For many Europeans, traveling to the Red Sea for scuba diving is like many North Americans going to the Caribbean. For a scuba diver based in North America or anywhere else outside of Europe or Africa, a journey to the Red Sea is considered one of the more exotic scuba diving trips. Like other overseas travel, getting to the final destination is the hardest thing. The Red Sea can be dived from ports in both Egypt and Israel but most international scuba divers do so from the Egyptian side. There are two major scuba diving areas in Egypt, Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada. Sharm El Sheikh at the northern part of the Red Sea is the more established center having been a popular vacation resort area as both Egyptians and Europeans have been vacationing here for many years. The local scuba dive industry grew along with the overall steady growth of classy resorts, shops and other tourist services in Sharm El Sheikh. Hurghada, once just a sleepy fishing village along the west side of the Red Sea, is starting to grow as scuba divers discover this alternative to Sharm El Sheikh.
More than likely, travelers going to either Sharm El Sheikh or Hurghada will have to fly to Cairo...