DISCOVERY II

(1 customer review)

37m / 122ft MAX 22 NITROX PADI WIFI

PRICE PER DAY FROM USD 104

LOWEST PRICE GUARANTEE SPECIAL OFFERS APPLY

At a glance:

Liveaboard diving safaris across the Red Sea
All cabins with private bathrooms
Great value economy cruises
Upper deck sunset bar
Large wooden hull motor yacht

The M/Y Discovery II (ex-Samira) is a large 37m long wooden hull motor yacht that operates value liveaboard diving safaris throughout the Egyptian Red Sea. It is the sistership and more luxurious relation of the Amelia Discovery.

Discovery II accommodates 22 guests in 11 twin/double air-conditioned suites and cabins, each with a private bathroom. It has a spacious saloon with a separate dining area where amazing food is served, and a lounge area with bar, A/C, DVD/TV/video and a music system.

There are 2 large sundecks, one with a bar and shaded social area with table and chairs, the other with sofa seating and sun mattresses. There is plenty of space for all guests to relax and enjoy their time in the sunshine between dives.

There are 2 x 6m Zodiacs with 40 HP outboard engines that run scuba divers out to the sites, where they can use the free enriched air nitrox supplied by the onboard membrane system to extend their time underwater. The dive platform has freshwater showers to rinse off after each dive, and rinse tanks to soak salt-sensitive equipment once you're back onboard after you finish. Discovery II has professional dive guides, as well as a friendly and hard working crew.

The Red Sea boasts world class diving, excellent visibility all year round, and incredible value for money. What better way to spend a week than waking up at undisturbed sites to dive the world famous wrecks and marine parks of Egypt! You can make 3-4 dives per day and reach spots that few others get to visit. The Discovery II offers great value and the appeal of its Red Sea liveaboard diving tours are obvious.

Discovery II has 11 guest cabins with en-suite bathrooms. There are 8 cabins with twin beds - 6 on the lower deck and 2 on the upper deck. There are also 3 Honeymoon Suites with large double beds, 2 on the upper deck and 1 on the lower deck. All the Honeymoon Suites are fitted with a mini bar/fridge, A/C, separate fitted shower cubicle, and TV entertainment system.

All the cabins have:

Air-conditioning
En-suite bathroom with hot-water shower and hand basin
Portholes on lower deck, windows on upper deck
Towels & bathrobes
Reading lights
Bedside cabinet

Fridge (upper deck cabins only)
Cabinet, mirror and shelves
Bedding
24-hour, 220v electricity supply
European-style 2-pin plugs
Fire alarm, life jackets and fire extinguishers

No. of bathrooms / showers - 13 / 11 - hot water

Brothers, Daedalus & Elphinstone (8 Days / 7 Nights - 17 Dives)

Trip highlights: hammerhead sharks, shark action, manta rays, schooling fish & big pelagics

Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, cage diving, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, very popular, wall diving, wreck diving

Dive sites and activities: Hurghada, Big Brother, Little Brother, Aida II wreck, Numidia wreck, Daedalus Reef, Elphinstone, Safaga, Salem Express

Day 1
The Discovery Divers staff will be at the arrival terminal of Hurghada Airport or Marsa Alam Airport to welcome you. An air-conditioned van will take you to Port Ghalib or Hurghada marina where the Samira liveaboard yacht is moored. The journey from Hurghada to Port Ghalib takes about 4 hours. Otherwise it’s only a few minutes to Port Ghalib from Marsa Alam Airport if you have landed there, and a similar distance to Hurghada marina from Hurghada Airport. Once onboard the liveaboard you will be served a welcome cocktail and meet the boat crew and the tour leader, who will assign you to your cabin and provide a briefing on boat safety and the upcoming week of activities. Enjoy your dinner in the air-conditioned saloon before going to bed; your diving will start tomorrow.

Days 2-7
The Brother Islands are 2 small exposed promontories in the middle of the sea, with a very high concentration of marine life. The walls feature sponges, anemones and hard and soft corals, giving an astonishing variety of colour to the underwater world. It's very common to see sharks at the dive sites around the islands. Scalloped hammerheads and grey reef sharks, silvertip and whitetip reef sharks. At Big Brother there is a wreck that can be dived when the conditions are right, especially if it's not too windy. It's the Numidia that lies between 5-8m, completely covered with hard and soft corals. and gorgonians.
The reefs at Daedalus and Elphinstone are home to schools of surgeonfish, fusiliers, trevallies and colourful reef fish. Hammerheads, oceanic whitetips and thresher sharks can be seen here, as well as manta rays, usually seen during the summer months. There will also be a dive at the unforgettable wreck of the Salem Express, a 100-metre ferry boat that hosts frogfish, blue-spotted stingrays, schools of angel and butterflyfish. The ship is now covered in hard and soft corals.
3 dives a day are the norm in the Red Sea marine parks. A typical day will start with a morning dive at 7 am, breakfast at 8 am, 2nd dive at 10 am, lunch at noon, 3rd dive at 2 pm, snacks at 4 pm, night dive when permitted at 7 pm. Dinner around 8 pm. There will only 2 dives on the last day as the boat then sails back to port.
Expect 3 delicious meals of local fare every day. Main meals are served buffet style in the dining area of the saloon. Breakfast is usually eggs, pancakes, toast, bread, fresh fruit and veggies, cereals and milk or yoghurt, cheese and sausages, hot coffee and tea. Lunch and evening meals include lots of fresh vegetables, rice, noodles, chicken, beef and fish. Snacks like cookies, juice and fresh fruit are served every mid-afternoon. There is self-service tea, coffee, soft drinks, drinking water, 24/7, and there is also a fine wines selection and beer available. Most dietary needs can be covered including vegetarian and vegan.

Day 8
Check out time is normally at 10 am after a breakfast and farewells with the crew, before being transferred either to the airport or your local hotel. Please note that these trips use Hurghada marina and Port Ghalib for embarkation and disembarkation - check above for exact port details.

Red Sea North, Wrecks & Brothers (8 Days / 7 Nights - 19 Dives)

Trip highlights: hammerhead sharks, shark action, dolphins, manta rays, turtles, schooling fish & big pelagics

Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, cage diving, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, very popular, wall diving, wreck diving

Dive sites and activities: Hurghada, Abu Nuhas wrecks (Carnatic, Giannis D, Chrisoula, Kimon M), Strait of Gubal, Rosalie Moeller, SS Thistlegorm, Shaab Ali, Ras Mohamed, Big Brother, Little Brother, Aida II wreck, Numidia wreck, Safaga

Day 1
The Discovery Divers staff will be at the arrival terminal of Hurghada Airport to welcome you. An air-conditioned van will take you to Hurghada marina where the Samira liveaboard yacht is moored; the journey is only a few minutes. Once onboard the liveaboard you will be served a welcome cocktail and meet the boat crew and the tour leader, who will assign you to your cabin and provide a briefing on boat safety and the upcoming week of activities. Enjoy your dinner in the air-conditioned saloon before going to bed; your diving will start tomorrow.

Days 2-7
This route visits the famous wrecks in the northern Red Sea, along with some stunning reef diving. The most famous wreck, the SS Thistlegorm, will leave you in awe: it was sunk in 1941 after being bombed by the German Luftwaffe! With its historical cargo of World War II machinery and equipment, all neatly stowed in its open holds, the wreck of the Thistlegorm would be a highlight of diving anywhere in the world. 4 wrecks will be the highlights of diving at Abu Nuhas, all offering spectacular dives and plenty of marine life. Ras Mohamed, at the southernmost tip of the Sinai, is one of the best kept national parks in Egypt. Its waters are rich in nutrients, attracting pelagics.
The Brother Islands are 2 small exposed promontories in the middle of the sea, with a very high concentration of marine life. The walls feature sponges, anemones and hard and soft corals, giving an astonishing variety of colour to the underwater world. It's very common to see sharks at the dive sites around the islands. Scalloped hammerheads and grey reef sharks, silvertip and whitetip reef sharks. At Big Brother there is a wreck that can be dived when the conditions are right, especially if it's not too windy. It's the Numidia that lies between 5-8m, completely covered with hard and soft corals. and gorgonians.
4 dives a day are the norm in the Red Sea (but only 3 dives per day when in the marine parks). A typical day will start with a morning dive at 7 am, breakfast at 8 am, 2nd dive at 10 am, lunch at noon, 3rd dive at 2 pm, snacks at 4 pm, night dive when permitted at 7 pm. Dinner around 8 pm. There will only 2 dives on the last day as the boat then sails back to port.
Expect 3 delicious meals of local fare every day. Main meals are served buffet style in the dining area of the saloon. Breakfast is usually eggs, pancakes, toast, bread, fresh fruit and veggies, cereals and milk or yoghurt, cheese and sausages, hot coffee and tea. Lunch and evening meals include lots of fresh vegetables, rice, noodles, chicken, beef and fish. Snacks like cookies, juice and fresh fruit are served every mid-afternoon. There is self-service tea, coffee, soft drinks, drinking water, 24/7, and there is also a fine wines selection and beer available. Most dietary needs can be covered including vegetarian and vegan.

Day 8
Check out time is normally at 10 am after a breakfast and farewells with the crew, before being transferred either to the airport or your local hotel.

[Information is best estimate in ideal circumstances and subject to changes beyond our control. The itinerary is a guide only and may be adapted to best suit the weather, tides, currents, availability and other prevailing events. Price is for the cruise, not for an exact number of dives].

"Everything was great. The boat and crew were excellent. Vic was also super helpful with answering questions and communicating information between myself and the boat, as this was our first one. The boat captain was safe and conscientious. The crew were helpful both on our boat and others to help preserve safety of the reef, the divers and the boat. The dive masters were safety oriented and helpful.
There was a bit of misinformation regarding the final day on the boat. The description provided says that you leave the boat at 12pm on the final day. We came to find out that checkout was actually 10am and that we could have left the boat as early as the prior afternoon/evening. If I had known that we could have departed the boat earlier than 12pm (as described in the itinerary) and I would have booked more convenient flights home. Also, we got Salmonella on day 3 of the trip due to the food on the boat (10/13 divers got sick). Luckily there were additional antibiotics on the boat. " - Rebecca Good, United States, 24 July 2022 ...

DEPARTURE SCHEDULE & PRICES

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Dive experience: Recommendation for all trips: Advanced Open Water Diver license and a minimum of 20 logged dives; except for any cruises that include the southern marine parks (Brothers, Daedalus Reef, Zabargad or Rocky) - Advanced Open Water Diver and 30 logged dives. Guests may be requested to sit out a dive if the guides assess that it is beyond their experience level.

Cruise price per person includes: Cabin accommodation with air-conditioning, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, soft drinks, drinking water, hot drinks (e.g. instant coffee, tea), roundtrip transfers from/to Hurghada and Marsa Alam airports, dives (as detailed in the trips above), 32% nitrox fills for enriched air certified divers, 2 experienced CWDS English-speaking divemasters, tanks, weights, all taxes.

Cruise price per person excludes (mandatory, unless customer provides own): Scuba equipment (US$ 195 per week), dive computer (US$ 43 per week), diving insurance, port/park/environmental fees (route dependent: from US$ 124 to US$ 271). Unless otherwise stated, all the listed items need to be paid on arrival (cash only - EUR, USD, GBP, EGP).

Optional extras: Alcoholic drinks, torch (US$ 43 per week), 15 litre tank (US$ 38 per week). Unless otherwise stated, all the listed items need to be paid on arrival. Note: prices of items purchased onboard are subject to change.

How to get there: Discovery II liveaboard tours depart from either Hurghada (Old Sheraton Marina, Old Sheraton Street) or Port Ghalib. Transfers from/to Hurghada and Marsa Alam airports are provided. The transfer between Hurghada and Port Ghalib takes about 4 hours. Check in starts at 4 pm on the first day (boat departs the next morning and late arrivals can still board until 5 am). For more details, including airlines, visit our Red Sea travel information section.
The last dive of the trip is at 10 am on the second last day of the trip and the yacht returns to port around 3:30 pm. Check out is at 10 am on the final day. Please wait at least 18 hours before flying after diving.

Non-diver rate: 25% discount (cannot be combined with other discounts).

Single supplement (if you do not want to share accommodation): This is optional - single travellers may choose to share a cabin and pay the regular price or pay a supplement of 50% of the published price for their own cabin.

Dive clubs and group discounts: Pay for 10 guests and 1 additional person can join the cruise in a lower deck cabin free of charge.

Whole boat charter rate (per night): 17% discount on total price of 20 individuals.

Add-on package: We strongly recommend to our Egypt clients that they consider some of the wonderful antiquities tours which can be added to your Red Sea liveaboard diving holiday. Cairo museum's pharaohs and royal mummies, the pyramids of Giza, the Great Sphinx, a glorious cruise down the Nile to the Valley of the Kings … all the world famous attractions of ancient Egypt are here to give you the trip of a lifetime.

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From USD 168 per day

Customer rating: Excellent!

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DISCOVERY II

Brothers, Daedalus & Elphinstone (8 Days / 7 Nights - 17 Dives)

Red Sea North, Wrecks & Brothers (8 Days / 7 Nights - 19 Dives)

DEPARTURE SCHEDULE & PRICES

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