TRAVELSPECIAL
Spinner dolphin swim-past at Sataya Reef
A curious Picasso triggerfish
also be strong here , making Elphinstone a dive for the competent thrill seeker . As this is a popular stop-off on the liveaboard itineraries , timing your visit to avoid those days is advisable ; flat calm conditions are also preferable .
Alternative locations
Moving south about an hour , we come to the second of the three resorts , Marsa Nakari . This is a smaller and more intimate little brother to Marsa Shagra , offering similar house reef diving opportunities with fewer training divers . If your preference is a more quiet and relaxed dive holiday experience , look no further . From Marsa Nakari you can choose dive excursions by speedboat or by van up and down the coastline , with particular highlights being Habili Nakari , a set of pristine pinnacles just 10 minutes boat ride from the resort ; Sha ’ ab Sharm , a much less frequented Elphinstone-like experience ; and Dolphin House , a cave system with its own ‘ nemo city ’ and very frequent encounters with the resident pod of spinner dolphin .
A trip to Marsa Shagra or Marsa Nakari is not complete without a visit to Marsa Abu Dabbab , a short van ride to a commercial beach which hosts sun-seeking travellers from around the world . Here , as a diver , a walk across the scorching white sand takes you into the rich blue waters and seagrass meadows , where you should easily stumble across the grazing antics of the most enormous and nonplussed of green turtles and , if you are lucky , the resident dugong which favours this bay for snack time . If you look closely at the sea grass , very , very closely , you may be able to make out some small blue / yellow / green dots . If you look very , very , very closely , you might work out
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