Trip report: Israel 2/3
Sep. 29th, 2011 01:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
izardOne of the most prominent attractions of Eilat is Dolphin reef.
That is a fenced area where there are few employees, a dog, few cats, very small fenced see area packed with visitors like seashore near Sochi, slightly bigger area with pack of dolphins swimming and hordes of divers watching the dolphins.
Then there is a special area floating on the dolphin's pool where ppl come and see dolphins.
Swimming in snorkeling mask and diver's suit costs almost the same (snorkel is ~10% cheaper), but if you choose snorkeling you are not allowed to swim!!! I mean it, you cannot dive, you cannot move faster than ~2 meters per minute, all you can do is to float on the water (while holding hands of two strangers!) and move head around to see dolphins. The pool is very small so it is easy to spot dolphins, some times they come very close. Of course, it is not allowed to touch them (which is a fair rule I think). But wait, how can you touch anything if your hands are busy holding hands of two other guys any way?
There is a good thing: they provide a wetsuit. I don't get it why wetsuit is useful in Red Sea, water is warm enough up to at least 5 meters down, and I don't dive deeper. However if you are not allowed to move while lying on water with your face down for 30 minutes wetsuit is a must!
So if you are like me love swimming but don't want to use any heavy equipment, the closest you can get to Dolphins is swim with them across the fence.
Fence is nearly opaque, but dolphins are curious if someone is swimming near the net and come close any way.
There is an entrance fee which is waived if one would pay for snorkeling or diving. My wife paid both entrance fee and ticket for snorkeling, so make your mind before entering, they do not return entrance fee!
That is a fenced area where there are few employees, a dog, few cats, very small fenced see area packed with visitors like seashore near Sochi, slightly bigger area with pack of dolphins swimming and hordes of divers watching the dolphins.
Then there is a special area floating on the dolphin's pool where ppl come and see dolphins.
Swimming in snorkeling mask and diver's suit costs almost the same (snorkel is ~10% cheaper), but if you choose snorkeling you are not allowed to swim!!! I mean it, you cannot dive, you cannot move faster than ~2 meters per minute, all you can do is to float on the water (while holding hands of two strangers!) and move head around to see dolphins. The pool is very small so it is easy to spot dolphins, some times they come very close. Of course, it is not allowed to touch them (which is a fair rule I think). But wait, how can you touch anything if your hands are busy holding hands of two other guys any way?
There is a good thing: they provide a wetsuit. I don't get it why wetsuit is useful in Red Sea, water is warm enough up to at least 5 meters down, and I don't dive deeper. However if you are not allowed to move while lying on water with your face down for 30 minutes wetsuit is a must!
So if you are like me love swimming but don't want to use any heavy equipment, the closest you can get to Dolphins is swim with them across the fence.
Fence is nearly opaque, but dolphins are curious if someone is swimming near the net and come close any way.
There is an entrance fee which is waived if one would pay for snorkeling or diving. My wife paid both entrance fee and ticket for snorkeling, so make your mind before entering, they do not return entrance fee!
