UMBI'S BLOG

Simple, laid back, and very relaxing A friend and I just stayed here this week and had an absolutely fantastic experience. She had a small beach cabin, and I took a room up high with a terrace (room 404 was lovely). The staff here was so friendly and helpful and helped us to book the ferry to Aqaba and arranged for a driver to Nuweiba. If you are a cat lover, there are very sweet kittens that will snuggle up on your lap. And the dinner was very good.This place was very quiet and relaxing- nothing fancy- but holds the charm of what Sharm used to be like.

you really come as a guest and leave as a friend this is egypt the way we like it: real, with people with warmth insideVery good diving centerwith excelent dive guides, quaint, but comfortable, rooms .A very good restauran,t and bedouine caféO Yes I almost forgot EXCELLENT dive guides

Perfect for us and Brilliant value for money. We had a beach hut (aka our hippy hut). Basic. But absolutely brilliant! Very clean, clean bed linen and towels, comfy beds, full size fridge, excellent ac. Ensuite perfectly adequate! My husband has mobility issues and being a few steps to the beach was bliss…not to mention Umbi restaurant….which absolutely has to be not only some of the best food in sharm, but the best location too. Honestly, this place is just perfect. The accommodation although basic is great, the food and location couldn’t be better. I write this with some fear that everyone will come here and spoil the blissful, peaceful, chilled evenings sitting reading or playing cards on the comfy sofas just feet away from the sea! If your looking for “all abusive”, “entertainment “ and loud guests…it’s not for you. But if you’re a keen diver, snorkeller, old hippy or just love chilling and peace and calm…it’s a little piece of heaven.

Верь в мечту и она исполнится Мое знакомство с Египтом произошло не так давно ,всего три года назад.И с первых дней отдыха мое сердце отдано Шарм-эль-Шейху ❤️Как и у всех отдыхающих у нас были обычные экскурсии ,квадрациклы ,снорклинг ну и конечное дайвинг ) .Именно с этого момента начинается моя страсть к дайвингу и погружениям ! И мне теперь не достаточно просто нырять как туристу на 10 метров . Теперь у меня появилась мечта получить сертификат Open Water …В Шар-эль-Шейхе есть много дайверских школ ,но мой выбор остановился именно на Sharks Bay Umbi и я об этом нисколечко не пожалела . Здесь работают очень замечательные люди . Здесь вам всегда и во всех вопросах идут на встречу. Я не говорю по Английский и мое пожелание было обучаться на русском языке .Мне предоставили русскоговорящего инструктора .Сказать что мне понравился инструктор это ничего не сказать . Только благодаря ей я сразу закончила и второй курс Advanced Open Water . Юля ,огромное тебе спасибо за твой труд и профессионализм ,ты мега крутой инструктор . Отдельное спасибо всем сотрудникам дайвцентра Sharks Bay …Вы все без исключения профессионалы своего дела и просто замечательные люди ❤️Я очень рада что выбрала именно вас … На этом мое знакомство с морем и дайвингом не закончилось … И когда моя мечта исполнилась ,появилась новая мечта ….побывать на сафари …4 дня в море на яхте ….Я верила что скоро вернусь в такой уже родной Sharks Bay …

Awesome place to dive and stay Great place to stay and dive. All the village lays is on the beach and the diving center too, there is also a Bedouin restaurant, some shops and a minimarket (there are only some soft drinks and a few snacks, don't expect a complete supermarket)The rooms and the restaurant aren't fancy, but the are very clean and convenient.The food is good enough, but that's it. But we experienced the same in all Sharem restaurants we have been. We did two initial diving courses with Natascha, she is simply THE BEST! She had more than 40 years of experience diving and teaching. She was so kind and patient, we all fell in love with her. So if you're planning to do some diving courses, do not asitate: Natcha is your best choice.

Amazing experience The hotel is not a luxury one, but their slogan is "you come as a guest and leave as a friend", and they're right!The ambience was super chill and friendly. The staff are very friendly.Beyond, the place is calm and beautiful.We did there a diving course, with the BEST INSTRUCTOR EVER, Natascha Scheffler. She was like our diving mum! Firm when needed, caring, supporting us in the fun dives and also when we had some difficulties. This is a big THANK YOU.

Fantastic dive trip for our honeymoon! We booked the 5 day/4 night liveaboard trip and it was simply fantastic. We stayed on the Freedom III and it was extremely comfortable and spacious for a small boat. The cabins were kept immaculately clean by the wonderful Tyson, and the showers were pleasantly warm with great pressure to wash the Red Sea off. The food was OUTSTANDING. I’m vegan and whilst I appreciate that can be a little tricky to cater to at times, chef Samir did an amazing job. What made our trip even more special is he made us a cake on our last night in the boat to celebrate our honeymoon! Whilst we are relatively experienced divers we still rent equipment wherever we go, the dive shop made this process very easy and all equipment was in fantastic shape, making all our dives comfortable and safe. Our dive guides were Mahmoud and Mahmoud, both were incredible, giving clear briefs before each dive, pointing out marine life (I still have no idea how they spot stone fish!) and keeping us safe throughout. The diving itself was beautiful, the visibility was so clear it was like diving in HD! The water is pleasantly warm, even on the night dives, and whilst a couple of dives we came up against some current, most dives were very relaxed and easy. We were meant to dive Thistlegorm but the itinerary changed, initially we were a little disappointed but appreciate schedules have to change beyond anyone’s control. Instead we went to Dunraven and that was a brilliant wreck dive! My only criticism: lose the plastic cups! We would only use mugs for our soft drinks but plastic cups were always on offer.

Fantastic 2 week stay with Umbi Sharks Bay Umbi was everything that I hoped it would be. I spent 2 weeks at the village, including 5 days in a liveaboard, and absolutely loved it. Before my trip, the communication from Sharks Bay Umbi was great as I had quite a complex itinerary to ask for a quote on. They were really helpful and everything was set up and organised for my arrival. I stayed in both the beach hut and Bedouin accomodation. The beach huts were basic but still clean and had all the facilities needed, with the Bedouin huts more luxurious albeit up 100 or so steps in most cases. The diving school was exceptional and I absolutely loved all the instructors that I dived with (Natascha, Mahmoud, Kemo, Fahd). The school had a great balance of maintaining safety and responsible diving whilst always ensuring the absolute best experience for their divers. The attached restaurant was also great, with a good variety of options and excellent service at a fantastic price relative to other nearby options. The whole resort is very chilled out and relaxed, and has a small community feel which I enjoyed and preferred to what I imagine other resort areas may have been like. The only few things that I would say could be improved are the use of plastic in the restaurant which remains very high and could be reduced quite easily, and also the payment process for those from outside of Egypt. I had hoped to pay via bank transfer in advance to avoid card charges, but I wasn't provided an invoice in advance and would have needed to be in the UK to make a payment to an Egyptian bank account. As a result, I paid a good chunk more than was on my final invoice in charge fees. That said the overall price for the amount of time was still very reasonable and a lot better than elsewhere. Overall the experience with Sharks Bay Umbi was wonderful and I would recommend a stay for anyone looking for amazing diving and a great dive centre! Needless to say we will return in the future.

Great liveaboard experience I booked a liverboard with Sharksbay Freedom III to dive in different dive sites across Ras Muhammed, Straits of Tiran and some local sites. It was a great experience and really enjoyed my dives. I also did an enriched nitrox course (wet). Really liked my experience with the diving company and found them very professional. They also prepared lot of vegetarian food as per my dietary requirements and the liveaboard was also very well maintained. Being my first one, I am totally excited to go on the next one very soon!

Special place Umbi really is a special place. Sharm can be busy and hectic, but not Umbi- the pace and the atmosphere of the place is just heavenly. It it a little place of peace and beauty, one of those places you don’t want too many people to hear about haha. I have now recommended Umbi to several of my diving friends who have all enjoyed it as much as me and have returned several times also. The rooms are basic, but more than adequate and comfortable. Perfectly located on a private beach which is a an ideal spot to chill and chat with fellow divers after a day on the boat. The diving in sharm is excellent, but made better with experienced and knowledgeable guides such as the legend Mr Adel. I will be back there soon for sure.