September 5-12, 2024 Liveaboard the Grand Sea Explorer
Key Largo Dive Center’s Travel Division will be hosting a trip to the Red Sea. We will be spending a week on the Grand Sea Explorer, part of the Explorer Ventures liveaboard fleet. The Grand Sea Explorer is 124′ long and holds 28 divers. We have the entire boat booked for that week and reservations must be made through Key Largo Dive Center’s Travel Representative. Please call us at (305) 451-5844 for booking/reservation details. Don’t click on the “book now” tabs they don’t function for these trips.
Our diving itinerary will depend on dive conditions and weather. We are planning on a North tour which includes Thistlegorm/Brothers/Mohammed dives. There is a description of this area from their website copied below.
The price of the trip is only $2095 per person/double occupancy. The trip includes all meals onboard, free nitrox, and more. This is an incredible price for such an excellent dive adventure destination. Airfare is not included in this offer as our participants attend from all around the world. You must plan your flight to board the vessel on Sept 5 and depart on Sept 12, 2024. Our Travel Representative can assist you with flight planning.
In the Northern part of the Red Sea, the Ras Mohammed National Park is situated at the confluence of waters from the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba. This mix results in a wide range of diversity in terms of coral and fish life. Its best known dive sites include Shark Reef and Yolanda Reef, 2 big pinnacles rising up from the depths and home to grey reef sharks, tunas, barracudas, snappers and even hammerhead sharks. You’ll also see many sting rays, moray eels and scorpionfish, as well as dozens of toilets which were the cargo of the Yolanda wreck.
The SS Thistlegorm wreck is certainly the most famous wreck in Egypt, with its WWII motorcycles and jeeps still in the same position they were when this ship was bombed by German airplanes. This beautiful wreck can be dived several times, to discover all its compartments and cargo.
Abu Nuhas is a shallow reef that has caused the sinking of more boats than anywhere else in the Red Sea. There are currently several wrecks beneath the surface: the Giannis D, the Chrisoula K, the Kimon K and some leftovers of the Carnatic which sank in September 1869. All of them are now part of the marine world and covered by soft corals, sponges and hydroids.
Brothers Islands, Daedelus Reef, and Elphinstone Reef are simply unequaled. Part of the Marine Park, these dive locales show you the best of the best. Explore breathtaking underwater scenery, walls boasting huge pristine hard coral formations, sheer dropoffs covered with soft corals, and experience a frequent rush hour of pelagics. Sightings of thresher sharks, whale sharks, schooling tuna, mantas, grey reef sharks, oceanic whitetips, and schooling hammerheads are common. On occasion, the spectacular moon fish have also been spotted. The vessel’s experienced Captain and dive guides will escort you to these remote and unspoiled reefs where your senses will be happily overwhelmed.
You’ll be so captivated by the brilliance of color, you might wonder if a painter with an otherworldly palate reached the reefs first. Many coral species in the Red Sea are photosynthetic, which creates an expansive rainbow-like roofscape that outshines many diving hotspots elsewhere in the world. Here the abundant marine life is matched with excellent visibility due to very little rainfall. This makes each dive an impressive sight. There’s a reason the Red Sea is highly distinguished in many diving magazines. The Grand Sea Explorer’s itineraries make for a trip you won’t soon forget.
Brothers Islands, Daedelus Reef, and Elphinstone Reef, are simply unequaled. Part of the Marine Park, these dive locales show you the best of best. Explore breathtaking underwater scenery, walls boasting huge pristine hard coral formations, sheer drop-offs covered with soft corals, and experience a frequent rush hour of pelagics. Sightings of thresher sharks, whale sharks, schooling tuna, mantas, grey reef sharks, oceanic whitetips, and schooling hammerheads are common. On occasion, the spectacular moon fish have also been spotted. The vessel’s experienced captain and dive guides will escort you to these remote and unspoiled reefs, where your senses will be happily overwhelmed.
You’ll be so captivated by the brilliance of color, you might wonder if a painter with an otherworldly palate reached the reefs first. Many coral species in the Red Sea are photosynthetic, which creates an expansive rainbow-like roofscape that outshines many diving hotspots elsewhere in the world. Here, the abundant marine life is matched with excellent visibility due to very little rainfall. This makes each dive an impressive sight. There’s a reason the Red Sea is highly distinguished in many diving magazines. The Grand Sea Explorers itineraries make for a trip you won’t soon forget.
Photos courtesy of Explorer Ventures