Alia Tauchsafari, Ägypten

Excellent experience on the Red Sea

It was amazing to see the Red Sea and dive there. The boat was well set up and comfortable. There was plenty of space and the cabin was roomy. The staff on the boat were more like friends and really know what they are doing. I always felt safe and comfortable. As a dive professional myself I’m always thrilled to see safety measures that go above and beyond. One example would be the encouragement of safety stops even when not necessary according to the ERDP.

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Diving safety and knowledge of the dive guides

Fantastic trip with Alia - awesome boat, crew and diving!

We spent a week diving with Alia, which was much better than we could have ever hoped for! From the boat itself, which was very spacious inside and outside, to the crew, who was so friendly and easy-going. We made the trip to St John's Reef, and the dive sites were also much more interesting than we had imagined - the cave diving is fantastic (and not too technically difficult!), coral gardens and reef were so beautiful and we even had 2x whale sharks at Elphinstone (which wasn't on the itinerary but managed to go regardless), a manta ray, 3x turtles, some barracudas and too-many-to-count moray eels.

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Unexpected trip to Elphinstone (that gave us 2x whale shark sightings). Awesome, friendly crew from dive guides to the pastry chef (yes, there's a pastry chef!). Very spacious boat, both inside and outside. The dive platform is fantastic!.

Will definitely be returning

Very well organised. It was lovely to have two to three days of absolute solitude with no other boats or divers around. The whale shark(s), manta, turtles, and other marine life that we managed to encounter were an added plus. The guides were knowledgeable and professional. Crew was also always very helpful and friendly. I particularly enjoyed the towel art that welcomed me back from my first dive every morning

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Boat comfort. Dives. Guides and crew.

Overall recommended

This was my second time with Alia. Overall great experience, newly luxurious boat, big comfy cabins compared to other LOB, amazing crew on board, fantastic food (luckily no buffet) and snacks. But you must know it’s a french operator. First time we didn’t have luck with the other (French) guests. The second time less French and most of them could speak English. But you never know who is on the boat.

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Crew. Food. Boat.

High quality liveaboard!

Super organisierte Reise.

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Food quality is very high!. Divemasters are skilled and know the area well. Safety measures on board are respected.

Overall good experience and value for money

Great Things: The boat looks amazing and new. Rooms very spacious and comfortable. Crew was amazingly helpful. Free nitrox 30%. Minifridge in rooms. Mustafa did cocktails every afternoon. Things to Improve: Boat is setup for French people but no so much for internationals in English. Food was great but very French based, not much local Egypt food. If you don't eat meat or dairy this is not the boat for you as they are not prepared for vegetarians or non-dairy, we mentioned this upon reservation but upon arrival to the boat they had no idea. They tried their best still. First day everyone arrives but there's no briefings etc. So, the second day they go for diesel, briefings, etc. you end up losing the morning and dive only twice on the 2nd day, including a check dive in a not so amazing spot. Also the day before the last, you dive 2 times in the morning and then there's nothing to do, the boat returns to the dock and both crew and guides start preparing the next tour and forget about you. There should be some island hopping, snorkeling somewhere etc. (since you cannot dive anymore in order to fly next day), since you’re still there on holidays. As the tours start on the same day as the previous tour ends, guides seem tired and although helpful and nice, there's a lack of going the extra mile or make an extra effort to guests (compared to other liveaboards we did). In the end you pay 8 days/7 nights, but get 5 full days only (1st and last days have nothing prepared and are just check-in/check-out and 2nd and 7th days you only get half day each). Air conditioning in rooms is too strong even in lower settings and you cannot regulate temperature so many guests got a bit under the weather. Wake-up time at 6h30 every morning seems a bit too much since you only dive 3 times a day, so there’s plenty of time for surface interval (especially since everyone dives nitrox, it’s free). In summer months is too hot outside but most seatings are in the sun (boat roof does not cover enough. There are 4 puffs that you can move to the shadow but the boat takes 24 people, so maybe get more puffs or extend the shadow somehow. Overall, we enjoyed our stay and it's a good value for money.

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Crew was amazing. Boat is very stable even in choppy seas. very spacious.