TRAVELSPECIAL
A pod of Indian Ocean bottlenose dolphins at Sha ' ab El Erg, Hurghada
PHOTO: ALEX MUSTARD fed dolphins. We caution our readers to treat all wild animals with respect and allow them to dictate the parameters of any interaction.
So let’ s go and find some dolphins. Or more appropriately, hope the dolphins find us.
Bottlenose beauty
In theory, you can swim with dolphins anywhere in the world. But in practical terms, the most productive spots for those based in the UK are the Red Sea and the Bahamas. Let’ s start in the northern Red Sea, in the gateway to the Gulf of Suez. This part of the Red Sea is possibly the most popular with divers, easily accessed by liveaboard, or day boats operating out of Hurghada or the resort enclave of El Gouna. The hotspots are the reefs of Abu Nuhas
A bottlenose dolphin below the calm surface at Gobal Island, Egypt
58 area and Sha’ ab el Erg, a horseshoe-shaped reef frequented by bottlenose dolphins. Bottlenose dolphins can reach lengths of just over four metres( 13ft), but their size varies greatly all over the world, from 150kg to 650kg.
In the Red Sea, most encounters with bottlenose dolphins take place on scuba. It can be very hard predicting when a dolphin may decide to get curious, so the best approach is to dive the sites and listen for their vocalising. Enjoy the reef life, but be constantly aware that a dolphin could be right behind you.
These encounters are mostly what underwater photographers call‘ swimbys’. An individual or group of dolphins make a close pass, then continue on their
PHOTO: ALEX MUSTARD way. They may visit different buddy pairs in a group, sometimes spread over a wide expanse of reef. So you surface believing you have been uniquely favoured, then to learn that everyone else on the boat has had a similar experience.
My own experiences in the Red Sea vary from the magical to the prosaic. While diving the wreck of the Kingston at Shag Rock, my friend Mario Vitalini( of Scuba Travel) enjoyed an epic swim-by of a pod of around eight bottlenose dolphins. Then six of them peeled off to swim over me, at which point they defecated in unison, showering me in cetacean scat. Is that supposed to be good luck?
The key to a bottlenose encounter is to stay calm; don’ t chase the dolphins and absolutely do not try to touch them. Evidence suggests that every dolphin has a different level of curiosity or wariness, but none of them want to be grabbed. And on the off-chance you do have a‘ habituated’ dolphin in search of physical contact, do not encourage it. I recommend keeping your arms folded safely away – the less suggestion there is of someone getting grabby, the more likely you will enjoy a relaxed encounter.
When the stars are aligned, the experience at Sha’ ab el Erg can be transcendent. I’ ve been there about a dozen times, and seen dolphins on eight occasions. During a visit on the Ghazala Explorer liveaboard in 2023, a mother and calf swam around the divers