The spinner dolphin comes to rest every morning in the lagoons of southern Egypt, where you watch it snorkeling. Sataya, at Fury Shoals, is the most reliable place, and the encounter is best at sunrise. In Zanzibar and Mexico, you are more likely to see it from the boat.
Where to dive to see the spinner dolphin?
MexicoPelagicEl Boiler
Revillagigedo Islands (Socorro)Can be seen all year round: bottlenose dolphins visit the pinnacle and approach divers; spinner dolphins are seen from the boat
TanzaniaPelagicMafia Island whale sharks
Mafia IslandCan be seen all year round: seen from the boat in the Mafia Channel
TanzaniaReefMnemba Atoll
ZanzibarPeak season all year round: in pods around the atoll, often seen from the boat before the dive
MexicoPelagicRoca Partida
Revillagigedo Islands (Socorro)Can be seen all year round: groups offshore, seen from the boat; bottlenose dolphins sometimes approach divers
EgyptCave or cenoteSt. John's and Fury Shoals
Southern Red Sea, EgyptPeak season all year round: the Sataya pod, in the lagoon, at daybreak
How do you identify a spinner dolphin?
The spinner dolphin, also called the long-snouted spinner dolphin, measures 1.30 to 2 meters and weighs 45 to 75 kilos. It is slender but muscular, with a long thin beak, a large triangular or falcate dorsal fin and pointed pectoral and tail fins. The back is black or dark gray, the belly paler, and both the eyes and the lips are often edged in black. Each jaw carries 45 to 63 pairs of sharp teeth. It comes in more varied forms than any other dolphin, with at least three subspecies, one of which is found worldwide.
How do spinner dolphins live?
It is a warm-water dolphin that lives in groups and hunts fish and squid offshore at night, before coming back to rest by day in calm, shallow water. Its name comes from its leaps: it bursts out of the water and spins on itself several times before falling back. Its life expectancy is about 23 years. The species is listed as Least Concern, but populations that rest near the coast are sensitive to disturbance by boats and swimmers.
Where and when can you see spinner dolphins?
In the Red Sea, groups of spinner dolphins come every morning to rest in lagoons of southern Egypt. They are there year-round. At Fury Shoals, a colony lives in Sha'ab Sataya, a huge oval lagoon. You go there on a day trip from Hamata, or on a liveaboard. Near Marsa Alam, Egyptians call Sha'ab Samadai the Dolphin House. The encounter is best at sunrise, from a liveaboard, before the boats from the coast arrive.
In the Indian Ocean, the spinner dolphin swims in pods around Mnemba Atoll, in Zanzibar, year-round. You will often meet it from the boat, before getting in the water. In the Mafia Channel, in Tanzania, you can also see it from the boat.
In the Pacific, in Mexico, you will also find it in the Revillagigedo Islands, at El Boiler and Roca Partida. You can see groups from the boat, from November to June. Underwater, it is the bottlenose dolphins that approach divers. To watch the spinner dolphin in the water, snorkeling, Sataya remains the most reliable place, year-round.
How should you behave in the water with spinner dolphins?
These lagoons are regulated resting areas: you get in the water with fins, mask and snorkel, never on scuba, stay together at the edge of the authorized zone and let the dolphins decide whether to approach. No chasing, no diving down onto the group, no contact. A resting group swims slowly in circles; if it speeds up or moves away, you have disturbed it, and you get out of the water.
Our tip
At Sataya, you get in the water with fins, mask and snorkel, never on scuba, and stay together at the edge of the lagoon: the dolphins choose whether to come. Don't chase them, don't touch them, and respect the time and the resting zone set by the park rangers.