DIVING Tour

The “Sunrise” ship created an artificial reef almost in the very center of the bay, which sandy bottom and moderate depth (not more than 30 m) attracts countless numbers of sea dwellers. Here one should be careful of skates reaching up to 3 meter in diameter. The old fishing nets entangled in the ship’s gear also represent a danger to divers. Sometimes there are strong currents and low visibility. But in February-March the sea gets very calm and it is quite possible to watch tens of fish species schooling around the wrack.   

This wrack is worth staying one more day in Shuab Bay to make a few dives.

2. Eastern Cape Ras Di Erissel is the place where numerous ships have been colliding with the rocks covered by the water area of a few square miles for centuries. These are an improper mapping of the island, strong winds and very heavy currents combined with a low visibility of this area that caused hundreds or maybe even thousands shipwrecks here. The whole of the shallow water area is covered with the fragments of ancient ships. There are also a few big recent and fairly preserved shipwrecks that remain insufficiently explored for the present. The place has 7 diving sites.

3. Dihamri Marine Protected Area is famous for a great variety of corals and fish species. It has five diving sites with the deepest dives up to 50 meters. Night dives are also possible.

4. Rosh Marine Protected Area is famous for a reef stretching for about 1 km off the coast. It has one big diving site with dives between 10 and 15 meters. Night dives are also possible.

5. Adho has 2 diving sites with dives up to 30 meters.

VISAS PROCEEDURES:

We need you to send us copy of your passports in order to process your visas from here. Once we received the scan of your passport page (the one with photo) we will process the visa and send you a scan of the visa two weeks before your arrival. Please bring it with you. The original will be waiting for you upon your arrival to Socotra airport or Sana'a airport and we will be there to help you. You hand them your passport and the scan of the visa. They will put the visa into your passport. You do not need to pay anything at this point. With the passport now provided with a visa and the filled-in "arrival card" you proceed to the immigration and then pick up your luggage. This is when you will meet us at the airport.

 ACCOMODATION OPTIONS:

Most of our itineraries are "ECO" so we strongly suggest to our guests to stay in eco campsites. There are however two eco lodges close to Hadibo: Adeeb and Delisha.and four hotels on Socotra, all of them in Hadibo: three economic hotels  (Taj Socotra Hotel, Socotra Tourists Hotel and Hafej Hotel). The stay in the hotel is included in the itinerary. 

For some of our clients certain services are indispensable. We suggest that they opt for more expensive option: the Summerland hotel which costs $75 single room, $140 double room and $220 suite. Please, let us know if you want to be accommodated at Summerland so we can add it to your itinerary.

COMMUNICATION OPTIONS:

There is no possibility of using your GSM mobile phone on Socotra, and anyway in many places there is no mobile coverage (which some of our visitors find a relief!) BUT: life is life and sometimes you absolutely need to be reachable or to reach someone. In these cases we can provide your guide with a CDMA mobile phone which has a sim-card and you can buy the scratch cards to replenish it (to top it up) and use it as you go.

INTERNET OPTIONS:

The only place where you can use internet on Socotra is in the capital, Hadibo where you will not be for a long time. It is possible to check your email, etc in our agency office for free, but the connection is sometimes slow. You can eventually use our desktop and connection to check your email.

 ELECTRICITY OPTIONS:

You will have a car charger in your car.

 PAYMENT:

As there is no ATMs services on Socotra, we will expect you to pay for the itinerary and the visa in cash (preferably US dollars or else euros) when you are here in Socotra at the beginning or at the end of your tour. If you do not like to carry cash with you, then you can wire us the totality or part of it, we leave it up to you. The only amount that we NEED to get via wire is the cost of your domestic tickets, as this is outside our accounting system.  We will send you our bank details once you plan to do the transfer.