Marsa Alam and Port Ghalib
Lost a ring in Marsa Alam or Port Ghalib?
Marsa Mubarak, near Port Ghalib, and Abu Dabbab Bay both have shallow water that suits beginners and experienced snorkellers.
Yes, a necklace lost snorkelling in shallow water near Marsa Alam can be searched for. The search is built around your entry point and the line you swam from it, and a chain that fell in shallow water near that entry is a smaller search than one lost out over the reef.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewellery recovery service that works with experienced local metal detectorists to search for a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone lost in Marsa Alam or Port Ghalib, well south along Egypt's Red Sea coast.
Tell us what happened and where. We choose an experienced detectorist who knows the bay, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
Marsa Mubarak lies near Port Ghalib and its marina, close to Marsa Alam International Airport, and Abu Dabbab Bay is between Port Ghalib and the town. Sharm El Luli is south of the town and Wadi Lahamy Bay farther south, and Qulaan, the Wadi El Gemal coast and the reefs at Samadi and Sataya are on this page as well.
Put your swim on a map tonight
Before the day fades, sit down with a map and mark the place you got in, the line you think you swam and the place you got out. Add anything you could see from the water, such as a jetty, a boat at anchor or a building on the shore. A chain can catch on a mask strap, so check the mask and snorkel before anything else.
At Marsa Mubarak and Abu Dabbab Bay the entry point and the route are what we need. At Port Ghalib, the quay and the boat you stepped from matter more. After a boat trip, give us the name of the boat and the time, which the crew can set against where they stopped.
Places we cover in Marsa Alam and Port Ghalib
- Marsa Alam
- Marsa Alam town beaches
- Port Ghalib
- Port Ghalib Marina
- Marsa Mubarak
- Abu Dabbab Bay
- Marsa Alam kitesurfing lagoons
- Samadi Reef
- Sataya Reef
- Sharm El Luli
- Qulaan, Bay of Hankorab
- Wadi El Gemal coast
- Wadi El Gemal Protectorate trails
- Mount Hamata
- Wadi Lahamy Bay
- Fury Shoals
Where things go missing between Port Ghalib and Wadi Lahamy
Snorkelling spots near Port Ghalib first, then the town beaches and the coast south of Marsa Alam.
Port Ghalib and its marina
Port Ghalib is close to Marsa Alam International Airport. Its marina is a yacht harbour where dive boats also tie up, and there are hotels and restaurants at the marina. Say which quay you were on and which boat lay alongside when the keys or the watch went into the water.
Marsa Mubarak
Marsa Mubarak, near Port Ghalib, has shallow water that suits snorkellers of all levels, and a few of the Red Sea's dugongs live there. If a guide took your group out to look for one, the guide's route through the water is the one we want drawn on the map.
Abu Dabbab Bay
Abu Dabbab Bay lies between Port Ghalib and Marsa Alam town. Its shallow water makes the colourful reefs easy to explore, and it suits beginners and experienced snorkellers alike. Let us know whether the loss happened on the beach before you went in, in the water close to the entry, or farther along the reef.
Marsa Alam town and its beaches
Wherever you stayed, the beaches of Marsa Alam have fine, powdery white sand and clear blue water that you wade into, with coral reefs close to shore for snorkellers. A pin for your place on the sand and a second one for where you swam give the detectorist both halves of the day.
Sharm El Luli, Qulaan and the Wadi El Gemal coast
Sharm El Luli, south of the main town, is a white beach with shallow, clear blue water for snorkelling and a giant mangrove tree that seems to rise out of the sea. At Qulaan, in the Bay of Hankorab, people swim in turquoise-blue water, and there is a mangrove forest. The coast of Wadi El Gemal has very fine white sandy beaches running into clear blue water, and inland Wadi El Gemal has hiking trails, among them a trek up Mount Hamata for the views.
Wadi Lahamy Bay and the dolphin reefs
Wadi Lahamy Bay, farther south, has strong winds for kitesurfing and waterskiing, and the Fury Shoals, a dive area of fringing reefs and wrecks, are in the same area. Visitors head to Samadi Reef, a well-known resting spot for dolphins, and snorkel or dive at Sataya, the reef where a giant pod of spinner dolphins lives. For a loss on one of these outings, the reef name and the time you were in the water come first.
Between your first message and the search
One chat on WhatsApp
Every reply comes from the same person, from your first message until the search is over, and all your pins and photos stay in that one thread.
Your swim, drawn for the detectorist
The detectorist starts from your own sketch of the bay, with the entry point, the route and the photos of the item laid out together.
Holiday pictures help
Holiday photos and videos often show the bay, the boat or the quay behind you. Send any taken near the time, and we pass the useful ones on.
Costs before anything is booked
We explain the costs before any search is booked, set out in writing in the chat.
Reefs near the shore and the lagoons they make
The reefs sit close to the beaches here, and mangroves give you something to photograph.
Reefs close to the beach
Snorkellers along this coast swim over coral reefs close to shore. Draw your line on the map, whether you followed the reef along the shore or swam out and back.
Flat lagoons for kitesurfing
The reefs here create large natural lagoons with flat water, and together with strong wind they bring kitesurfers to Marsa Alam. Name the beach you launched from, and mark where you came off the board or brought the kite down.
Mangroves as landmarks
Mangrove forests stand in shallow water around Marsa Alam, and there is one at Qulaan. If a mangrove shows in any of your photos from that day, send it, because it gives the detectorist a fixed point.
Want a first idea of your chances? Try the lost ring recovery calculator.
Questions about Marsa Alam and Port Ghalib
Is a necklace lost snorkelling at Marsa Mubarak worth a search?
It can be. Marsa Mubarak, near Port Ghalib, has shallow water that suits snorkellers of every level. Draw your route on a map from the place you went in, say whether a guide led you out to look for the dugong, and add a photo of the necklace with the clasp in view.
Where would a search start for a ring lost at Abu Dabbab Bay?
Where you walked in. Abu Dabbab Bay has shallow water and colourful reefs that suit beginners as well as experienced snorkellers, so the entry and the first stretch of shallow water come first, then the line you swam. Pin the entry, mark how far along the bay you went before you turned back, and tell us whether you had the ring on when you went in.
A set of keys fell between the boat and the quay at Port Ghalib. Can that be searched?
Port Ghalib's marina is a yacht harbour where dive boats also moor, so the keys are in harbour water right beside the quay, and that is a small area once you can name it. Tell us which boat you were boarding or leaving, circle the spot on a photo of the quay, and say whether the boat has moved since.
How do we describe where an Oura ring came off at Sharm El Luli?
Use the mangrove tree. Sharm El Luli has shallow, clear blue water and a giant mangrove tree that seems to grow straight out of the sea. Say where you were in relation to the tree, send a photo that has it in the frame, and add a pin for your towel.
A watch came off my wrist while swimming at Qulaan. What should I send?
People swim in the turquoise-blue water at Qulaan, in the Bay of Hankorab, where there is a mangrove forest. Pin where you went in and where you came out, and say whether you kept close to the shore or swam out. If anyone in your group filmed the swim, send that clip along with a picture of the watch.
Metal-framed sunglasses went during a waterskiing fall at Wadi Lahamy Bay.
Wadi Lahamy Bay has strong winds, and people go there to kitesurf and waterski. Give us the start of the run, the direction the boat was heading and roughly how far into the run you fell. If you are not sure the frames went in the fall, check the boat and your bag first, and tell us when you last had them on.
My phone went over the side on a full-day boat trip. Is there any point?
Full-day trips from Marsa Alam go out for deep water swimming, island hopping, snorkelling and diving, some to wreck sites farther from shore, and lunch is often in a mangrove bay. A phone lost in deep water off a boat is a long shot, and you would hear that from us first. If it fell while the boat was stopped in a mangrove bay or at a shallow snorkelling stop, ask the crew exactly where that was.
We are home now, and a bracelet is still somewhere on a Marsa Alam beach.
Being home does not stop a search being arranged. The beaches here are fine, powdery white sand with clear blue water, so tell us whether you think it went on the sand or in the sea, pin your towel and your usual way into the water, and include a picture of the bracelet, or of one like it.
Marsa Alam and Port Ghalib
Start with where you went into the water
Even a rough sketch of the swim is useful.
Send a WhatsApp message saying what came off and where you got into the water. Two pins, one for the way in and one for the way out, are plenty for our first reply.