If you’re anything like me, then you also love dolphins. There’s something about their smiley faces and playful character that make them great snorkelling or diving buddies. If you want the chance to swim with dolphins in the Red Sea, you should consider snorkelling or scuba diving Sataya Reef or Dolphin Reef.
Sataya Reef (Dolphin Reef) is best known for snorkelling and diving with spinner dolphins. Located in the Red Sea about 30km (19 miles) off the Egyptian coast near Hamata, which is about an 75 minute drive south from Marsa Alam, which can be experience by day boats or by Red Sea Liveaboard.
The best way to dive the Red Sea, and especially the best and more remote locations in the Red Sea, is by a scuba diving liveaboard. You can check the latest and best deals on Red Sea liveaboards using the following window:
Satayah Reef (Dolphin Reef) is part of the Fury Shoals reef, which is shallow lagoon that is used as a resting place for large numbers of spinner dolphins. This is nature and they are wild dolphins, and whilst there are no guarantees to see dolphins, most trips to Satayah Reef see them there.
Sataya Reef is often nicknamed Dolphin House, which is actually another reef altogether north of Sataya Reef, which is off the coastline near Marsa Nakari and Marsa Alam. It gets the nickname of Dolphin house, as it’s like a house where dolphins live.
Here’s an example video of what Sataya Reef is like. The dolphins arrive at about 2:22.
The spinner dolphins use Sataya Reef as a safe resting place in between feeding trips and is a safe place for their calves.
It’s when the dolphins are resting and often playing in the shallows when divers and snorkelers can see these beautiful creatures in the wild. Sataya reef has a protected shallow area, which is about 7-10 metres (23-33 feet) that is away from the dangers of the deep Red Sea.
Sataya Reef rules when swimming with dolphins
If you are lucky, you could have between 20-30 spinner dolphins come up to you when you snorkel or dive Sataya Reef. But what rules should you follow?
Don’t touch the dolphins.
Don’t feed the dolphins.
Never chase after the dolphins ands let them come to you.
Always wear your life jacket.
Swim gentle and without making too much of a splash.
“This place is unbelievable. Snorkeling with dolphins in the wild is something I never expected to do but there were hundreds (seriously) her it’s a good couple of hours on the boat from the marina and it was 2 and a half hours from my hotel to the marina so a long day but worth every second of travel for that experience.“
You may be better to do the overnight trip on a Red Sea liveaboard, as you get to spend more time of the reef with a better chance to experience swimming with the dolphins.
Egypt Sataya Dolphin Reef Marsa Alam has two of the most important dolphin habitats in the Red Sea and the world. Samadai reef, more commonly known as “Dolphin House” as well as the more remote but equally if not more important “Sataya Reef.” They are both homes to large families of spinner dolphins.
Shaab Samadai (Dolphin House)
Shaab Samadai (Dolphin House) is not to be confused with Sataya Reef.
Shaab Samadai (Dolphin House) is about 10km (6.5 miles) off the Egyptian coast from Marsa Nakari Red Sea Diving Safari, or 20km (13 miles) off the coast from Marsa Alam. This reef is another place where you’ll find large pods of spinner dolphins too, together with coral gardens of soft and hard corals.
Shaab Samadai (Dolphin House) is a marine park protected by law to protect the spinner dolphins that come to rest there during the day.
Accessed from Marsa Nakari village by zodiac, which takes about 20 minutes.
From Marsa Shagra add a further 30 minutes for the car transfer to Marsa Nakari.
What is it like to dive and snorkel Sataya Reef with dolphins?
Diving or snorkeling with wild dolphins is an experience you will never forget. These inquisitive and intelligent mammals often love to interact with humans, but it’s important you let the dolphins come to you.
Every time I’ve dived or snorkelled with wild dolphins, I’ve always considered the experience to be a privilege. It’s very unique and Sataya Reef is one of the best places in the world to have this privilege to enjoy being in the water with spinner dolphins. But you may also be lucky to see bottlenose dolphins too at Sataya Reef.
“Orca Dive Centre at Wadi Lahmy Azur invited me for a one day trip at the dolphin house at Sataya Reef… It was beyond amazing I can’t find words to express how beautiful it was. Worth visiting.”
I hope you enjoyed this page about Sataya Reef (Dolphin Reef): Snorkel + Dive With Dolphins
If you have more questions either about snorkelling or scuba diving (or specifically about Sataya Reef (Dolphin Reef): Snorkel + Dive With Dolphins), please comment below with your questions.
Please share your experiences, plus dive sites, resorts and liveaboards you recommend. Share the time of year of your trip together with what you saw, the visibility, currents and dive operator, as this will help others who read this page.
Sataya Reef (Dolphin Reef): Snorkel + Dive With Dolphins
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Article written by Russell Bowyer who has been a scuba diver since diving on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia in 1989. After his first dive he trained as a BSAC diver in the UK. He attained his Diver Leader certification with BSAC. He then went on to become a scuba diving instructor, teaching others how to dive and was voted as Diving Officer and Treasurer for the Saffron Walden BSAC club too. Russell has dived all over the world, including the UK, on liveaboards in the Red Sea, the Caribbean, South Africa and the USA. Russell is experienced in all dive types, including drift diving, deep dives that involved decompression stops and recreational dives too.
