Looking for fellow avid scuba-divers in the Basel area and beyond...I know this is probably the wrong country to live in for warm water scuba diving, but there's always the Red Sea a skip and hop away...

Anyway, shout if you're interested to talk scuba..

Best fishes..

i do a few trips away per year and in basel... there are quite a few people that dive in zurisee with drysuits though.

For red sea trips dont bother booking it through a swiss agent as the cost is of course.

Its cheaper to book something in the UK, fly there and pick up your flight and still have enough left over for any spending money.

I saw a dive shops in Luzern and Neuchatel. You could try contacting them.

Hi, I'm from Singapore and I used to go Malaysia for diving. (: Budget and good!

Not only in drysuits It actually becomes warm enough in summer to do it with 14mm neoprene

There are a lot of dive sites in Switzerland. Where there's lakes, there will be divers You will find a lot of Dive Shops and Clubs around Zürich, i.e. Bär in Wädenswil.

the michelin man

14 mm neoprene???? think I would need an iron suit on top of that to sink...

pass...diving in the cold is not my thing...

anyone up for the Thistlegorm and the Brothers in the Red Sea?

Already been to South and St. John's and Elphinstone ( where an oceanic white tip circled and bumped my SMB a few times... )

There are plenty of dive shops in CH. But they are the absolute pinnacle of "Swiss prices"... (short example: every shop I have been to in Zurich wanted 999 CHF for the BCD I bought my wife for some 350 EUR in Germany!)

I bet there are better places from Basel over the border in France or Germany.

Rob1: Who do you normally dive with from the UK in the Red Sea?
I tried Emperor Divers last year, and I would go back to them as the service as good and had a great time...

i went with tony backhurst last year as the agent for the whirlwind liveaboard from Tornado Marine Fleet http://www.tornadomarinefleet.com/?p=whirlwind-gallery it was meant to be the new boat mistral but it had some problems and was still in the dock.

The boat was ok but the bathrooms were nasty and the staff wasnt the best - deck hands were superb, the catering staff were not friendly and accused people of stealing beers and other drinks.
we did the get wrecked tour, was ok but there people on the boat that shouldnt have been diving on a liveaboard - 1 guy just had his OW and nothing more, not even extra dives and would be at 50bar in 20 mins.

The best liveaboard you can do for quality (i think) of the boat and service is blue o two horizon is the flagship but voyager is the newest boat http://blueotwo.com/Liveaboards-Egyp...Horizon-Images prices are very good and watch out for specials where they drop them by 50%, book it when you see it otherwise its gone.

always got to remember on the last night is you stay in town or on the boat - it makes a big difference

Heading to Sharm end of April for a week of diving around the national parks, but possibly not going to bother with the day trip to the Thistlegorm...

Last time I went diving, I almost drowned due to the idiotic dive company so I'm keen to get back in the water soon to get my confidence back.

what did the company do?

for land based diving you will be limited in areas but still enough for a good trip.

Thistlegorm is best dived from a liveaboard so you can dive at first light without the hundreds of others divers, but if you have never been before then go for it.. all depends on your depth limits.

Heading to Indonesia for some diving end of the month. Not to keen to dive in the lakes around here...

Red Sea : Did a week with Camel dive in Sharm, friendly bunch. Emperor also have a good rep.

Where to? I have been in Lembeh last month (and the wife who happens to have more vacation days spent them in Raja Ampat...).

We were in Key West diving a wreck. The currents were really strong that when they went to attach the mooring line, the Divemaster got swept about 1/4 mile away. He eventually attached the line and, while all other boats were leaving, we were told it was OK and the current on the wreck itself was fine. The mooring line was horizontal the current was so strong and by the time we'd dragged ourselves to the wreck (60 feet depth) the current was actually stronger and nearly washed me off the line. I was really struggling to breathe with the current and exertion and had to slowly make my way to the surface while hyper-ventilating. My body kept telling me to spit the reg out and breathe but thankfully I kept it clamped in, not fancying doing an emergency ascent in such strong current. No idea where I could've ended up.

Ultimately, I should've known better than to go in (80+ dives, AOW, etc) but the dive company has to take some responsibility. We had Navy divers in our group who said it was some of the worst conditions they've ever been in.

We've been to Sharm before but didn't do the Thistlegorm. The main reason for going is we're both having a shit time at work and we wanted a cheap-ish holiday and we got a good deal on flights and dive package. Might stump up the extra though.

We used Camel before and using them again. Got a good deal of 6 nights accom plus 4 days diving

camel have a good rep in the area, but be careful what you eat in the pomodoro restaurant as the majority of people on our last trip became sick about 4 hours after eating there. 3 were doctors were in the group who after tests confirmed it was e.colli. camel fobbed it off saying it was dehydration/not used to heat etc

I suggest Wicked Diving out of Koh Lak, Thailand! http://www.wickeddiving.com/

You can find decent airline tickets to Phuket and take a taxi to Koh Lak and depart from there. Wicked Diving is WICKED! Very professional, knowledgeable, fun, safe, eco friendly. The liveaboard trips are the best! My husband has been there twice already. I only snorkel and went on the 3 day liveaboard and had a great snorkeling adventure and my husband's diving was great! He also did extra certifications cuz you can't beat the prices! Happy Diving!

We've eaten there before, but the Indian restaurant next door is 10 times better

I want to go back to Thailand...