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Three mornings on the Red Sea from Marsa Alam earn you your first scuba qualification. We collect you from your hotel, each day, and instructors stay with you from shallow skill work through to open-water reef dives across the three-day course.
Warm shallows off the Marsa Alam coast are where you first sink beneath the surface, practising mask clearing, buoyancy and breathing on a regulator while your instructor stays close. Theory and skill work spread across the mornings at a pace that matches how quickly the group settles underwater.
By the second and third days, reef dives replace the shallow drills and coral and tropical fish frame every descent. Briefings before each session set out what you'll practise, and surface intervals on deck give you time to rest before the next dive.
Marsa Alam sits on Egypt's southern Red Sea coast, with hotel strips facing clear, shallow water and reefs a short run offshore. Training uses that water rather than a pool week inland. You leave the resort belt for shallows and then reef ground, then return to the same hotel after each day's sessions.
Collection covers the usual Marsa Alam resort belt. Distances between hotels mean pickup windows can run long, so be ready early and eat breakfast before you leave reception. Once you are back on the coast, hotel beaches sit close to most properties, which is why many guests keep the evenings quiet after three full days in the sun and on the water.
No previous scuba qualification is required. You should be happy in the sea, able to follow an instructor, and ready to spend three days around boats and briefings. Say if you are a weak swimmer so they can use extra flotation in the shallows. The instructor will confirm who can join once they have seen ages and swimming ability.
Wear swimwear under a cover-up, bring a towel and sun protection, and eat breakfast before pickup. Keep all three days free. Mention ages when you confirm your place; junior divers may need a different plan than adults, and infants are not a fit for a three-day scuba course. If you wear contact lenses, say so, because many people prefer a mask they already know.
Hotel collection and a three-day Open Water format keep the first qualification simple from a Marsa Alam hotel. Instructors stay with you from the shallows to the reef dives rather than handing you to a crowded day boat with no teaching time. Scuba kit for the water sessions is issued by the crew, and you can ask when you confirm your place what is on the boat.
Training starts in warm shallows and moves to reef ground only when you are ready, so the three days stay on the water. If the outer reefs are too rough, the instructor may keep you in the shallows, shift a dive later, or hold a session once morning conditions are clear. Lunch is not included, so eat at the hotel before pickup and carry water for the surface intervals.
We'll collect you from your Marsa Alam hotel. Be ready in the pickup window with swim kit and a towel. The first briefing covers how the three days will run, how the kit fits, and how the instructor wants you to signal in the water. Early skill work stays in the shallows.
Open-water dives begin once the instructor is happy with your control in the shallows. You practise buoyancy, awareness and simple navigation on Marsa Alam reefs, with coral and fish around you. Stay with the group and watch your air. Surface intervals are for rest, water and the next briefing.
The last day finishes the open-water set, sea state allowing, so you leave with the skills the instructor has signed off. After the final dive you transfer back to your hotel. Keep the afternoon loosely free in case a weather hold has pushed a session later.
No previous scuba qualification is required. This is the first Open Water course, taught in the shallow Red Sea off Marsa Alam, then on open-water reefs as you progress. It is not the Advanced course and it is not a single try-dive day.
You should be happy in the sea and able to follow an instructor. Say if you have never used a mask so they can spend extra time on breathing at the surface before you go on a regulator.
Yes. Collection from hotels in the Marsa Alam area is part of this course. Give your hotel name when you book so the driver can find the right gate, and be ready in the window you are given because the coast road between resorts can be slow.
The three days start at pickup. Arriving late at reception cuts into time in the water, so treat the morning window as the start of training rather than an optional extra.
The course lasts three days. That usually means theory, shallow-water skill work and open-water dives spread across three mornings and afternoons, with hotel collection each day.
Keep all three days free. Do not plan other trips on the same dates. Exact session times depend on sea state and how the group is going, so follow the window you are given.
Training starts in warm, shallow water off Marsa Alam, then moves to open-water reefs with coral and fish as your skills settle. The instructor stays with you. Exact sites change with the sea and with how quickly the group is ready to leave the shallows.
This is not a named-lagoon snorkel day. You will be on scuba, with briefings before each water session. Stay with the instructor and keep the boat in sight when you surface.
On a course of this type the instructor usually issues tanks, weights and the scuba unit for the water sessions. Bring your own mask if you prefer the fit.
Ask when you confirm your place what is issued so you are not guessing about wetsuit thickness or whether you need to hire extras for the three days.
The instructor will confirm who can join once they have seen ages and swimming ability. Infants are not a fit for a three-day scuba course.
Mention ages when you confirm your place. Junior divers may need a different plan than adults. Do not assume a child can complete the same open-water dives without the team agreeing first.
Lunch is not included. Eat at the hotel before pickup, and carry water and a small snack for the wait and the surface intervals. Do not rely on a sit-down meal between dives unless the crew tell you otherwise on the day.
Soft drinks and extras on the boat, if they are sold, sit outside the course price. Keep all three days simple so you are not hungry between sessions.
This is the Open Water course, the first scuba qualification. The Advanced Open Water course from Marsa Alam is a separate two-day product for people who already hold this card. Keep them split so you pick the course that matches what you already have.
Use this page if you have never been certified. Use the Advanced listing if you already dive and want the next course from the same hub.
Bring swimwear, a towel, dry clothes, sunscreen and a long sleeve for the boat deck. Soft shoes that can get wet help on the swim ladder. A dry bag keeps phones off wet decks.
Leave valuables in the hotel safe. Eat breakfast before the van arrives, and keep all three full days free. If you wear contact lenses, say so; many people prefer a mask they already know.
The course needs a workable sea. If the outer reefs are too rough, the instructor may keep you in the shallows, shift a dive later, or hold a session. You will be told as early as they can once morning conditions are clear.
Have a loose plan around the three days so a weather hold does not wreck the whole course. Three days on the water still needs clear windows, even in Marsa Alam.
About the centre
Marsa Alam
Operated by Your Trips Guide, a partner of adventuro.
