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Marsa Samadai
Egypt · reef · beginner
6–30 mbeginnerOWboat entry
Marsa Samadai
The 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.
Max depth6–30 m
Required levelbeginner
Entry typeboat
Visibilitynot sourced
The dive
Marsa Samadai is the operator name for Sha'ab Samadai, the offshore reef internationally marketed as Dolphin House. It is a horseshoe about 1.4 km long and 1 km wide lying roughly 11 km, six nautical miles, southeast of the Marsa Alam anchorage; boats leave the marina around 08:30 and the run takes about eighty minutes. Note that this catalogue entry's pin sits inshore of the reef itself, and that our catalogue also holds separate entries for the same horseshoe under the Dolphin House name. Note too that a different Egyptian site, Shaab El Erg near Hurghada, is also sold as Dolphin House; they are several hundred kilometres apart and the rules here do not apply there.
The reef's northern end closes into a shallow sandy lagoon, roughly 350 by 400 m and only 6 to 7 m deep, and that quiet water is where a resident pod of spinner dolphins rests during the day after hunting offshore at night. Pod counts vary a lot, typically around sixty animals on a given day, and a photo-identification study catalogued 218 individually marked dolphins and estimated around 480 using the reserve. The rest of the reef is the actual dive: coral gardens and pinnacles on the outer side, a canyon-like swim-through on the western edge of the lagoon that takes five to ten minutes to pass, and an anemone stand carrying a lot of anemonefish. The outer reef shelves gradually to about 15 m near its southern edge, then falls away steeply, past 200 m on the west side and much further on the east, so the working depth is set by the operator rather than the terrain.
What you actually need to know about Samadai is the management system, because it is real and enforced. Since 2004 the reef has been run under a HEPCA-administered zoning plan marked by coloured buoys: Zone A, the inner lagoon, is closed to people entirely and belongs to the dolphins; Zone B is snorkellers only, with no speedboats; Zone C is where boats moor and diving happens. There is a daily cap on boats and on people, fixed operating hours, a ticket that has to be bought, life jackets compulsory for snorkellers, and a HEPCA representative on site checking. Dolphin encounters are not guaranteed and are not the object of the exercise: you snorkel in the permitted zone and the animals come past or they do not.
- Resident spinner dolphin pod resting in the lagoon by day
- Canyon-like swim-through on the western edge of the lagoon
- Coral gardens and pinnacles around the outside of the horseshoe
- Anemone stand with a large population of anemonefish
- One of the few Egyptian sites with a genuinely enforced zoning plan
Please note before you go
- The outer reef drops past 200 m on the west side and far deeper on the east; there is no bottom to catch a runaway descent
- The western canyon is a five to ten minute overhead passage and is not a beginner feature despite the site's easy rating
- Boat traffic inside the permitted zones, with up to ten boats a day on site
- Currents that are light in the lagoon can be strong on the outer flanks
Access & rules
Mandatory requirementsGetting there
Boat only, from Marsa Alam marina, departing around 08:30 for a run of roughly eighty minutes to a reef about 11 km offshore. You cannot arrive independently: entry is by ticketed permit through a licensed operator, and boats moor in the designated zone rather than anchoring. Nothing on site, so bring everything with you.
Operator
Access to the site runs through a local operator.
Restrictions
Entry is capped and ticketed. A maximum of ten boats a day may enter the reef area, with published caps of 100 divers and, depending on the source, either 100 or 175 snorkellers. Hours are fixed: snorkel-only boats 10:00 to 14:00, boats carrying divers 09:00 to 15:00. Snorkellers must wear life jackets. Zone A, the inner lagoon, is a no-entry sanctuary for the dolphins; Zone B is snorkellers only with speedboats excluded; Zone C is where mooring and diving take place. A HEPCA representative is stationed on site daily to check tickets and compliance, backed by patrol boats. Because of the quota, permits are booked ahead, and in the summer peak that means days rather than hours.
Rules and permits
Samadai has been a managed dolphin reserve since 2004, when the Red Sea Governor handed the management plan to HEPCA after unregulated visits reached up to 30 boats and 500 to 800 people a day. The zoning plan is marked by coloured buoys on the water and enforced by a daily on-site representative, patrol boats and a guide certification requirement. The entrance ticket was documented at 105 EGP, split 30 per cent to HEPCA for mooring maintenance, 30 per cent to the Egyptian national parks and 40 per cent to Marsa Alam city council; that figure is old and modern trips bundle the fee into the trip price, so treat the split rather than the number as the durable fact. The wider Egyptian Red Sea fringing reef was additionally declared a marine nature reserve by Prime Ministerial Decree No. 4419 of 6 December 2025.
Season
The dolphins use the lagoon year round, so season is about weather and booking rather than sightings. April to May and September to November give the settled seas and best visibility on this coast. June to August has the warmest water and the heaviest demand, and because entry is capped by a daily quota that is when permits need booking days rather than hours in advance.
Conditions
Visibilitynot sourced
Currentmoderate
Surgelight
WaterSalt water
Depth range6–30 m
Environmentreef
Coralnot sourced
Crowdsbusy
A calm, shallow, sunlit reef reached by an eighty-minute boat run from Marsa Alam marina. The lagoon is 6 to 7 m of sand and sheltered water; the outer reef shelves to about 15 m before the drop-offs. Water on this coast runs about 22 C in winter to 30 C in summer.
On current: The lagoon and the sheltered side are calm, with light current most days. Around the outside of the horseshoe there are places where the current runs hard, and one operator describes the site overall as low to medium rather than slack. Because the eastern and western flanks drop into very deep water, an outward-setting current on the wall is the one to brief for even though the dive itself is shallow.
Best months: Apr, May, Sep, Oct, Nov
Questions & answers
Do you need a permit to visit Marsa Samadai (Dolphin House)?
Yes. Entry is by ticketed permit through a licensed operator, and the number of visitors is capped: a maximum of ten boats a day, 100 divers, and either 100 or 175 snorkellers depending on which published figure you read. A HEPCA representative is stationed on the reef daily to check tickets, so this is enforced rather than nominal. Because of the quota, book ahead, and in the summer peak book days ahead.
What are the zones at Samadai and what can you do in each?
The reef is divided by coloured buoys into three zones. Zone A is the inner lagoon and is closed to people entirely, so the dolphins can rest undisturbed. Zone B is for snorkellers only, with speedboats excluded, and it is where dolphin encounters actually happen. Zone C is where boats moor and where diving takes place.
Are you guaranteed to see dolphins at Samadai?
No, and the system is designed so that you are not chasing them. A resident pod of spinner dolphins uses the lagoon as a daytime resting ground after hunting offshore at night, typically around sixty animals, though daily counts have ranged from three to over two hundred. You stay in the permitted zone and the animals come past or they do not.
Is it better to dive or snorkel at Samadai?
Snorkel, if the dolphins are your reason for going. Snorkellers work Zone B in shallow sheltered water where the dolphins pass, and operators say plainly that you are more likely to approach them snorkelling than diving. Divers are in Zone C on the outer reef, which is a good reef dive in its own right but a poor dolphin plan. Snorkellers must wear a life jacket.
How deep is Samadai and how hard is the diving?
Shallow and easy. The lagoon is 6 to 7 m of sand, and the outer reef shelves gradually to around 15 m near its southern edge before the wall drops away past 200 m on the west side. Operators rate it beginner-friendly and quote maximums between 16 and 40 m depending on the profile they run. The exception is the canyon on the western edge of the lagoon, a five to ten minute overhead passage that is not a beginner feature.
How do you get to Samadai and how long is the trip?
By boat only. Trips leave the Marsa Alam marina at around 08:30 and take roughly eighty minutes to reach the reef, which sits about 11 km, or six nautical miles, southeast of the anchorage. Operating hours on the reef are fixed at 10:00 to 14:00 for snorkel-only boats and 09:00 to 15:00 for boats carrying divers, so it is a full day out.
Is Samadai the same as the Dolphin House near Hurghada?
No, and it is a common mix-up. Sha'ab Samadai off Marsa Alam and Shaab El Erg near Hurghada are both sold as Dolphin House, and they are several hundred kilometres apart. The permit, zoning and quota system described here belongs to Samadai. Sataya reef further south is also called Dolphin House by some operators.
What will I see at Samadai besides dolphins?
It is a good reef in its own right: coral gardens and pinnacles around the outside of the horseshoe, a canyon-like swim-through on the western edge of the lagoon, and a stand of anemones holding a lot of anemonefish. Expect giant morays in the reef, royal angelfish, butterflyfish, blue-spotted ribbontail rays and giant clams, with turtles, barracuda and the occasional reef shark reported by operators.
Life recorded at Marsa Samadai
60 species within 2.51 km · OBISGymnothorax javanicusrare · 3 recordsBalistoides viridescensrare · 2 recordsTaeniura lymmarare · 2 recordsTursiops truncatusrare · 1 recordsTriaenodon obesusrare · 1 records
Heniochus intermediusoccasional · 5 records
All 60 species recorded in this area
| Species | How often | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Heniochus intermedius | occasional | 5 |
| Chaetodon auriga | rare | 4 |
| Halichoeres hortulanus | rare | 4 |
| Chaetodon austriacus | rare | 4 |
| Chaetodon paucifasciatus | rare | 4 |
| Pomacentrus sulfureus | rare | 4 |
| Amphiprion bicinctus | rare | 4 |
| Dascyllus abudafur | rare | 4 |
| Parupeneus forsskali | rare | 3 |
| Scarus ferrugineus | rare | 3 |
| Chaetodon semilarvatus | rare | 3 |
| Amblygobius albimaculatus | rare | 3 |
| Variola louti | rare | 3 |
| Arothron diadematus | rare | 3 |
| Pterois miles | rare | 3 |
| Mulloidichthys flavolineatus | rare | 3 |
| Oxycheilinus digramma | rare | 3 |
| Pygoplites diacanthus | rare | 3 |
| Gymnothorax javanicus | rare | 3 |
| Pseudochromis fridmani | rare | 2 |
| Balistoides viridescens | rare | 2 |
| Bodianus anthioides | rare | 2 |
| Cheilodipterus macrodon | rare | 2 |
| Ctenochaetus striatus | rare | 2 |
| Dascyllus trimaculatus | rare | 2 |
| Flavocaranx bajad | rare | 2 |
| Hipposcarus harid | rare | 2 |
| Paracirrhites forsteri | rare | 2 |
| Parapercis hexophtalma | rare | 2 |
| Stenella longirostris | rare | 2 |
| Taeniura lymma | rare | 2 |
| Zebrasoma desjardinii | rare | 2 |
| Amblyglyphidodon indicus | rare | 2 |
| Scolopsis ghanam | rare | 2 |
| Tridacna maxima | rare | 2 |
| Abudefduf vaigiensis | rare | 1 |
| Nerita sanguinolenta | rare | 1 |
| Trachinotus blochii | rare | 1 |
| Tursiops truncatus | rare | 1 |
| Chromis viridis | rare | 1 |
| Coenobita scaevola | rare | 1 |
| Fromia ghardaqana | rare | 1 |
| Dascyllus marginatus | rare | 1 |
| Epinephelus tauvina | rare | 1 |
| Monotaxis grandoculis | rare | 1 |
| Mulloidichthys vanicolensis | rare | 1 |
| Myripristis murdjan | rare | 1 |
| Papilloculiceps longiceps | rare | 1 |
| Priacanthus hamrur | rare | 1 |
| Pseudanthias squamipinnis | rare | 1 |
| Ptarmus gallus | rare | 1 |
| Sargocentron caudimaculatum | rare | 1 |
| Synodus dermatogenys | rare | 1 |
| Triaenodon obesus | rare | 1 |
| Pseudocheilinus hexataenia | rare | 1 |
| Phyllidia varicosa | rare | 1 |
| Lethrinus harak | rare | 1 |
| Grammistes sexlineatus | rare | 1 |
| Diodon hystrix | rare | 1 |
| Siganus rivulatus | rare | 1 |
Nearby sites in Marsa Alam
Explore all sitesMarsa Tondoba5.8 km
Marsa AlamA sheltered training bay 14 km south of Marsa Alam: sand, seagrass and coral patches in water you can stand up in.
Sha’ab Marsa Alam6.6 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.
Shaab Samadai / Dolphin House7.6 km
Marsa AlamA horseshoe reef whose inner lagoon is closed to people so spinner dolphins can sleep in it - the zoning is the site.
Shaab Nakari9.7 km
Marsa AlamAn offshore bank reef where the operators themselves tell you only the northwest side is worth the dive.
Marsa Nakari North Reef10.2 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.
Marsa Nakari House Reef South10.4 km
Marsa AlamThe southern arm of the Marsa Nakari bay: pinnacles and swim-throughs, walked into from the beach and dived unguided.
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