Almonda

Almonda is a 40-metre yacht run by the Saudi operator Ocean Breeze Liveaboards — the only vessel in its fleet. She works the Saudi side of the Red Sea: the Seven Sisters off Yanbu, the Five Corals off Rabigh and the Farasan Banks south of Jeddah. These are the reefs people in Egypt describe as “the way it was thirty years ago”: the dive sites here are still known by marker numbers rather than names, because systematic diving started only recently.

The boat was built in 2017 — 39.9 m long, 8.57 m in the beam, 2.5 m draft. The hull is white, with the name Almonda in script on the superstructure and the Ocean Breeze logo aft. In photographs from 2022 the same yacht still wore black graphics along the side and ALMONDA in block capitals: over those years she was repainted and refreshed inside.

Twelve cabins hold 24 guests — eight twins and two double cabins on the lower deck, two suites on the main deck. Every cabin has its own bathroom, individually controlled air conditioning, a porthole or window, a hairdryer and a 32-inch TV with a library of films; you can plug a laptop into the screen and edit underwater images. The sun deck has a hot tub and two partly shaded lounging areas, the upper deck an air-conditioned saloon, the main deck a restaurant seating 24 and a bar.

The operator is unusually brief about money, and that is good news. Ocean Breeze’s booking system carries a field for compulsory supplements — and it is empty. Marine park fees, port fees and the fuel surcharge are already in the trip price, as are the airport transfer, nitrox for certified divers, night dives, full board, soft drinks, water, tea and coffee, Wi-Fi, laundry and towels. In other words, nothing is compulsory to pay on board — only gratuities, gear rental and courses if you want them. Gratuities are described as voluntary, with a suggested figure of 400 riyals per guest. On board you can pay cash in riyals or US dollars, or by Visa/Mastercard: there is a card terminal.

Prices are quoted in Saudi riyals: SAR 9,750 for a week in low season and SAR 10,125 in high season, roughly €2,229 and €2,315. The twin is the base category with no supplement, a double cabin costs 190 riyals more and a suite 570. Places are sold by the berth; whole-boat charters do appear in the calendar, but we leave those dates out of the table because a per-berth price is not available on them. A booking is confirmed with a 30 % deposit, the balance due 60 days before departure.

There is one experience threshold and it is the same on every route: Advanced Open Water and 40 logged dives. That is stricter than the Egyptian standard for northern routes and on a par with the Egyptian south — currents at the Seven Sisters can be strong and the Farasan Banks lie three hours’ steaming from the coast. Up to 18 dives a week, night dives included. Decompression diving is not allowed on board and the depth limit is 40 metres.

What to know about Saudi Arabia before you go. A visa is required: it is issued online or on arrival for eligible nationalities. The operator does not arrange it and publishes no price — check visitsaudi.com. There is no alcohol in the country, none on board, and you cannot bring any in. Dress: normal beachwear on the boat and at the beach; in towns and at religious sites the operator asks for long trousers or a skirt and covered shoulders, while for women exposed hair and arms are acceptable. Diving gloves and knives are forbidden, corals and shells must not be touched or collected, and feeding fish or birds is not allowed. Drones under 250 grams are permitted without a permit — here Saudi Arabia is gentler than Egypt, where drones are banned on liveaboards outright.

The boat works out of four ports and a trip often ends somewhere other than where it began: Yanbu, KAEC (King Abdullah Economic City), Al-Lith and Jeddah. Transfers are included and an Ocean Breeze representative meets you at the airport with a sign. From Jeddah airport it is about an hour to KAEC, 2.5 hours to Al-Lith and 3.5 hours to Yanbu. Check-in is from 18:00, the first night is spent in harbour and the boat sails the next morning; check-out is by 09:00. From late June to mid-September the boat does not run — the heat and the sand-laden desert wind.