Note: If you want to scuba dive, you must bring your certification from abroad or obtain a license in Israel.
The best-equipped firm for snorkeling and scuba diving is Aqua Sport, also called the International Red Sea Diving Center (P.O. Box 300, Eilat; tel. 08/633-4404). Right across the highway from the Isrotel Ambassador Hotel on Coral Beach, the Aqua Sport center can fulfill your needs for mask, fins, and snorkel (NIS 35/$8 per day for the complete ensemble), as well as wet suits, weight belts, depth gauges, buoyancy compensators, cylinders, and other gear. One-day dive cruises are NIS 180 ($39), including lunch, introductory dives are NIS 190 ($42); diving lessons (in English), diving tours (half or full day), and even 3-day camping/diving or snorkeling safaris are also available. A 5-day diving course ($275) leads to internationally recognized two-star diver certification; with 6 days' bed-and-breakfast at the divers' hostel, the cost comes to $370. Many other programs are offered as well, including rentals and lessons in sailboarding. Bed-and-breakfast at the Aqua Sport hostel is $22 per day in double or quadruple rooms. Aqua Sport also has a program of weeklong summer camps for kids ages 10 to 15 during July and August; parents can leave the kids and go off for a week, and the kids are exposed to a world of underwater and maritime activities and fun. Also operating through Aqua Sport is the School of Underwater Photography, with half-day to 14-day programs on underwater video and still photography. In the evening, there's a pub, underwater video films, and occasional live entertainment, and dancing. Aqua Sport is open every day from 8:30am to 12:30am. Write directly to Aqua Sport for information on prices, programs, and to arrange for courses and trips. Aqua Sport accepts Diner's Club, MasterCard, and Visa.
Red Sea Sport Club's Manta Dive Center, located at the Red Sea Sport and Ambassador Hotel (tel. 08/633-3666), is another highly recommended diving center at the Coral Beach. It offers facilities similar to those at Aqua Sport, plus other activities including sailing, windsurfing, and boating, deep-sea fishing, night cruises, organized diving trips to Sinai, desert safaris, horseback riding, camel treks, canoes and paddleboats, waterskiing, and bicycle rental, in addition to its diving and sailboarding programs. There is even a special sauna facility for divers. It's open daily from 8:30am to 4:30pm in winter, until 6pm in summer.
Both of the above facilities offer introductory dives for people who have never experienced diving before and want to try it out. It costs about NIS 198 ($44) for an hour-long, one-to-one session with a diving instructor, who spends about half an hour giving you the instruction you need to go down and another half-hour with you 5.4 to 6m (18-20 ft.) below the water, out in the Red Sea coral reefs. This is a great way to get a short introduction to diving before committing yourself to a full 6-day program.
Snuba diving, tethered to an oxygen tank on a raft over the coral reef is an easy, enjoyable way to dive without any extensive training. The Snuba Diving Center (tel. 08/637-2722; www.snuba.co.il) will arrange a variety of snuba excursions for you. Prices start at NIS 180 ($40) and include training.
Dive In!--Eilat is a great place to pick up snorkeling and diving skills, and to sample the fabulous reefs of the Red Sea. But those who are really avid divers should schedule time to visit Dahab or Sharm el Sheik in Sinai, where the reefs and marine life are among the most extraordinary in the world. For a serious diver to come to Eilat and not go on to Sinai would be like visiting New York and never getting out of Kennedy Airport!
