SeaLog
Certification required
OW
Marsa Nakari House Reef South
Egypt · reef · beginner
1–40 mbeginnerOWshore entry
Marsa Nakari House Reef South
The southern arm of the Marsa Nakari bay: pinnacles and swim-throughs, walked into from the beach and dived unguided.
Max depth1–40 m
Required levelbeginner
Entry typeshore
Visibilitynot sourced
The dive
Marsa Nakari House Reef South is one arm of one house reef, not a site of its own. Marsa Nakari is a Red Sea Diving Safari village on the coast south of Marsa Alam, and its house reef is a natural sandy-bottomed bay formed where a north reef and a south reef run out from the same shoreline. The catalogue holds two pins on it, 210 m apart, and this is the southern one. There is one wide beach entry with the coral starting at the waterline, and from it the reef stretches both north and south; the operator counts six different diving or snorkelling profiles off that single entry point.
The two arms have different characters and the south arm is the structural one. The operator's own description gives the north reef the hard corals, the fish life and the anemone city, and gives the south reef the pinnacles and swim-throughs, which is what divers work it for. The bay itself is shallow, 1 to 10 m over sand, and slopes away gradually until it reaches the outer walls at 40 to 50 m, so a dive on this arm is a choice between pottering the shallow structure inside and following the reef out to where the bottom stops being visible.
The life here is described in macro terms rather than pelagic ones: nudibranchs, shrimps, velvetfish, ghost pipefish and seamoths are the animals the operator names, which is a photographer's list rather than a big-animal list. Turtles and dolphins are called not uncommon, and a school of open-mouthed Indian mackerel patrols the inside of the bay continuously. What actually shapes a stay here is the diving model: after one mandatory guided orientation dive on arrival, certified divers are free to dive the reef unguided within their certification limits, with tanks, weights and house-reef zodiacs included, plus nitrox and night diving. Red Sea Diving Safari requires a dive computer, a delayed SMB and an alternate air source, and a refresher for anyone out of the water for twelve months or more, which is the sensible price of being let loose on a reef with no guide in front of you.
- Pinnacles and swim-throughs, which is what the south arm is dived for
- One wide beach entry with coral starting at the waterline
- Unlimited unguided house-reef diving from sunrise to sunset after the orientation dive
- Macro list of nudibranchs, shrimps, velvetfish, ghost pipefish and seamoths
- A school of Indian mackerel working the inside of the bay
Please note before you go
- Unguided diving is the normal mode here, so your own plan, gas and buddy discipline are the entire safety system
- The bay floor at 1 to 10 m gives way to outer walls at 40 to 50 m, and the transition is gradual enough not to feel like one
- Swim-throughs on the south arm are overhead environments however short
- Zodiac and tender traffic between the beach, the jetty and the offshore sites
Access & rules
Mandatory requirementsGetting there
Shore, straight off the beach at the Marsa Nakari village. One wide entry point with the coral reef starting at the shoreline, and the reef running both north and south from it; dive-travel agents describe the north and south legs as clearly marked from the entry. The village also has an offshore jetty at the water line, reached by a couple of wooden steps, for boarding the tenders and speedboats that run to the outer sites.
Operator
Access to the site runs through a local operator.
Restrictions
This is the village's house reef and you dive it through Red Sea Diving Safari. A guided orientation dive on arrival is mandatory before you may dive unguided, and unguided diving is limited to your certification. The operator requires a dive computer, a delayed SMB and an alternate air source, and a PADI ReActivate refresher for anyone who has not dived in twelve months or more. Unlimited house-reef diving runs during operating hours, sunrise to sunset, with night dives as a separate option.
Season
No source picks months for the Nakari house reef. It is a walk-in bay entry with the reef arms sheltering it, so it stays workable across the year and is the fallback when the speedboat and minibus excursions to the offshore sites cannot run. Season here decides what else you get to dive, not whether the house reef is open.
Conditions
Visibilitynot sourced
Currentnot sourced
Surgenot sourced
WaterSalt water
Depth range1–40 m
Environmentreef
Coralnot sourced
Crowdsnot sourced
Walk-in shore entry into a sheltered sandy bay, 1 to 10 m inside, with the reef arms running north and south from the entry and the outer walls dropping to 40 to 50 m. Dived unguided at your own pace through the day, with night dives from the same entry.
On current: No source publishes a current rating for the Nakari house reef, so this is one to take from the daily briefing rather than from a page. The shape of the place is the useful guide: a sandy-bottomed bay enclosed by two reef arms is sheltered by construction, while the outer walls where the bay drops to 40 to 50 m face open water. The listed depth maximum here is where those outer walls bottom out, not a suggested profile; most of the south arm is worked far shallower than that.
Questions & answers
Is Marsa Nakari House Reef South a separate site from Marsa Nakari North Reef?
No. They are the two arms of one house reef, 210 m apart, running north and south from the same beach entry at the Marsa Nakari village and enclosing one sandy-bottomed bay. The operator does describe them differently: the north arm for hard corals, fish life and its anemone city, the south arm for pinnacles and swim-throughs. This page covers the southern leg.
How deep is the Marsa Nakari house reef?
The bay itself runs from 1 to 10 m over sand and slopes away gradually, and the outer walls where it ends sit at 40 to 50 m. Most diving on the south arm is worked in the shallow structure well inside that, and because you dive unguided here your actual maximum is whatever your certification and your plan allow rather than a house limit.
How do you get into the water at Marsa Nakari?
You walk in. There is one wide entry point straight off the beach with the coral reef starting at the shoreline, and the reef runs both north and south from it, with the legs marked. There is also an offshore jetty at the water line, reached by a couple of wooden steps, but that is for boarding the tenders and speedboats to the outer sites rather than for the house reef.
Can you dive Marsa Nakari's house reef unguided?
Yes, and that is the model the village is built around. After one mandatory guided orientation dive on arrival you are free to dive the reef unguided within your certification limits for the rest of your stay, with unlimited tanks, weights and house-reef zodiacs included. Red Sea Diving Safari requires a dive computer, a delayed SMB and an alternate air source, and a refresher course if you have been out of the water twelve months or more.
Can you snorkel or freedive at Marsa Nakari?
Yes to both, explicitly. The operator states that divers, snorkellers and freedivers all have unlimited use of the house reef, which is accessible from the beach through the same wide entry, and counts six diving or snorkelling profiles off that entry. The shallow sandy bay at 1 to 10 m suits snorkellers, and the south arm's pinnacles give freedivers something to work.
What will you see on the south arm at Marsa Nakari?
The south arm is dived for its topography, pinnacles and swim-throughs, and the life the operator names for the reef is macro rather than pelagic: nudibranchs, shrimps, velvetfish, ghost pipefish and seamoths, which is why photographers gravitate here. Turtles and dolphins are called not uncommon, and a school of open-mouthed Indian mackerel patrols the inside of the bay more or less constantly.
Is Marsa Nakari good for beginners?
The reef itself is, with a walk-in entry, a sheltered sandy bay at 1 to 10 m and coral from the waterline. The thing to weigh is that the village's whole model is unguided diving, so a newly certified diver gets a lot of freedom and very little supervision. Beginners should take the second optional orientation dive and stay inside the bay until the layout is genuinely familiar.
Can you night dive the Marsa Nakari house reef?
Yes, night diving is offered as an option on top of the unlimited house-reef package, using the same beach entry. A fixed, walk-in entry into a shallow enclosed bay is about as forgiving as a night dive gets, and the macro life the reef is known for is exactly the sort that rewards a torch after dark.
Life recorded at Marsa Nakari House Reef South
60 species within 1.5 km · OBISTaeniura lymmaoccasional · 7 recordsTriaenodon obesusrare · 4 recordsGymnothorax javanicusrare · 3 recordsBalistoides viridescensrare · 2 records
Rastrelliger kanagurtaoccasional · 6 records
Heniochus intermediusoccasional · 6 records
All 60 species recorded in this area
| Species | How often | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Taeniura lymma | occasional | 7 |
| Rastrelliger kanagurta | occasional | 6 |
| Heniochus intermedius | occasional | 6 |
| Chaetodon austriacus | occasional | 6 |
| Pterois miles | occasional | 5 |
| Ocypode saratan | occasional | 5 |
| Diodon hystrix | occasional | 5 |
| Rhinecanthus assasi | occasional | 5 |
| Callyspongia crassa | rare | 4 |
| Chaetodon paucifasciatus | rare | 4 |
| Triaenodon obesus | rare | 4 |
| Tridacna maxima | rare | 4 |
| Monotaxis grandoculis | rare | 4 |
| Naso unicornis | rare | 4 |
| Paracirrhites forsteri | rare | 4 |
| Chromis viridis | rare | 3 |
| Coenobita scaevola | rare | 3 |
| Ctenochaetus striatus | rare | 3 |
| Acanthurus sohal | rare | 3 |
| Fistularia commersonii | rare | 3 |
| Chaetodon fasciatus | rare | 3 |
| Chaetodon semilarvatus | rare | 3 |
| Papilloculiceps longiceps | rare | 3 |
| Amphiprion bicinctus | rare | 3 |
| Gymnothorax javanicus | rare | 3 |
| Sufflamen albicaudatum | rare | 3 |
| Pycnochromis dimidiatus | rare | 3 |
| Hipposcarus harid | rare | 3 |
| Amblyglyphidodon indicus | rare | 3 |
| Arothron diadematus | rare | 3 |
| Arothron hispidus | rare | 3 |
| Pseudanthias squamipinnis | rare | 3 |
| Chaetodon auriga | rare | 3 |
| Zebrasoma desjardinii | rare | 3 |
| Zebrasoma xanthurum | rare | 3 |
| Chlorurus gibbus | rare | 3 |
| Pseudobalistes flavimarginatus | rare | 2 |
| Balistoides viridescens | rare | 2 |
| Parupeneus forsskali | rare | 2 |
| Aluterus scriptus | rare | 2 |
| Calloplesiops altivelis | rare | 2 |
| Cephalopholis argus | rare | 2 |
| Diploprion drachi | rare | 2 |
| Halichoeres hortulanus | rare | 2 |
| Mulloidichthys flavolineatus | rare | 2 |
| Mulloidichthys vanicolensis | rare | 2 |
| Myripristis murdjan | rare | 2 |
| Pedum spondyloideum | rare | 2 |
| Plectorhinchus gaterinus | rare | 2 |
| Priacanthus hamrur | rare | 2 |
| Pseudochromis flavivertex | rare | 2 |
| Pygoplites diacanthus | rare | 2 |
| Sargocentron caudimaculatum | rare | 2 |
| Variola louti | rare | 2 |
| Chlorurus sordidus | rare | 2 |
| Eviota guttata | rare | 2 |
| Labroides dimidiatus | rare | 2 |
| Parapercis hexophtalma | rare | 2 |
| Scarus ferrugineus | rare | 2 |
| Abudefduf vaigiensis | rare | 2 |
Nearby sites in Marsa Alam
Explore all sitesMarsa Nakari North Reef0.2 km
Marsa AlamThe north arm of the Marsa Nakari bay, walked into from the beach: hard coral, an anemone patch the dive centre calls anemone city, and a sand floor that runs out to the bay mouth.
Shaab Nakari3.0 km
Marsa AlamAn offshore bank reef where the operators themselves tell you only the northwest side is worth the dive.
Marsa Tondoba4.8 km
Marsa AlamA sheltered training bay 14 km south of Marsa Alam: sand, seagrass and coral patches in water you can stand up in.
Shaab Samadai / Dolphin House8.4 km
Marsa AlamA horseshoe reef whose inner lagoon is closed to people so spinner dolphins can sleep in it - the zoning is the site.
Marsa Samadai10.4 km
Marsa AlamThe horseshoe reef off Marsa Alam where a resident spinner dolphin pod rests by day, run under a permit, a quota and a no-entry zone since 2004.
Sha’ab Marsa Alam16.5 km
Marsa AlamThe offshore reef opposite Marsa Alam town: an enclosed lagoon with coral blocks and a small wreck inside, ergs and an exposed wall outside.
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