Dolphin House (Shaab El Erg): seeing wild dolphins near Hurghada responsibly

A resident group of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins lives around the islands north of Hurghada all year. They feed in the open water between the reefs and come to sheltered spots like Shaab El Erg to rest, socialise and look after their calves. Boats from Hurghada and El Gouna visit every day.

Surveying Shaab El Erg, Shaab El Fanous and El Gouna reef from July 2015 to May 2017, researchers recorded resting mostly between about 09:00 and 14:00, and an average of about 82 snorkelers and five boats a day at Shaab El Erg. They warned that heavy boat traffic is a threat to the dolphins.

Further south, at Samadai near Marsa Alam, up to 500–800 tourists a day were swimming with resting dolphins by 2003. The response, documented by the International Whaling Commission, was zoning and time-area closures — a model for protecting dolphin resting reefs.

• Let the dolphins decide how close they come — never chase or surround them.
• No touching and no feeding.
• Enter the water calmly and stay at the surface; no diving down onto them.
• If they're resting or moving away, leave them alone.

Our private speedboat to Dolphin House (Boat Trips) takes up to six people for €200 per boat, about 3 hours. The captain keeps his distance, you snorkel near the dolphins only when they're calm and nearby — and if they aren't there, you snorkel the reef.