Is there coral reef and marine life for snorkeling near Naama Bay, Sharm el Sheikh?

Small turtles can be seen near the island in the morning, while larger ones may be found on the sandy bottom beyond the pier. Leopard rays and guitar rays have also been reported there.

Swimming left toward the buoys can be worthwhile, as the current up to them is usually mild. Turtles, eagle rays, and moray eels have been reported there; large barracuda are occasional.

Near the sunken pontoon, the reef can look like a grey wall because of the depth, but marine life is varied, including turtles, moray eels, and four ray species. The area to the left of the pontoon is shallower and brighter.

For snorkeling, the reef stretch from the central pier to the pontoon is recommended: it has many kinds of fish, with rays, moray eels, and large turtles reported.

The water is very shallow near shore before the seabed drops off sharply, so the spot is better suited to snorkeling than casual swimming.

Small blue-spotted rays are regularly seen; spotting a black harlequin ray may require a longer swim. Dolphins also occasionally visit the area.

During winter season, sightings in this area also include manta rays, octopuses, Napoleon wrasse, various jacks (caranx) and emperor fish (lethrinus), lionfish, pufferfish, boxfish, and unicornfish, as well as resident triggerfish (titan triggerfish). The reef is described as alive and diverse.

Rays typically rest on the sand rather than on the reef itself; turtles graze on grass growing on the sandy seabed rather than among corals.

In the Blue area, moray eels and lionfish are regularly present as residents, while turtles and rays (especially eagle rays) are a rare sight.

A turtle was seen grazing on seagrass near the shore, then swam off to the reef past the first row of white buoys, where two more turtles were spotted.

Naama Bay itself has essentially no coral reef. Near the Novotel hotel area you'll find only a bit of grey, mostly dead coral, but fish are very abundant there.

A colorful reef isn't the same as rich marine life — eagle rays, stingrays, manta rays, turtles and octopuses are regularly seen here, though vividly colored coral formations are indeed scarce.

Almost in the middle of the bay near the buoys, there's a small coral formation with fish, though fewer than near the Arabesque area; no turtles spotted there yet.