Question 1

How deep is the south end of the Lahami Bay house reef?

Accepted Answer

Very shallow. Nautilus gives the Banana section, which is the southernmost of the house reefs, as 2 to 7 m and calls it ideal for beginners. Taucher.net's record for the house reef gives a maximum of 9 to 10 m, and a snorkelling account says Banana seldom reaches 15 m for divers. We record 2 to 15 m so nobody plans shallow and finds themselves deeper than expected.

Question 2

Is this a different dive from Lahami Bay Hausriff Nord?

Accepted Answer

Not really. Our catalogue carries two pins 390 m apart for one house reef in front of the Lahami Bay Beach Resort, and the dive centre describes that reef as a single banana shaped ridge over 1.5 km long. This pin is the southern end, the section sources call Banana; the northern pin sits at the North Beach entry end. Treat them as two positions on one reef.

Question 3

How do you get in at this end?

Accepted Answer

From the resort's beach base. Nautilus describes the route to the Banana section as entering at the base and swimming out past a baby reef to the marker buoy that marks the section. Tanks and weights are available around the clock at the beach station. South Beach, immediately beyond this pin, is described as having no reef, so there is no entry further south.

Question 4

Can beginners dive here?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and this is the section sources single out for them. Nautilus calls the Banana reef ideal for beginners at 2 to 7 m while still worthwhile for experienced divers, and describes it as a good place to watch schooling fish. Extra Divers still require a check dive from everyone, and only divers with more than 25 logged dives may go in with a buddy rather than a guide.

Question 5

What condition is the coral in at the Banana section?

Accepted Answer

Reported as poor. A diver review of the resort's base names the Banana and Big sections specifically as largely covered in fine sediment with most coral dead, and a 2024 comment on the bay describes heavy sandstorm damage about two years earlier with widespread browning. HEPCA's 2024 bleaching report puts the southern Wadi El Gemal sector at up to 50.1 percent bleached, with 75 to 88 percent recovery estimated for 2025.

Question 6

What will I see here?

Accepted Answer

Schooling fish, and sharks and turtles if you go early. Nautilus reports parrotfish and wrasse in abundance on this section and puts whitetip reef sharks and turtles on the early morning dives. A 2011 report from this house reef records two turtles, a large ray, sweetlips and a small Napoleon wrasse. Records for this pin include humphead wrasse, blue-spotted ribbontail ray, giant moray, coral hind and twinspot snapper.

Question 7

Is there current in the bay?

Accepted Answer

Generally mild. The bay is described as sheltered from the flow that runs on the open coast outside it, which is what makes the house reef divable unguided by qualified divers. Current can set parallel to the shore, which is worth knowing on a long narrow reef where you swim out along one side. No source publishes a numerical rating, so ask at the centre for the day.

Question 8

Can you dive it at night?

Accepted Answer

Sources disagree, so check at the desk. Extra Divers say the house reef is divable between 08:00 and 18:00 and offer sunset dives. A review from the base's earlier operator, Baracuda, says house reef diving is possible at any time but that there is no night diving. Either way the reef is entered through the centre and a check dive is required before your first entry.

Species	How often	Records
Scarus niger	occasional	15
Flavocaranx bajad	occasional	14
Thalassoma rueppellii	occasional	12
Paracirrhites forsteri	occasional	12
Chlorurus sordidus	occasional	12
Cephalopholis miniata	occasional	11
Pterois miles	occasional	10
Monotaxis grandoculis	occasional	10
Pseudanthias squamipinnis	occasional	9
Scarus ferrugineus	occasional	9
Abudefduf sexfasciatus	occasional	9
Amphiprion bicinctus	occasional	9
Diodon hystrix	occasional	9
Amblyglyphidodon indicus	occasional	9
Parupeneus cyclostomus	occasional	8
Chlorurus gibbus	occasional	8
Lutjanus bohar	occasional	8
Pomacentrus sulfureus	occasional	7
Plectorhinchus gaterinus	occasional	7
Epibulus insidiator	occasional	7
Taeniura lymma	occasional	7
Caesio lunaris	occasional	6
Pseudobalistes flavimarginatus	occasional	6
Siganus stellatus	occasional	6
Zebrasoma desjardinii	occasional	6
Ocypode saratan	occasional	6
Neoniphon sammara	occasional	6
Cephalopholis argus	occasional	6
Cheilinus lunulatus	occasional	6
Glaucostegus halavi	occasional	6
Mulloidichthys flavolineatus	occasional	6
Chaetodon paucifasciatus	occasional	5
Dascyllus abudafur	occasional	5
Ostracion cubicum	occasional	5
Macolor niger	occasional	5
Variola louti	occasional	5
Hipposcarus harid	occasional	5
Stegastes nigricans	occasional	5
Scarus frenatus	occasional	5
Parapercis hexophtalma	occasional	5
Sargocentron caudimaculatum	occasional	5
Coris aygula	occasional	5
Cheilinus undulatus	occasional	5
Tridacna maxima	rare	4
Cetoscarus bicolor	rare	4
Chaetodon austriacus	rare	4
Chaetodon larvatus	rare	4
Chaetodon semilarvatus	rare	4
Corythoichthys flavofasciatus	rare	4
Corythoichthys schultzi	rare	4
Gymnothorax javanicus	rare	4
Heniochus intermedius	rare	4
Lutjanus kasmira	rare	4
Millepora dichotoma	rare	4
Myripristis murdjan	rare	4
Priacanthus hamrur	rare	4
Pygoplites diacanthus	rare	4
Scolopsis ghanam	rare	4
Thalassoma lunare	rare	4
Abudefduf vaigiensis	rare	4

Lahami Bay Hausriff South

Lahami Bay Hausriff South

The dive

Please note before you go

Access & rules

Certification required

Getting there

Operator

Restrictions

Rules and permits

Season

Conditions

Questions & answers

Life recorded at Lahami Bay Hausriff South

Nearby sites in Hamata

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