The MY Almonda is now operating in Saudi Arabia after moving there from Egypt , and I have just returned from a liveaboard trip to Five Corals & Seven Sisters. The dive sites that are no longer within reach of day trips are beautiful but not spectacular. There were sightings of tiger sharks, silky sharks, and hammerhead sharks, as well as beautiful reefs similar to those in Egypt. However, I must issue a warning about the condition of the boat and the organization of its operations. There were some positive aspects, including the excellent food prepared by the kitchen team and the great efforts and friendliness of the staff responsible for service in the salon and rooms. Now, onto the negative points: 1. Airport-Hotel-Boat Transfer: We were awakened in the middle of the night (3:30 AM) for a 4 AM transfer to the boat, which didn't depart until 9 AM. Delays can happen, but such a late departure after an early wake-up call is unacceptable. 2. Dive Guides/Cruise Director: It was the first time in the 42 dive safaris I've participated in that the dive guide did not know the dive area and was conducting their first tour. This led to a mediocre dive experience, as the guide did not show much underwater. 3. Dive Deck Team: The presence of an inexperienced cruise director on board also resulted in poor performance from the dive deck team. They seemed disorganized, unhelpful, and in some cases, lazy compared to other dive safaris I've been on worldwide. One member of the dive deck staff used my dive light without permission, breaking the attachment ring. Kudos to the dive guide who replaced it for free. 4. Tanks, Air, and Nitrox Oxygen Content: It was shocking to see that all tanks were past their visual inspection dates and should not have been used for diving. The air in the tanks had an unusual odor and taste, which caused headaches for some divers. The analyzed oxygen content in the Nitrox mix varied on each dive, indicating an issue with the compressor's membrane or the need for maintenance. 5. Dinghies and Their Use: Both dinghies on the boat were in a dilapidated state. One had a leak from the beginning and became unusable after a while. Neither dinghy had a ladder for getting in and out, which should be a standard safety feature in the diving industry in 2023. Additionally, one side of the dinghies lacked a line for holding onto, which is simply dangerous. The dive deck team and dinghy driver were poorly trained in the entry process, leading to several minor incidents where people sprained ankles or got their feet/ankles caught between the main boat and dinghy. During the entry process, the dinghy driver initiated a countdown while the motor propeller was still running forward, which is unacceptable and extremely dangerous. 6. Dive Platform on the Main Boat: One of the wooden boards of the dive platform ladder on the main boat is secured with a very long screw, posing a serious safety hazard, especially in rough seas when divers' movements become less coordinated, and the ladder swings up and down. 7. Air Conditioning: The air conditioning partially malfunctioned during the trip, making sitting and dining in the salons and sleeping in the cabins very uncomfortable. 8. Handrail on the Stairs to the Lower Deck Cabins: The attachment of the handrail is broken at one point, especially hazardous in heavy seas, as the hand can easily get caught between the handrail and the adjacent wall. 9. Missing Rudder on the Main Boat: During a safety stop under the boat, I noticed that one of the two rudders was missing. This raises serious questions about whether the MY Almonda is still seaworthy according to Saudi Arabian standards. In summary, while there were some positive aspects to the MY Almonda liveaboard experience, the boat's condition and operational issues significantly detracted from the overall quality of the trip.

All the guides who are hired on a free lance basis were excellent. However, SaudiArabiantours.net is a poor company with weak service. Their phone number is not connected and when you have a problem you cannot connect with them. They use "bait and switch" tactics. They offer breakfasts every day. They only happen if the hotel offers them. If not, you don't get them. One hotel they put us in had no toilet paper, no towels and no drinking water. Guides work for any company who calls, Do yourself a favor and book with any other company. If not you will get cheated.

I went to Saudi Arabia for a week in January 2022 with my 12 year old daughter. We arranged a day trip to Taif from Jeddah with Saudi Arabia tours, and then a 3 day visit to Al Ula and did the remainder of the itinerary by ourselves. The Taif day trip went quite well. The program was interesting , the guide engaging and the price acceptable given the distances covered. But I expected more from our trip to Al Ula. For instance, Saudi Arabia tours organised a day trip that covers Madain Saleh and Dadan / Jebel Ikmah for US$760 for the two of us ($380 per person). When we did the trip we found that you cannot take your own guide, you can only visit on the organised buses which leave from the winter garden in Al Ula. I now know it is possible to buy tickets on yourself (it is not hard to find the experience Al Ula website) and self organise the day. It costs SAR95 for an adult and SAR45 for a child up to 12 for the Madain Saleh tour and SAR60/30 for the Dadan / Jebel Ikmah tour. So we could have visited for SAR230 if we had known. Thats the equivalent of US$61. It means we paid $700 for the taxi ride to and from the site for the guide to pick us up and drop us off, Saudi Arabia tours also charged us US$400 per night for the accommodation in Al Ula which I later found should have been priced around US$150. And when I asked about activities like the Hidden Valley walk in Al Ula they just said it wasn't available. While there we found an adventure tour operator offering the activity. It was definitely available. The guide we had in Al Ula was a nice man, but he didn't know anything about guiding. When we asked to go to a restaurant for dinner we were taken to a cafe selling croissants and cakes. And in the end he wasn't interested in taking us anywhere, he just dropped us at the adventure tour company so we could organize alternative activities. In total we paid more than US$5,000 for the 4 days itinerary and I can only comment that we were severely overcharged. They even were cheeky enough to ask for more money after we returned home. FYI - Saudi Arabian tours is actually based in Egypt and organizes tours in the region. I do think the guy who organized our itinerary was trying hard and it seemed like we would get the trip we wanted (which is why I agreed to pay so much) but it just didn't work the way they said it would. I don't think this company knows Saudi Arabia well at all and would suggest that if you want a tour, visit the official tourism site for Saudi Arabia and there are many operators to choose from. Apart from the day in Taif which we liked, this was a poorly organised and badly overcharged tour. I cannot recommend this operator at all.