Marsa Alam: Your Guide to Egypt’s Last Undisturbed Paradise

The Crown Jewels: Marsa Alam’s “Big 3” Natural Wonders

Your entire trip can be planned around these three unmissable encounters. What makes Marsa Alam special is that its most famous sites are accessible to both snorkelers and divers.

1. Abu Dabbab Bay: The Home of Dugongs & Turtles

This is the single most famous bay in Marsa Alam, and for good reason. Abu Dabbab is a massive, gentle, sandy-bottomed bay, protected on both sides by beautiful coral reefs.

But the stars are on the seabed. The bay is covered in a lush meadow of seagrass, which is the primary food for a population of giant Green Sea Turtles and the rare, gentle Dugong (sea cow).

• The Experience: You can simply walk in from the beautiful white-sand beach with your snorkel and mask. Within minutes, you’ll be floating above 300kg turtles as they calmly graze on the seagrass, completely unbothered by your presence. And for the lucky, a truly magical encounter awaits: the resident dugong, a massive, one-ton marine mammal, slowly making its way across the bay. It’s an experience that will stay with you forever.
• Best For: Snorkelers, families, and divers.

2. Sataya Reef (Dolphin Reef): Swim with Wild Dolphins

Forget seeing dolphins from a boat—at Sataya Reef, you can swim with them in their natural home.

Located further south, this massive, horseshoe-shaped reef (also known as “Dolphin Reef”) creates a giant, protected, shallow lagoon. This lagoon is a “rest area” for huge pods of spinner dolphins. They come into these calm waters after hunting in the deep sea to rest, play, and socialize.

• The Experience: You’ll take a comfortable day boat out to the reef. Once there, you’ll board a small zodiac boat that takes you quietly to the pods. You then slip into the water with your snorkel gear and wait. The naturally curious dolphins will often come to you, swimming and spinning around the group. It is a profoundly joyful and 100% wild encounter, managed respectfully to protect the animals.
• Best For: Snorkelers, families, and anyone who loves dolphins.

3. Elphinstone Reef: The Legendary Deep Dive

This is the one for the adrenaline-seekers. Elphinstone Reef is not a bay; it’s a legendary, deep-sea pinnacle in the open ocean. It’s a 300-meter-long, cigar-shaped reef with sheer, vertical walls that plummet to over 100 meters, all washed by strong, nutrient-rich currents.

• The Experience: This is an advanced divers-only site. It’s a high-voltage drift dive. You are dropped by the zodiac at one end and let the current carry you along the wall, which is covered in a spectacular forest of purple and pink soft corals.
• The Main Event: Elphinstone is famous for its “big animal” encounters. Due to its topography, it attracts pelagic predators. It is one of the best and most reliable places in the world to see the formidable Oceanic Whitetip Shark (especially in Oct-Nov) and, for the very lucky, Hammerhead sharks in the deep blue.
• Best For: Advanced Scuba Divers only.