Level: Resort nearby
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Last updated on February 3, 2024
Makadi Bay is an important resort town located some 25 miles/40 kilometers south of Hurghada. Known for its crystal-clear and sheltered waters, it has 15 seafront hotels, all of them giving access to shallow reefs. The western shores of the bay are the most sheltered. It features several patch reefs supporting a wide diversity of reef fish, but also seagrass beds where stingrays from different species are easy to spot.
Makadi Bay is located about 25 miles/40 kilometers south of the city of Hurghada and 18 miles/30 kilometers south of the airport. This spot covers the patch reefs and seagrass meadows that fringe the western shore of Makadi Bay.
The easiest way to access this spot is to stay at one of the resorts located along the western shore of the bay: the Xanadu Makadi Bay, Tia Heights Makadi Bay, the Jaz Makadi Resorts, and the Iberotel Makadi Beach.
Water entrance is from the resort’s beaches. Tia Heights Makadi Bay is the best snorkel entry to explore the seagrass beds, while the Jaz Makadi Resorts and the Iberotel Makadi Bay have the best corals.
The snorkeling area at western Makadi Bay encompasses the coral reefs found between 100 and 200 meters from the beach, as well as the seagrass meadows facing the Tia Heights Makadi Bay.
Starting from the shore, after 20 to 50 meters you will reach the seagrass beds (↕ 3-6 feet/1-2 meters), where stingrays can be encountered. The most common is the bluespotted ribbontail ray, but you may also spot a visiting darkspotted stingray.
Among other species, you can occasionally see gray mullets, bluetail trunkfish, and leopard flounder. Farther from the shore (50-150 m) you will reach the coral reefs. In this area, depth ranges from 2 feet/0.5 meters on the reef top to over 20 feet/6 meters on the slopes.
The western reefs are not the most spectacular in Makadi Bay (see the snorkeling reports of Makadi Bay North and Makadi Bay South), but they still allow observing a diversity of colorful reef fish.
Common species at this location include many Red Sea endemics such as the Bluecheek butterflyfish, the Red Sea bannerfish, and the Red Sea raccoon butterflyfish. Different types of pufferfish, including the masked puffer and the Whitespotted puffer, are easy to spot in the shallows.
Beyond the reefs, beware of waves in windy weather and motorboat traffic.
This spot is the house reef of four resorts: Xanadu Makadi Bay, Tia Heights Makadi Bay, Jaz Makadi Resorts, and Iberotel Makadi Beach.
These snorkeling spots are accessible to beginners and kids. You will enter the water gradually from a beach, or in a less than 3ft. deep area. The sea is generally calm, shallow, with almost no waves or currents. These spots are usually located in marked and/or monitored swimming areas. It is not necessary to swim long distances to discover the sea life. This level only apply when the spot experiences optimal sea and/or weather conditions. It is not applicable if the sea and/or weather conditions deteriorate, in particular in the presence of rough sea, rain, strong wind, unusual current, large tides, waves and/or swell. You can find more details about the definition of our snorkeling levels on our snorkeling safety page.
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Snorkeling spots are part of a wild environment and their aspect can be significantly altered by weather, seasons, sea conditions, human impact and climate events (storms, hurricanes, seawater-warming episodes…). The consequences can be an alteration of the seabed (coral bleaching, coral destruction, and invasive seagrass), a poor underwater visibility, or a decrease of the sea life present in the area. Snorkeling Report makes every effort to ensure that all the information displayed on this website is accurate and up-to-date, but no guarantee is given that the underwater visibility and seabed aspect will be exactly as described on this page the day you will snorkel the spot. If you recently snorkeled this area and noticed some changes compared to the information contained on this page, please contact us.
The data contained in this website is for general information purposes only, and is not legal advice. It is intended to provide snorkelers with the information that will enable them to engage in safe and enjoyable snorkeling, and it is not meant as a substitute for swim level, physical condition, experience, or local knowledge. Remember that all marine activities, including snorkeling, are potentially dangerous, and that you enter the water at your own risk. You must take an individual weather, sea conditions and hazards assessment before entering the water. If snorkeling conditions are degraded, postpone your snorkeling or select an alternate site. Know and obey local laws and regulations, including regulated areas, protected species, wildlife interaction and dive flag laws.
