SeaLogEgypt · reef
A hotel jetty, a reef straight off it, and almost no published numbers.
This is the house reef of the Novotel Marsa Alam Beach Resort, whose own address puts it 19 km south of El Quseir on the Marsa Alam road. The reef is worked by the SeaWorld dive centre, which has operated a branch inside the hotel since 2015 and states that the reef lies directly opposite the base. Diving is from the hotel jetty, on the north and south sides, with night dives available.
Beyond that, the numbers are simply not published. Neither the hotel nor the dive centre gives a depth, a visibility figure, a current or a minimum certification for the reef, and we have left all of those empty rather than borrow them from a neighbour. That matters here because the neighbours are close: our own catalogue puts the Utopia Beach house reefs 1.6 and 1.8 km away, and their figures are not this site's.
The occurrence record is a normal fringing-reef community sampled from the shore: land hermit crab is the commonest record of all, followed by common lionfish, porcupinefish, a brittle star, sergeant major, sohal surgeonfish, bluespine and elegant unicornfish, white-spotted and masked puffer, Klunzinger's wrasse, giant clam, pinecone soldierfish and Picasso triggerfish. Divers' accounts add stingrays, giant moray and occasional dolphins.
Shore entry from the jetty of the Novotel Marsa Alam Beach Resort, 19 km south of El Quseir. The SeaWorld dive centre operates a branch inside the hotel and the reef is directly opposite it. The reef is dived from the jetty on the north and south sides, with night dives available.
Access to the site runs through a local operator.
On current: No source publishes a depth, visibility or current figure for this reef. The Utopia Beach house reefs 1.6 and 1.8 km away are documented separately and their numbers are not this site's, so nothing has been carried across.
It fronts the Novotel Marsa Alam Beach Resort, whose own address places it 19 km south of El Quseir on the Marsa Alam road. Our catalogue puts the Utopia Beach house reefs 1.6 and 1.8 km along the same coast - close, but separate sites.
From the hotel jetty. The SeaWorld dive centre operates a branch inside the resort and states that the reef lies directly opposite the base; the reef is dived from the jetty on both the north and the south side.
We do not know. Neither the hotel nor the dive centre publishes a depth for this reef, and we have not borrowed a figure from the neighbouring house reefs a kilometre and a half away. Ask the dive centre when you book.
Yes - night diving off the house reef is part of the centre's routine offering, which is one of the practical advantages of a jetty entry a few steps from your room.
A normal fringing-reef community. The occurrence record is led by land hermit crab, then common lionfish, porcupinefish, sergeant major, sohal surgeonfish, bluespine and elegant unicornfish, white-spotted and masked puffer, Klunzinger's wrasse, giant clam, pinecone soldierfish and Picasso triggerfish. Divers add stingrays, giant moray and occasional dolphins.
Honestly, it is a resort house reef rather than a destination dive: its value is unlimited easy entries a few metres from your room, day or night. If you are staying at the hotel it is an excellent reason to bring your kit; it is not on its own a reason to book the coast.
| Species | How often | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Coenobita scaevola | occasional | 10 |
| Pterois miles | occasional | 8 |
| Naso unicornis | occasional | 7 |
| Abudefduf vaigiensis | occasional | 7 |
| Ophiocoma scolopendrina | occasional | 7 |
| Arothron diadematus | occasional | 7 |
| Thalassoma rueppellii | occasional | 7 |
| Arothron hispidus | occasional | 7 |
| Acanthurus sohal | occasional | 7 |
| Diodon hystrix | occasional | 7 |
| Naso elegans | occasional | 6 |
| Rhinecanthus assasi | occasional | 6 |
| Myripristis murdjan | occasional | 6 |
| Tridacna maxima | occasional | 6 |
| Chlorurus sordidus | occasional | 5 |
| Paracirrhites forsteri | occasional | 5 |
| Acanthopleura vaillantii | occasional | 5 |
| Pomacentrus sulfureus | occasional | 5 |
| Taeniura lymma | occasional | 5 |
| Heniochus intermedius | occasional | 5 |
| Chaetodon austriacus | occasional | 5 |
| Chaetodon fasciatus | occasional | 5 |
| Zebrasoma xanthurum | rare | 4 |
| Chaetodon semilarvatus | rare | 4 |
| Ctenochaetus striatus | rare | 4 |
| Echidna nebulosa | rare | 4 |
| Fistularia commersonii | rare | 4 |
| Gymnothorax griseus | rare | 4 |
| Halichoeres hortulanus | rare | 4 |
| Ostracion cubicum | rare | 4 |
| Oxycheilinus digramma | rare | 4 |
| Pygoplites diacanthus | rare | 4 |
| Tricornis tricornis | rare | 4 |
| Zebrasoma desjardinii | rare | 4 |
| Rastrelliger kanagurta | rare | 4 |
| Pseudanthias squamipinnis | rare | 3 |
| Cephalopholis miniata | rare | 3 |
| Planaxis savignyi | rare | 3 |
| Cheilinus lunulatus | rare | 3 |
| Pomacanthus imperator | rare | 3 |
| Pseudodax moluccanus | rare | 3 |
| Pycnochromis dimidiatus | rare | 3 |
| Octopus cyanea | rare | 3 |
| Gymnothorax javanicus | rare | 3 |
| Grapsus albolineatus | rare | 3 |
| Terapon jarbua | rare | 3 |
| Sargocentron caudimaculatum | rare | 3 |
| Chaetodon paucifasciatus | rare | 3 |
| Caesio lunaris | rare | 3 |
| Chaetodon melannotus | rare | 3 |
| Aluterus scriptus | rare | 2 |
| Ocypode saratan | rare | 2 |
| Cephalopholis argus | rare | 2 |
| Abudefduf sordidus | rare | 2 |
| Tripneustes gratilla | rare | 2 |
| Conus flavidus | rare | 2 |
| Echinometra mathaei | rare | 2 |
| Grapsus tenuicrustatus | rare | 2 |
| Lambis truncata | rare | 2 |
| Macolor niger | rare | 2 |
The northern end of one long fringing reef in Ras Allasad bay, with its own entry point reached by the dive centre's shuttle.
The south end of one resort house reef: walk in beside the jetty, turn left, sand and coral blocks giving way to a drop-off.
A shore dive you enter by dropping through a hole in the reef flat and following a rope out, at kilometre 15 south of El Quseir.
A quiet lagoon that opens into coral slopes - the site that still works when the coast is windy.
SeaLog imports your dives from your dive computer or Apple Watch, tracks every animal you see, and keeps your logbook safe forever.
Download SeaLog
