Dolphin House

Dolphin House, also known as El Erg or Shaab El Erg, is a crescent- (horse-shoe-) shaped offshore reef located north of Hurghada, roughly halfway between Hurghada and El Gouna, in an unprotected open area of the Red Sea. It is the only protected Marine Park in the Marsa Alam area and is widely regarded as the most popular section of the Shaab El Erg reef system, sitting at the northern end of the reef. The site is especially known for a resident population of bottlenose dolphins that use the local channel and the lagoon behind the reef, moving in and out particularly at dawn and dusk.

The terrain spreads across a reef plateau and coral garden, reaching a maximum depth of 18 m. A typical route from the boat on the east side leads south past a series of pinnacles at 10 m, then two more at 12 m, two side-by-side at 15 m, and a final pair at 18 m before reaching the plateau edge. The lagoon-side area called Poseidon Garden is dominated by a large coral block, huge brain corals, and table corals, with sandy valleys between coral clusters. A tunnel between the main reef and Gota Shaab El Erg features particularly impressive hard coral.

Marine life at Dolphin House is diverse: bottlenose dolphins frequent the lagoon and channel, while the reef holds napoleon wrasse, blue-spotted rays, scorpionfish, crocodilefish, moray eels, masked pufferfish, butterflyfish, and large shoals of bannerfish. Jacks feed on schools of silversides among the deeper pinnacles, and clouds of anthias surround deep-purple soft corals in that zone. Clams in varied sizes and colours appear throughout the coral garden, and turtles are also encountered at the outer reef.