For many years the Red Sea has been and continues to be among the most popular diving locations on the planet. It became so popular because it is a great tourism spot for all types of holidays.

Guaranteed great weather all year round is just one of the attractive factors, as are the quick and easy flights from European countries into Egypt, that provides a more comfortable visit, and the unforgettable exotic feeling that you get when you are there. Its particular appeal for divers, and visitors wishing to learn, is easy to understand due to the large stretch along the coastline, from the north of the country to the south and into Sudan.

It boasts hundreds of miles of rich coral reefs inhabited by a variety of species, from the tiniest of fish to the bigger pelagics. Particular species are most spotted at specific times of the year, due to their breeding cycle times and travel to warmer waters.

Hurghada Padi Scuba Diving

Perhaps one of the places most related to Scuba Diving is Hurghada. This is due to the fact that the city has an ideal climate, rich marine ecosystems, and incredibly clear water throughout the year. Those are factors that draw diving lovers and professional scuba divers in hordes. For those considering making a trip to this just recently developed seaside city, it would be great to know that there are multiple PADI Diving Courses in Hurgada available.

PADI Open Water course.

For those wanting to go further with learning, they have the choice of taking the PADI Open Water Diver Course. This course generally lasts for 4-5 days and trainees get qualified after completing it. This course consists of class sessions, diving in confined waters, and multiple dive trips out in the sea. For those younger than 15 and are interested in getting certified, there's also the PADI Junior Open Water course.

Adventure Dive's and PADI Advanced Open Water Diver courses

After finishing the PADI Open Water Diver Course, interested people can go ahead and join the PADI Adventure Diver or the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course. These courses do not require long classroom learning and go right to the exciting part - the actual diving. This course is created to further improve and sharpen the diving skills of participants. For 2 days, students of this course get to pick 3 specialties to try (in addition to the mandatory Underwater Navigation and Deep dives), depending on the ones offered by the selected dive. And with various dive sites available in Hurghada and close-by areas, there is no shortage of destinations to visit.

PADI Rescue Diver course

Next in line when it comes to PADI courses in Hurghada is the PADI Rescue Diver course, about 4-5 days. This special course provides training in acknowledging potentially dangerous situations and teaches ways of avoiding them. This course additionally gives knowledge on search and recovery techniques when underwater and on how to provide emergency care. There is also the PADI Junior Rescue Diver course.

PADI Divemaster course

The next level up would be the PADI Divemaster course and is created for those seriously thinking about turning this activity into a career. Comprising of several modules, this course normally takes anywhere from 9 days (PADI minimum required hours) up to 30 days to complete. Upon completion, a Divemaster can carry out training and supervise diving trips and expeditions. To be a qualified Divemaster, students require to experience a minimum of 20 open water dives prior to starting the course, and require to accomplish 40 more by the end of the training, and must be 18 years of age at the start of the course.

Whatever diving specialty or experience a tourist might have, she or he can have the chance to enhance it with a variety of available PADI courses in Hurghada.

After a few photos, this Lonely Planet Guide to Buenos Aires begins with a very calm table of contents, neatly divided into segments on neighbourhoods, shopping, eating, drinking, nightlife, the arts, sports & activities, and sleeping. While this guide is short on photographs, the text is laid out in a simple, easy to digest way that would make this a good choice for pragmatic shoppers more interested in content than visual flair.

History of Argentina

This edition of the Lonely Planet Buenos Aires City Guide begins with a 25 page summarised history of this tumultuous city. In these few pages, Anja Mutic, the author of this section only (the rest was written entirely by Sandra Bao) takes readers on the long journey of Buenos Aires, from its colonisation by the Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century, all the way up to the current Kirchner presidency.

Culture of Buenos Aires

Reading a little about the history of a city before visiting it for the first time is always a worthwhile investment of time, but in the case of travel to Buenos Aires, it is particularly insightful. Why? Buenos Aires is a culture unto itself, and the people who live there have a particular view of themselves and their place in the world based on their long history and tumultuous politics.

The Lonely Planet Buenos Aires City Guide reaches to the bottom of this culture in the first few pages, and gives first time visitors a good introduction into a complicated place, and the hearts of the proud, elegant, and creative people who bring it to life everyday.

Sports in Argentina

Football is a national passion of the people of Argentina in general, and the citizens of Buenos Aires are a particularly virulent breed of football-fanatic. This lonely planet guide refers to attending a game as “an integral part of the Buenos Aires experience” (172) and offers details on which games to consider, where, and when. This section also discusses basketball, rugby, and horse racing, as well as yoga, pilates, and gym memberships available to visitors and temporary residents.

Which Guidebook to Choose?

Many travel guides to Buenos Aires list good restaurants, bars, clubs, and hotels, as well as the usual tourist attractions like the Recoleta Cemetery and the Palermo street markets. What this one provides that others may not is historical context, which puts the unique atmosphere of this town in perspective.

Also, this guide has a particularly extensive section on sports; those interested in attending a game or two while in town may want to check out this guide. Travellers looking for lots of photographs, extensive information about side trips and the areas surrounding the city, or a strong focus on budget travelling may want a different guide.