regulator, and exhaling into the BCD vest to manually inflate multiple times underwater.

I had a lot of fears and trauma around water, drowning, swimming, etc and I was able to prove to myself that I could do anything.

It was incredible being underwater!

Beyond that, it was truly incredible to be deep underwater! The colors and the variety of fish and corals were absolutely mind-blowing! Sometimes we were so deep that we would look up and not be able to see the surface! My favorite part was seeing an octopus in person. It is a beautiful abyss down there and so much more to explore!

Don’t miss out on our travel adventures and travel tips! Sign up for our free newsletter. If you have any questions about living in or traveling to Mexico, overlanding with pets, being a digital nomad, or general travel planning questions, book a consultation with me.