FAQs Oonas Dive club

By Air
Sharm el Sheikh has an international airport (SSH) which receives flights from all over the world and domestic flights from elsewhere in Egypt. Many charter and national airlines fly in from the UK, Europe and also the Middle East. If you cannot find a direct flight to Sharm el Sheikh, you should be able to find a flight to Cairo (CAI)— after that it’s very easy to get the internal flight with Egyptair from Cairo to Sharm. Sharm el Sheikh International airport is about a 15 minutes drive from Naama Bay, where Oonas Dive Club and Hotel is located. If you take advantage of one of our packages, transfers are included and our driver will be there to meet you at the airport.

By Land
Egypt has a good network of established bus companies. There are several different companies providing daily services to Sharm el Sheikh from Cairo. Hiring a taxi to travel long distances in Egypt is not so uncommon and not prohibitively expensive, however for security, hire a taxi from an established company.

By Sea
At present, there are no ferry services between Sharm El Sheikh and any other ports.

Passport and Visa Requirements
All visitors to Egypt must have a passport that is valid for 6 months from the date of arrival. If you plan to stay within Sharm el Sheikh for the whole of your holiday, then you do not need to purchase a full tourist visa stamp. When you arrive, Immigration police at passport control will simply stamp your passport with a Sinai Only entry stamp. However, if you plan to travel outside the Sinai peninsular (e.g Cairo/Luxor etc.), or if your stay is longer than two weeks, you need to buy a full Egyptian visa stamp on arrival at the airport. If you are transiting through Cairo Airport, you will have to buy a visa stamp in Cairo Airport before you go through passport control at the international terminal. You must do this even if you are not exiting the transit area. If you are flying directly into Sharm and you have booked airport transfers, our driver will meet you outside the arrivals hall as you exit the airport. If you are flying to Sharm but not staying at Oonas, you will need to purchase the visa at the one of the kiosks just as you enter the airport terminal. Please do this after disembarking and before you go through Passport Control. It is also possible to purchase an E visa or a visa from your local Egyptian Embassy prior to coming on holiday.

It is best to pay for accommodation and diving charges with cash in Euros, the quoted price currency, to avoid losing any value of your money in exchange rate variations or credit-card surcharges.  It is not possible to buy Euros cash in Sharm El Sheikh so you are advised to obtain your Euros before you leave home and bring them with you.

For most other purchases (certainly food, drinks, souvenirs etc) it is best to pay in local currency, to avoid surcharges and exchange rate fluctuations. It’s always good to arrive with a bit of local currency, but you’ll actually get a much better exchange rate here when you change Sterling/Euros or Dollars into Egyptian Pounds, than you do at home. If you are staying at Oonas Dive Club there is a very good foreign exchange bureau just around the corner.  Opening times are 9:00am to 1:30 and 6:00pm to 8:00pm

There are also plenty of cash-machines from which you can withdraw Egypt pounds cash using your bank card. However, cash-machines often have charges, and the exchange rate your bank will use to issue you Egyptian pounds may not be as good as the rate you’ll receive for buying Egyptian pounds with sterling cash in currency exchange shops here.

We can accept payment credit or debit cards (VISA or MasterCard – processed in Egyptian Pounds plus a 3% card fee for credit or debit cards),  or cash – Egyptian Pounds, Sterling, Euros or US Dollars.

If you are staying at Oonas Hotel, you may if you’d prefer — but a beach towel is supplied to take out for the day on our dive boats.  If you are staying at another hotel, you will usually find that they will provide beach towels which you can bring with you.

Our hotel does have  hair-dryers for you to use whilst you are here. Please ask at the hotel reception.

No, Oonas Hotel does not have a swimming pool. However, we are right on the beach front of Naama Bay and we have direct beach access, so you can swim in the sea.

Yes, we provide a free to access Wi-Fi signal – in and around our bar and restaurant, and also in the rooms. The access code can be obtained from our receptionist or hotel restaurant staff.

Keep in mind that our free Wi-Fi signal does not provide as fast an internet service as you might be used to in Europe. It is sufficient for checking and sending emails, but should not be depended upon for work purposes.

You can always purchase a DATA sim from one of the local providers here in Egypt after arrival. These tend to provide a faster internet service and there are usually inexpensive packages to choose from.

Yes each hotel room has an electronic safe.

Yes, our hotel is orientated so that all our rooms face in the same direction. Every room has a balcony, and a view of both the Red Sea and the Sinai mountains.

No, all our hotel rooms have telephones for receiving calls, but you cannot make outgoing telephone calls. If you should need to make an international telephone call please speak with our hotel reception.

We ask that you bring REEF SAFE sunscreen and tanning oils. Most sunscreens and tanning oils contain chemicals that are toxic to coral reefs, kindly bring with you sunscreen products that are certified Reef Safe and do not contain the following chemicals: Oxybenzone, Benzophenone-1, Benzophenone-8, OD-PABA, 4-Methylbenzylidene camphor, 3-Benzylidene camphor, nano-Titanium dioxide, Octinoxate, Octocrylene