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Reefs & Wrecks

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Red Sea

UD Rating – 4 Star

M/Y Golden Dolphin

The first own boat the Fleet of Golden Dolphin Safari World.

The M/Y Golden Dolphin was the first boat the fleet Golden Dolphin Safari World started with, it was built in 2003 and designed for divers. Discover the southern Red Sea's delights on this wonderful liveaboard.

M/Y Golden Dolphin is a 34 metre boat and was the first liveaboard built for Golden Dolphin Safari World. She offers 7 night itineraries around the Red Sea departing from Hurghada or Port Ghaleb with a choice of 5 routes to choose from visiting various sites including the Brother Islands, Abu Nuhas, Ras Mohamed, Abu Galawa, Rocky Island and the Island of Zabargad. The experienced captain, 8 friendly crew and 2 guides will lead you through the trip whilst helping with any questions or queries you may have regarding the boat or the itinerary.

M/Y Golden Dolphin comfortably accommodates 20 guests in 8 twin cabins located on the lower deck and 2 double cabins located on the upper deck. All cabins come with en-suite bathrooms, mini bar, storage, fresh bedding a mirror and an air conditioning unit with individual climate controls for your convenience. The food aboard is a variety of international, Italian and local cuisine with the occasional BBQ suiting the needs of most customers. Any dietary requirements must be stated at the time of booking so the chef can adhere to any guests needs.

She has an air conditioned salon furnished with tables, chairs, a well-stocked bar and a TV/DVD providing the perfect place for you to relax in. The adjoining dining area is air conditioned, has 2 large tables and comfortable seating for guests to gather and enjoy 3 meals throughout the day. The exposed sun deck located on the top deck is furnished with sun mattresses with the large shaded sun deck below providing tables, chairs and ample space for all guests. The large dive deck has hot water showers, charging station and a camera table with the dive platform a few steps down with 2 steel ladders into the water.

Double Cabin

10 x double cabins, air-con, minibar, private bathroom; 8 twin cabins on the lower deck; 2 cabins with queen-size bed on the upper deck

  • Twin or Double Bed
  • Minibar
  • Private Bathroom
  • Air Conditioning

Route Options

M/Y Golden Dolphin offers a mixture of wall and wreck diving around the northern Red Sea for 7 night charters on the Brothers Islands itinerary. She departs from Hurghada or Port Ghalib and visits sites like the Aida II and the Salem Express all located in The Brothers area. The Red Sea has a high temperature and salt content due to its isolated location between Asia and Africa with a narrow passage to the Indian Ocean.

Top Dive Sites

The Brother Islands are one of the best diving spots in the world and are identified by two undersea mountain pinnacles rising from the depths of the abyss located 60 miles offshore from El Quseir. The Big Brother and the Little Brother Islands offer wall diving that is covered in soft corals and gorgonians attracting a diverse array of marine species. Tuna, barracudas, jacks and snappers cruise in the blue waters accompanied by the occasional white tip sharks, mantas and hammerheads.

The Aida II and the Numidia lie on the walls of the Big Brother and are perfect for divers who want to explore more wrecks than reefs. Both wrecks are covered in a rich growth of hard and soft corals attracting families of Napoleon wrasse and grey reef sharks.

The Salem Express is a 100 metre ferryboat sunk in December 1991 when it hit the reef during a stormy night and sunk rapidly without giving passengers and crew the opportunity to board the lifeboats. She is one of the largest wrecks in the Red Sea and roughly the same size as the Thistlegorm. The ferry boat is now covered in hard and soft coral that attracts thriving underwater life including frogfish, blue spotted rays, angel and butterfly fish.

Please Note:

You must be a PADI Open Water diver to be able to take part in this trip.

M/Y Golden Dolphin offers a mixture of reef and wall diving around the southern Red Sea for 7 night charters on the Deep South - St John’s itinerary. She departs from Hurghada or Port Ghalib and visits the main attraction of this itinerary St John’s Reef. The reef is near Rocky Island which is deep south in the Red Sea allowing for long overnight sailings. The Red Sea has a high temperature and salt content due to its isolated location between Asia and Africa with a narrow passage to the Indian Ocean.

Top Dive Sites

St John’s Reef system is located in the southern Red Sea and offers exciting drop offs and pelagic action. The wall of ones of the reefs is covered in giant gorgonias and another overgrown with a number of colorful soft corals. You will see a lot of fish cruising in the blue waters with the occasional sightings of hammerheads, grey sharks, white tip reef sharks and silvertips.

M/Y Golden Dolphin offers a mixture of reef and wall diving around the southern Red Sea for 7 night charters on the Rocky, Zabargad and St John’s itinerary. She departs from Hurghada or Port Ghalib and visits St John’s Reef, Rocky Island and the Island of Zabargad. The Red Sea has a high temperature and salt content due to its isolated location between Asia and Africa with a narrow passage to the Indian Ocean.

Top Dive Sites

St John’s Reef system is located in the southern Red Sea and offers exciting drop offs and pelagic action. The wall of ones of the reefs is covered in giant gorgonians and another overgrown with a number of colorful soft corals. You will see a lot of fish cruising in the blue waters with the occasional sightings of hammerheads, grey sharks, white tip reef sharks and silvertips.

Rocky Island is a fringing reef that circles the island and drops steeply into the blue waters, it is covered in beautiful soft corals, gorgonians, fans, sponges and black coral trees. Due to its isolated location sightings of reef sharks, grey sharks and silvertip sharks are a certainty with the occasional sightings of manta rays, sailfish and dolphins.

The Island of Zabargad is an amazing dive spot as you get to dive along the walls, hover over drops offs and dive in the shallows admiring the coral garden and the fish. For wreck divers there is a nameless 70 metre long wreck at the north side of the island that lies upside down 24 metres down with the stern section still intact.

The tour descriptions (dive sites) are samples. Depending on the weather conditions and the quality of the divers other dive sites can be chosen.

The Daedalus reef is a huge reef formation that lies at about 180 km south of Brother Islands. The reef is surrounded by a sheer wall all around, featuring a plateau on its southern side that goes from 28 m beside the reef to 40m on the edge of the drop off. If the weather is good, try to get as far north as possible and drift along one of the sides of the reef. Reef and hammerhead sharks are often spotted here. Marine life is here more abundant than anywhere else, with schools of surgeons, fusiliers, carangids.

Rocky Island is a mysthical site that represents a diver’s dream. The indented reef that circles the entire perimeter of the island drops deeply to an astonished depth and the constant currents that flow all along the year favor the growth of different kinds of colorful marine life in a continuous struggle for a place on the reef. The walls are absolutely covered with the most beautiful soft corals, as well as gorgonias, fans, sponges and black coral trees.. Reef sharks, especially grey and silvertips, you can watch in the blue and may be manta rays, turtles and dolphins.

The Island of Zabargad is a superb dive spot. Here you can dive along walls, hover over drop offs or dive slowly in the shallow area, watching the big amount of reef fishes or inhabitants and admire the beautiful coral garden.

The tour descriptions (dive sites) are samples. Depending on the weather conditions and the quality of the divers other dive sites can be chosen.

The Daedalus reef is a huge reef formation that lies at about 180 km south of Brother Islands. The reef is surrounded by a sheer wall all around, featuring a plateau on its southern side that goes from 28 m beside the reef to 40m on the edge of the drop off. If the weather is good, try to get as far north as possible and drift along one of the sides of the reef. Reef and hammerhead sharks are often spotted here. UW marine life is here more abundant than anywhere else, with schools of surgeons, fusiliers, carangids. In the deep south of the Red Sea we find the St.Johns reefs. Big Habili and Small Habili with their fantastic drop offs overgrown with big gorginias and colorful bright soft corals promise you to be a fantastic dive. You find a lot of marine life at the reef itself and as well in the blue you may see barracudas, different sharks, sometimes dolphins or manta passing by. Umm Erug seems to be the place of unusual coral blocks. Next to the main reef in a depth of 12m to 30m you find many different block formations who remind you of everyday life`s figures. Schools of small reef fishes, camouflage artists and small critters you can explore. Around two hours drive to the north there is the area of St.Johns Cave. The name cave is program and Umm Hararim impresses of its unique cave and canyon system. The main reef surrounded by a beautiful hard coral garden is on its south-west side full of holes like a Swiss cheese. In shallow water you can dive through the open passages to see the light show of the sun and the nice soft corals growing inside.

Vessel Details

Year Built / Refurbished 2003 and refurbished in 2007
Length 36 metres
Beam 7.5 metres
Speed 10 Knots
Engines 2 x 650 HP Cummins K19, new in 2014
Generators 2 x 65 kw (230 V) Perkins
Compressors 2 x Coltri MCH; 1 LP 280
Connectivity VHF, DSC (Area I), Satellite EPIRB, Satellite phone, WIFI
Emergency Equipment Oxygen system and Medic First Aid Kit available aboard
Tanks 12l aluminum-tanks DIN/INT, 15l tanks on request
Air Compressors 2 x mariner bauer
Zodiac 2 zodiacs with outboard engine (25 HP / 40 HP)
Dive Deck Spacious dive deck with hot water showers, charging station & camera table
Safety life jackets and 2 life rafts, oxygen and first aid, fire extinguishers in every cabin and in salon, fire fighting and alarm system, smoke detectors
Full Equipment Rental EUR120
Wetsuits EUR30
BCD EUR30
Regulator EUR30
Torch EUR30
Dive Computer EUR30
Snorkel EUR6
Mask EUR12
Fins EUR12
Boots EUR12
Equipment Rental The equipment rental prices listed above are per person per week and will need to pre booked and pay at the time of booking.

Available Experiences

ITINERARIES AVAILABLE IN THIS DESTINATION

Marcelina

Wednesday, 10 April 2019

Sunrise Marina Resort & Emperor Divers in Marsa Alam

The overall holiday was excellent value for money. Emperor Divers provided an outstanding dive experience on day boat trips to provide some of the most relax dives I have ever encountered at reasonable depths.

Sunrise Marina Resort & Emperor Divers in Marsa Alam

What Our Customers Have To Say

Reviews from our Clients, Journalists, Photo Pro's and our own Experts

Our reviews and blogs are an additional guide to evaluate of the holiday is exactley what you are looking for or not. Some love an Eco-Resort, some love air-con and a flat screen TV, we aim to ensure you get what you are looking for, at great value for money.

Gota Shab El Erg

Hurghada , Red Sea

Nearby is a little known site but well worth a visit. The whole area teems with life, unicorns, scorpion fish, groupers, morays, emperor angel fish, blue spotted rays and underneath the table corals look out for white tips resting in the sand. In the sandy channel between the main reef and the gota you will find cone shells, and flatfish.

  • Min Dives: 4
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth:

Shaab Claude

Marsa Alam, Red Sea

Famous for its large labyrinths of swim throughs. Huge porite corals and a resident napoleon. Often white tip reef sharks and a very nice anemone and clownfish settlement on a small pinnacle a little off the reef to the south.

  • Min Dives: 4
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth:

Rocky Island

Marsa Alam, Red Sea

Tiny rock emerging a few feet out of the water, it offers one of the most incredible underwater scenarios of the whole Red Sea. Steep walls falling into the deep blue, currents, soft corals and a great abundance of pelagics and all kinds of fish.

  • Min Dives: 4
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth:

St Johns Reef

Marsa Alam, Red Sea

This incredibly beautiful reef lies Approx. 40km North of the Sudanese border and 20km south of Zabargad . The reef covers a huge area and many dives would be needed to explore the numerous coral heads and islands that make up this extensive area.

  • Min Dives: 4
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth:
Dates Duration Route Room Type Price