Dolphin House

Dolphin House is the kind of dive site whose name is earned. This offshore reef in the Hurghada area is a resting lagoon for resident pods of Indo Pacific bottlenose and spinner dolphins, and meeting them underwater on a calm morning is an experience that tends to reset whatever expectations you brought with you. The reef itself forms a horseshoe shaped lagoon with a sand bottom and coral walls that rise up from about 20 metres to just a few metres below the surface. The geography is what makes the site work. Dolphins use the protected lagoon to rest and socialise, especially from late morning through early afternoon, and the shallow interior means the first hour of a dive day is often the most productive. Most operators approach by liveaboard day trip or fast RIB from the Hurghada marina, then moor on the outer reef for the first dive. Entry is a negative buoyancy drop into the lagoon edge, and you follow the reef wall at reasonable depth for the bottom time that mattering to you. The dive is comfortable for Open Water divers and pleasantly undemanding for more advanced ones, which makes it a favourite for mixed experience groups. If you are lucky enough to be in the water when the dolphins come through, drop to the sand, keep your fins still and let them circle you. Approaching them directly is the fastest way to watch them leave. Outside the dolphin encounters, the reef itself is solid Red Sea. Scorpionfish wait on the coral blocks, lionfish patrol at dusk, and masked butterflyfish and bannerfish drift over the top reef in steady numbers. Keep an eye on the blue for passing trevallies and the occasional whitetip reef shark cruising the edge. Visibility sits comfortably above 20 metres most of the year, with the calmest conditions from April to October. Wind tends to pick up mid morning, so the early boats out of the marina reliably get the best water.