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Dolphin House - Shaab Samadai
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Dolphin House - Shaab Samadai

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See all things to do
Dolphin House - Shaab Samadai
4.5
#4 of 23 things to do in Marsa Alam
Reefs
8:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Saturday
8:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 3:00 PM
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Duration: 1-2 hours
Meets animal welfare guidelines
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The area

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Restaurants
1 within 3 miles
Tondoba
6
2.7 miMediterranean • Diner • Egyptian
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Attractions
1 within 6 miles
مسجد شارع 68
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions
4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles1,423 reviews
Excellent
894
Very good
256
Average
150
Poor
68
Terrible
56
Chinese solo female backpacker
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Tourist trap
Feb 2021 • Friends
This place is seriously a tourist trap. I wish we did our research before going. You basically have a 1% chance of seeing dolphins here. One, they barely come here, and if they do they don't stay long. Two, the protected area where they actually go is fenced off with red buoys, where boats, scuba divers and snorkelers are not allowed to go. Unfortunately most tour operators and scuba diving centers will tell you you can see and dive with dolphins there, then later on pretend that you were unlucky they aren't there. After talking to some locals and seeing other reviews, we found out the truth. The scuba diving center that used this tactic on us was Awlad Baraka at Tondoba beach. We paid 60Euros additional fees go to there, after they showed us photos of groups of dolphins with false promises.
Written February 9, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
David A
Columbus, OH
1.0 of 5 bubbles
No dolphins here
May 2021
Strongly advise against coming here. I booked a day trip expecting to see dolphins. Spent 9am to 4pm on the water and didn’t see a single dolphin. My tour company scammed me into coming back the next day on a private speed boat and again, not a single dolphin. Do not come here. If you still decide to come here and don’t see any dolphins, don’t make the same mistake that I did and book a second day. I’m not sure that there are any dolphins in this place. It may be a scam. You’re potentially better off going to Sataya to see dolphins or not coming to Marsa Alam at all. There are many destinations on the Red Sea that are much easier to get to that don’t make fantastical claims about seeing rare animals.
Written May 26, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
John Doe
1.0 of 5 bubbles
One of the worst days of my life
Jun 2023 • Friends
Everyone on the boat got to see dolphins but me. The skipper took my fins, lost them, and then lost the strap to them. So I had to try swim with only one fin. Everybody else raced ahead leaving me behind. No one cared. No one helped. I was just left. By the time I got there, half drowning and fully exhausted, we were told we had to then swim to the boat. The session was over. Nobody apologised. Nothing. Stuck in dangerous currents during one of the pointless dives. The way back I was completely sea sick to the point I was faint and hallucinating and nobody tried to help me. My whole day was just completely ruined. I won't be paying for this trip. They can sue me.
Written June 15, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
solopensioner
King's Lynn, UK
3.0 of 5 bubbles
A pleasant day's diving
Nov 2021
Went out on a big boat, full mainly of snorkellers; the trip was organised by Monkey Divers, at Marsa Alalm. We had one drift dive ( dropped from the boat immediately prior to arrival) and then another dive afterwardss. We didn't see any dolphons, nor did any of the snorkellers. There was a pleasant cave to explore in the coral on the second dive, and the underwater life was very pretty.
Written November 30, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Edward W
Bedford, UK
3.0 of 5 bubbles
No dolphins that day
We went on a day trip in September with Pioneer Divers, the day was very good overall. The boat ride was not too long, the lunch provided was not at all bad. Drinks were included also.

We were the first boat to get there so had a good view of whole area. Sadly we did not get top see any dolphins.

We snorkled anyway both in the morning and after lunch. In the morning we were dropped off by zodiac at the edge of the swimmers only area, snorkled in as far as we could go and then headed back towards the main boat under our own steam. The views were fantastic, even though the water was about 12 meters deep. We saw a turtle, a lion fish, a number of rays and plenty of other fish. While the swim back was quite far the time seemed to fly past and we were back before we knew it.

During lunch we were lucky enough to see two or three turtles stick their heads up near our boat and lots of fish swimming around the boat.

After lunch we were taken out by the zodiac to a deeper area with a lot more reef to look at. Unfortunatly we had a bad experience because the water really was too deep for my wife and she panicked. It took the zodiac much longer than I would have liked to come and pull us out of the water. BUT if you are okay in deep water (with bouyancy aid) and don't mind having coral all around you it would have been a great place to snorkle.

On other days people were lucky and saw lots of dolphins but it was not to be our day, which is a shame as I think (don't quote me) it cost us $150 between us for the day.

To sum up, we had a good day, has the potential to be a great day and the highlight of your stay.
Written October 11, 2006
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
grant t
Bracknell, UK
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Chasing dolphins
Jul 2017 • Couples
While it was great to see the Dolphins it felt like we were chasing them around in a speedboat and harassing them. They kept swimming away from us and we chased after them. Surely if they were entirely happy with the company they would not have swum away n
Written August 15, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Andrew S
Bournemouth, UK
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Oh No not for me
Apr 2017 • Couples
If turning up on your boat with 8-10 other boats full of tourists at the same time with scuba divers swimmers and speed boats racing around scaring the hell out of everything, is your thing then enjoy your day on the reef. Personally I was disgusted. We did see a family of dolphins but then all the boats started to sound their horns at once and the speed boats chased the poor animals
Written April 10, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
SiTrv
Ljubljana, Slovenia
1.0 of 5 bubbles
NO!
Apr 2019 • Couples
The whole trip was like a witch hunt. Every single bout there was chasing the dolphins. I never in my life experience something like this. Just don't go there. Poor animals
Written July 1, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
rivieramaya12
Milan, Italy
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Absolutely worth it!
Jul 2011 • Family
It's been a great experience I had with my family. The boat dropped us into the natural reserve and suddely a large group of dolphins started passing and swimming right between us.
It's not easy to see so many dolphins free in their habitat, so I think it's an ecperience everyone should do!
Written June 28, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
swingingsultan
Norfolk Alien
5.0 of 5 bubbles
experience of a lifetime.. !!!!!
Apr 2011 • Solo
Some yeara ago when my wife left, I booked a week at an ec0-resort thru Red Sea Diving.. situated on a coral reef near Marsa Shagra (?) We stayed in small mosque shaped stone huts and ate all our meals under rush shelters.. There was a beautiful house reef which you could wade out to... I was the only snorkeller among a group of lovely divers from the UK. Every day we would either take a dive boat or flatbed lorry to get to various diving sites .. I would snorkel out with the divers... On several days we went by dive boat out to Marsa Samadi (Dolphin Reef) we saw around 30-90 dolphins every day. One particular day, we were moored on the reef and a pod of dolphins came out towards the boat, swam past and we thought they'd gone out to deep ocean. Suddenly they turned back and we had to decide instantly if we were to jump in with them... we did... I was surrounded by about 90 small spinner dolphins in deep ocean with just a snorkel mask .. I couldn't see the divers because of the swell and suddenly realised I was a bit vulnerable... !! Later the RIB collected us and we spent some 30 minutes 'herding' the dolphins like sheep.... and I spent a wonderful time watching the divers surfing with the dolphins up and down the waves. My abiding memory was all of us sitting in the boat doing 'high 5's' .. the captain said he'd never seen a sight like it .... It was deinitely one of the most wonderful and emotional experiences of my much travelled life... it came at a most difficult time in my life and yes, a 62 year old guy can still cry thinking about it. If you get the chance to do this trip.... please do it.. !!!
Written January 31, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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Dolphin House - Shaab Samadai - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

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