Visit Date: June 2009

I'm only a beginner with around 20 dives to my name when last year I decided to visit the Coral Sea Resort in Sharm. I tend to go back to this hotel as the house reef is fantastic for snorkelling and taking photos as the light is just perfect - if you are into photography this is the place to be as you see so many species of fish when snorkelling.

Let me start with the hotel, pretty basic, definitely not 5 star and no evening entertainment and the food is pretty basic. As I said I only stay here as the house reef is just beautiful. Also this hotel is a 5 minute or so boat ride from Jackson reef which is fantastic to dive.

After having a previous bad experience in Sharm diving this occasion I decided to dive with Aquarius who were FANTASTIC! They truly looked after me and made sure I was buddied up with someone and made sure I was in the correct group (Open Water) for my ability. My mother went with me on this trip and although she doesn't dive, she came on the boat with me to do some snorkelling trips and was throughly looked after.

Not only is their saftey aspects 110% their enthusiasm is boundless. I spent most my time with dive instructor Eric who was amazing! My confidence just soared after diving with these guys all week. Main points to add:

1. There was always enough staff on the boat to help with equipment, gearing up and they had spare parts, wet suits etc on board if you forgot anything (like I did!).

2. Sharm is amazing for diving, particularly Ras Mohammed National Park and Tiran Island, I did 6 dives at those locations and each was as amazing as the last. Even for a beginner like me I managed to see a wide variety of species, get real close to a huge free swimming Moray Eel and jump in and snorkel with a Whale Shark! it doesn't get any better!

3. the coral was healthy and there was plenty of life underwater - even at the house reef.

4. You can shore dive off the house reef and meet some pretty friendly Napolean fish!

5. I didn't take any courses so can't really comment on those but I know the staff at the Aquarius resort on the Coral Sea Hotel were all fantastic.

6. The boat was well equiped and large, on some days we only had 6 people on the boat. Plenty of room for equipment set up, sunbathing, etc.

7. They have someone filming you as well which I recommend purchasing so that you can show everyone at home the amazing marine life!

8. I took my own dive computer as I think it's always hard to hire one in these places, however your dive master will look out for you and keep an eye on your levels/depths etc.

So all in all a fantastic trip, I dove with Sinai Divers last year and it was hurrendous (they put me in a group with advanced divers and just said 'get on with it you'll be fine'). My motto is safety first which Aquarius definitley believe in. I came back from this dive trip extremly confident and ready to book the next one!

Downside - the hotel is quite basic, rooms are lovely and large (especially if you get one on the beach which I recommend). The food is pretty basic and they separate the Italians from the British and there's only 1 restaurant for buffet lunch. I wasn't that impressed with it, but the staff are friendly. Hotel is only 10 minutes from Sharm Airport which is another bonus. The Swimming pool is pretty average, the grounds are pretty but that's about it! The hotel food is a let down and there's no entertainment. But if like me you want a quiet holiday with plenty of diving and amazing snorkelling just yards from your hotel this is the place to be!

Think your rep can organise trips to Cairo/Luxor etc, but I would recommend you take the fly option not drive on these trips as they can take up a very long day! If you want to do the sights (like I did) I recommend you book a week's Nile Cruise instead (whichi is amazing) followed by a week's diving in Sharm afterwards.

Hope this review helps! :)