Diving & Snorkeling Red Sea: Includes Top Sites in Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Sudan, Eritrea, Yemen & Djibouti (Lonely Planet Diving & Snorkeling Red Sea) [Paperback]

Jean-Bernard Carillet (Author), Gavin Anderson (Author), Pete Harrison (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2001 | Series: Lonely Planet Diving & Snorkeling Red Sea

For five millennia people have gathered along the shores of the Red Sea, but only in the past five decades have recreational divers delved beneath the waves. They flock here to explore the incredibly diverse underwater topography and marine life, as well as shipwrecks such as the Thistlegorm and the wrecks of Sha’ab Abu Nuhas. On land visitors can wander ancient ruins and buzzing souqs or tour the desert atop a camel. From the towering walls of Ras Mohammed to the offshore islands of The Brothers and Zabargad, this book describes 108 of the best Red Sea sites, with full-color photos throughout.

You’ll get specific information on:

• dive sites access and topography
• typical diving conditions
• common and hazardous marine life
• topside information for eight countries
• 18 easy-to-read maps

Product Details

• Paperback: 199 pages
• Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications; 2 edition (May 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1864502053
• ISBN-13: 978-1864502053
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,077,932 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #18 in Books > Travel > Africa > Eritrea
  • #19 in Books > Travel > Africa > Sudan
  • #27 in Books > Travel > Middle East > Yemen

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent resource, July 3, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Diving & Snorkeling Red Sea: Includes Top Sites in Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Sudan, Eritrea, Yemen & Djibouti (Lonely Planet Diving & Snorkeling Red Sea) (Paperback)

Compared to the other Red Sea dive guides I've been able to find, this one is the best by far. The photos are fantastic and the maps are very readable - and the text gives an excellent overview of the dive site conditions and highlights. The descriptions seem balanced and informative, and if the site isn't the greatest, it says so ("hard corals are not a strong point here..." and for a wreck dive - the Salem Express "...take a look, spare a thought for the victimes and then head to the nearby reefs."). Based on my 5 dive trips in the RS, it looks very accurate as well.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Covers a lot, but not enough, and "too shallow"..., May 28, 2001

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Diving & Snorkeling Red Sea: Includes Top Sites in Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Sudan, Eritrea, Yemen & Djibouti (Lonely Planet Diving & Snorkeling Red Sea) (Paperback)

There's some good things about this book: in typical Lonely Planet style you've got great general travel information for the area (which if I really wanted, I'd buy a general travel book).

It does also cover a large number of sites - though is still far from comprehensive.

And it has some nice additional information occasionally through the book.

Two main peeves though. And they're killers:

- Each description is a paragraph, or two at most. You can't tell me very much about a dive site in so few words.

- There are no maps / diagrams for specific dive sites (just area overview maps) - a dive guide fails totally without these.

It's a pretty book, but to be any use you need to include maps and more detail per site (if this was done it could be forgiven for not being totally comprehensive).

In short, it's nice, but it's no use as a tool for researching a dive holiday.

What'S further is I now own two of these (Red Sea and Bahamas) - I certainly will not buy another.