Our Dolphin Protection Policy
Last reviewed: September 2026
Spinner dolphins in the Red Sea rest and socialise in shallow lagoons like Samadai and Sataya during the day. If boats and swimmers crowd them there, the dolphins lose rest and eventually leave. Every rule below exists to prevent that. In short: guests watch and snorkel at a distance, and the guide — not the guest — decides how close the group gets.
What we do not do
- No touching. Guests do not touch, hold or ride dolphins, and we do not offer or allow it.
- No chasing. Boats do not drive at the pod or cut across its path, and swimmers do not swim after dolphins that are moving away.
- No feeding. We never feed dolphins to draw them to the boat.
- No crowding. We do not drop the whole boat into the water on top of the pod at once.
- No in-water contact in the resting zone. At Samadai the roped-off resting area is closed to swimmers and we keep out of it.
How we run the snorkel sessions
- Small groups. Guests enter the water in small guided groups rather than all together, so the dolphins have space and each guest has a guide nearby.
- Guide-led approach. The guide chooses the entry point and the distance, based on where the dolphins are and what they are doing.
- The guide calls it off. If the dolphins show signs of stress, change direction to avoid the group, or there are calves present, the guide ends the approach and moves the group away — even if that means less time in the water.
- Briefing first. Every trip includes a briefing before the first entry covering distance, no-touch and no-chase rules, and what to do if a dolphin approaches you (stay calm, stay still, let it pass).
- Reef care. Guests do not stand on, touch or collect coral, shells or sea urchins, and we ask that nothing is taken from the water.
What we ask of guests
Stay with your guide and your group. Keep a calm, horizontal position at the surface and let the dolphins choose the distance. Do not dive down towards them, use flash photography at close range, or make sudden movements or loud noise. If a dolphin comes close on its own, that is the dolphins' choice — enjoy it, and still do not reach out.
Why sightings are never guaranteed
Because we do not chase or bait dolphins, whether you see them depends on the pod, the season, the weather and the sea. Many trips have close encounters; some do not. We would rather run a trip with no dolphins than pressure a resting pod to create one. Our trip pages say this plainly, and our guides say it at the briefing.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I touch or hold a dolphin on your trips?
- No. Touching, holding or riding dolphins is not allowed on any of our trips and we do not offer it. If a wild dolphin chooses to come close, guests still keep their hands to themselves and let it pass.
- Do the boats chase the dolphins?
- No. Our boats do not drive at the pod, cut across its path or repeatedly reposition on top of it. The guide picks one entry point at a respectful distance and the group snorkels from there.
- What happens if the dolphins seem stressed?
- The guide ends the approach and moves the group away, even if guests have had little time in the water. Signs we act on include the pod changing direction to avoid swimmers, fast tail slaps, or calves in the group.
- How big are the snorkel groups?
- Guests go in the water in small guided groups rather than all at once. On the Sataya trip the whole boat is capped at 15 guests; on Samadai the boat is larger but snorkeling is still split into small groups each with a guide.
- Is this an official rule or your own policy?
- Samadai is a managed protected area with its own access rules, including a closed resting zone and timed entry, which we follow. The no-touch, no-chase, small-group and call-it-off practices on this page are how we choose to run every dolphin trip, at Samadai and Sataya alike.