Having had such a positive experience with Steve last year, I decided to return this year and booked a full three weeks of diving with Dive UK Hurghada.My holiday was packed with two (and sometimes three) dives each day. I began with several specialty courses, including the PADI Deep Diver and PADI Rescue Diver courses during the first week. I was fortunate to dive with another PADI Master Instructor, Magz, who had taught Steve on his journey to becoming a Master Instructor himself. This opportunity allowed me to gain valuable tips and tricks from another teacher. Maged is incredibly knowledgeable, calm, and passionate about scuba diving. He explained everything in an organized manner, which helped me complete the courses with ease.The second week featured a holiday organized by Dive UK Hurghada called "Shark Week." From the moment I arrived in Hurghada, everything was arranged and included in the package, such as taxi transfers, accommodation, food and drinks. The accommodations were of high quality and all-inclusive. Steve is very selective about who joins him for this week, which makes sense since we aimed to see sharks (primarily Oceanic whitetip sharks) up close. Safety precautions were discussed in detail to ensure that safety remained the top priority at all times.The week began with essential behavioral theory lessons, which were interactive and engaging thanks to Steve's teaching style. This was followed by two days of shore diving to help all participants regain their comfort with buoyancy and trim, as well as practice water entry and exit from the speedboat. Then came the truly thrilling part: three days of shark dives. These included early mornings, beautiful sunrises, and a short speedboat ride to the dive sites. We had five shark dives scheduled, and due to Steve's prior research, we encountered sharks (one to three per dive) in 80% of our dives. Seeing my first shark up close filled me with both excitement and nervousness. However, the thorough briefings and discussions with Steve reassured me that we were well-prepared for the dives and our shark encounters. With each subsequent dive, my excitement grew while my nervousness decreased. On the last day of Shark Week, we attempted a dive with the elusive dugong. Unfortunately, luck was not on our side that day and we didn't manage to find it; however, we did encounter a dugong a week later, which was an incredible experience.During my final week, I completed my PADI Divemaster course. Throughout my training, I had the opportunity to learn from and observe several (Master) Instructors, including Magz, Emma, and of course, Steve. I was consistently challenged to reach the highest possible level, for which I am very grateful. The principle of "see one, do one, teach one" was applied, which resulted in a rapid improvement in my skills and explanations. Over the three weeks, I had the chance to see over 100 clients diving with Dive UK Hurghada, each with different skill levels. This experience taught me a valuable lesson in that it is important to tailor teaching and guiding methods to the individual diver rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach.Overall, I highly recommend diving with Dive UK Hurghada. Don’t worry if you book your holiday while Steve is abroad for one of their trips; I can guarantee that you will learn a lot, improve your diving skills, and enjoy great banter with Emma and/or Magz.
