Where can you spot and swim alongside large sea turtles from a hotel pier in Egypt?

A turtle approached swimmers at the house reef, stayed nearby for about five minutes, surfaced to breathe, and then swam away. Snorkel around the reef for this kind of encounter, while keeping your distance and never touching wildlife.

In the evening around 5:45–7:00 pm, swimmers spotted an unusually large number of turtles in the area — as many as 7-9 individuals of different sizes (small, medium, and very large). The previous evening at the same time there were far fewer, so luck can vary day to day.

Enter the water from the beach by the main Xanadu hotel, near the buoys where boats are moored, then swim further along the buoys, veering slightly to the right. Look for turtles in the underwater seagrass.

A large sea turtle was spotted directly beside a submerged pontoon, where swimmers were able to follow it at a respectful distance. A giant moray eel was also seen by the second pontoon that day, so watch carefully underwater but do not approach wildlife.

Another large turtle appeared in the hotel swimming area. This suggests it is worth spending time snorkeling around the pier after entering calm water, rather than staying only in the shallow shoreline zone.

Near a hotel pier, one turtle was seen around 5 pm and another large one around 2 pm. The latter moved along the seabed, surfaced to breathe, and dived again, so scan both the bottom and the surface.

A useful turtle-spotting area is about 20 metres from shore, where the water becomes deeper and yachts are moored. Very large turtles were reported there particularly in the morning.

A large turtle was observed from a boat travelling at sea. Encounters are therefore possible not only at a reef or pontoon but also on a boat trip; keep a camera ready.