3 - 10 April 2027
Freediving & yoga retreat at Sataya Reef, Egypt
Encounter dolphins in the wild, ethically, every day
What to expect
Freediving for beginners, daily yoga, ethical dolphin encounters and holistic practices on a liveaboard boat at Sataya Reef, Egypt.
Sataya Reef is home to one of the world's largest resident pods of spinner dolphins. For one week, it's home to us too. We'll be living aboard a beautiful liveaboard boat, waking up to open water, spending our days learning to breathe, freedive, move and slow down. You’ll be swimming with dolphins on their own terms, ethically, in the wild.
This is a collaboration between Flowstate Freediving and Yoga with Maja. We've brought these two practices together because they complement one another perfectly. You’ll get out of your head, into your body, and into the present moment.
You don't need to be a freediver. You don't need to be a yogi. You just need to be a little curious to give it a go. This week is specifically designed so you can try freediving with no prior experience.
This week is for you if:
❋ You keen to try freediving
Learn the basics, including safety, breathing, equalisation and how to safely explore in a wild environment. Freediving equips you to interact with wildlife with little impact and total presence. It also teaches you how to tap into a state of internal calm and bodily connection.
❋ You want to meet wild dolphins
Not behind glass, not at a theme park. In the open ocean, ethically and respectfully on their terms. And the freediving gives you the stillness to be with them in a way nothing else does.
❋ You’re curious about the ocean
You've always been drawn to the water but never quite made it below the surface. This week is a gentle invitation to change that, and explore the depths of yourself and the water.
❋ You’re drawn to yoga, breath and holistic wellness
Whether you've practiced for years or you're brand new to it, the sessions here are about connecting more deeply with yourself, others and nature. It goes beyond just traditional yoga, and takes you on a journey within.
❋ You’re craving a reset
A week away from the noise, disconnected, living on the reef, nowhere to be except with the group, enjoying the energy and dolphins of Sataya reef. This place has a way of upgrading you to a new level of life.
❋ You want to go deeper
Into yourself, and the water. You want to skip the small talk and get straight to the soul connecting convos. Sataya and our retreats have a way of channeling that energy.
Your week will go something like this…
Your mornings start with yoga on the top deck with Maja as the sun comes up over the reef, and you might spot the dolphins entering the reef for the day. Movement, breath, connection to yourself before the day begins. On a boat, with nothing but open water around you. Some of the best days of your life are about to happen!
We run two dolphin sessions every day, taking small zodiacs out to approach where the dolphins are, and enter quietly. Each day they are different, sometimes they’ll come straight to us, others we watch from further away while they sleep (with one eye open!), in the afternoons the teens play, squeak and click, and they might even spin with you as you dive down.
Step-by-step we will build your confidence in the water with a series of fun, low pressure freediving workshops on the boat and in the water. You’ll learn the basics of getting below the surface, equalisation, moving calmly, and trusting your breath. The freediving skills you build across the week feed directly into enhancing your dolphin interactions.
The week is a mix of in-water workshops, freediving explainer sessions on deck, and Maja's yoga, ceremonies, breathwork and meditation work. Everything is connected, you’ll flow between moments of joy, awe, emotional release and connection with the group.
What's included across the week:
In-water freediving workshops: breath-holds, duck dives, equalisation and more
Freediving theory and safety sessions
Small group water time with feedback from your instructors
Two dolphin sessions daily
Daily yoga sessions with Maja
Breathwork, workshops and meditation sessions daily
Powerful ceremonies at sunset
7 nights aboard the liveaboard boat, sleeping at the reef
3 meals a day, fresh juices, snacks and soft drinks
Imagine you’ve done your sunrise yoga and experienced this all before you’ve even had breakfast.
The boat
7 nights aboard a beautiful, comfortable liveaboard yacht moored inside the reef
Daily rides on the zodiac boats to visit the dolphins
3 buffet meals daily, fresh juices, snacks and soft drinks all included
Twin cabins with ensuite bathrooms and windows
Plenty of space and shaded areas to rest, read, journal or do nothing at all
Transfers from Hurghada or Marsa Alam to the boat included
Yes, it really is possible to experience dolphins ethically, in the wild.
We didn’t believe it until we visited ourselves and had the best week of our lives….
The dolphins here are wild and free. Our encounters happen entirely on their terms. Our expert guides read their behaviour and advise on when to enter the water according to the mood of the dolphins. They are treated with respect and never chased. We swim and snorkel with them, with opportunity to freedive down to their level.
Freediving on the trip is completely optional, and because the dolphins come to the surface, you can experience them beautifully with snorkelling alone.
“Seeing Immy & Joe freediving down & dancing with the dolphins or just sitting at the bottom of the reef amongst them all made many of us want to "give it a go". I honestly thought being a smoker would hinder me but it turns out not, so under their calm yet encouraging guidance & huge smiles, they showed me the correct technique & drilled safety into my ADHD brain.
We all felt in very safe hands. Being able to go down to meet the dolphins under the water was truly a magical experience..... you could say breathtaking. And I was totally hooked...”
Zosia - Sataya Freediving Workshop Participant
New to freediving? Here’s what to expect
Freediving is often misunderstood. It's not about pushing limits or holding your breath until it hurts. It's about learning to be calm, trusting your body to do what it is naturally capable of, and letting go of the tension that can hold us back.
The week is focused on building the foundations of freediving. It’s not a formal qualification, so there’s no pressure to achieve.
We run a series of introduction workshops, where you'll learn:
How to breathe properly for breath holds
Freediving safety, rescue basics and how to buddy properly
Equalisation technique and how to keep working on it
How to duck-dive efficiently so getting below the surface stops being a struggle
How to stay calm and regulated in and under the water
How to approach wildlife ethically and read a dolphin's behaviour
What freediving actually feels like when everything clicks
This is an introduction, not a formal qualification. We'll give you the foundations to experience the reef in a new way.
New to yoga? Here’s what to expect
The week approaches yoga as a way into the water, and journeying into yourself.
Maja has been guiding retreats at Sataya for four years. She knows this place and what it does to people. Her yoga, breathwork and ceremony work creates the kind of group energy that makes a week feel like a turning point.
The yoga here is so much more than just Asanas! It’s accessible to all levels of experience, with a focus on soul-expansion, breath and connection. Which also happen to be exactly what freediving asks of you.
Together we've designed a programme that holds both: the physical and the spiritual, the technique and the feeling, the doing and the being.
About your hosts
Immy & Joe, Flowstate Freediving
Retreat facilitators and certified AIDA freediving instructors
We teach freediving because we believe it's one of the best ways to explore the ocean, We’re not about chasing depth and numbers, and more focused on that flow state feeling you can experience when you’re at one with the water and yourself.
As big believers in the holistic side of the practice, we’re so excited to bring our expertise together with Maja’s. Freediving draws on breathwork, nervous system regulation, mindfulness and presence in ways that overlap naturally with yoga and other body-based practices. It's why a week like this makes so much sense to us. Everything Maja brings to the programme feeds directly into your time in the water, and vice versa.
Maja, Yoga with Maja
Retreat facilitator and certified yoga instructor
Maja has led dolphin retreats at Sataya for four years and knows this place in a way that shows in everything she does. She brings the depth of practice and warmth that makes a week like this land differently.
We attended her Sataya retreat in early 2026 and we just knew we had to partner with her. We saw first hand how life changing her methods and ceremonies are, and we can’t wait to pair her magic with the freediving.
Overview
3 - 10 April 2027
8 Days | 7 Nights | Sataya Reef, Egypt
Limited spaces, bookings open
What's included
7 nights all-inclusive aboard the yacht
3 buffet meals daily, snacks, soft drinks and fresh juices
Two dolphin swim sessions daily
Dolphin behaviour introduction so you know how to approach them well
Marine park entrance fee (€140)
Morning yoga with Maja
Evening meditations and a cacao ceremony
Conscious breathwork journey
Freediving workshops: in-water basics and dry theory sessions
Dry equalisation practice
Small group freediving sessions with feedback from your instructors
Freediving instructors present throughout the whole week
Snorkeling guides
Transfers from Hurghada or Marsa Alam to the boat (both ways)
Not included
Flights and visa
Travel insurance and personal expenses
Crew gratuity (100 Euro)
Bring your own mask and snorkel for your comfort
Optional scuba diving
Nearest airports: Hurghada (HRG) or Marsa Alam (RMF), Egypt
Pricing
Book early and get early-bird offer of €200 off (use code: FLOW).
Twin shared cabin (per person)
Lower deck: €2,750
Upper deck: €3,000
Private cabin (single occupancy)
Lower deck: €3,450
Reserve your place with a €500 deposit. Payment plans available.
Limited spaces and limited availability of private cabins.
Book your retreat
Still not sure?
Book a free call with us to ask questions and see if this is the right trip for you.
You’ll be taken to our external booking site to complete your booking and pay your €500 deposit.
FAQs
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None at all. This week is designed with complete beginners in mind. We'll teach you everything from scratch: how to breathe, how to get below the surface, how to stay calm. If you can swim and you're curious, that's enough.
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No, if you’d just like to be in the water with the dolphins and don’t want to learn freediving, thats totally fine!
All the workshops are optional. -
Yes, and you're probably not alone in the group. But you need to be able to swim.
A lot of people who come to us have a complicated relationship with the water: they love it but feel anxious in it. That's actually part of what this week works on. We go at your pace, there's no pressure to do anything you're not ready for, and being in the water every day in a safe and supportive environment tends to shift things quite quickly. -
Wetsuits can be rented, but most people don’t need them! If you have your own freediving gear, bring it. If not we recommend bringing a mask and snorkel and we can provide fins and weights.
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We can't guarantee wildlife, and anyone who tells you otherwise isn't being straight with you. What we can tell you is that Sataya Reef has one of the largest resident spinner dolphin pods in the world. We've never done a trip without seeing them. And it’s normal to see them on 95% of our water sessions.
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Not at all! Spinner dolphins are small, curious and gentle. The way we approach them in the water is calm and unhurried, and they tend to respond in kind. Most people's experience is that the dolphins are far more relaxed than they expected. They might even come to play with you and spin around you if you’re lucky.
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We follow strict guidelines around how we enter the water, how close we get, and when we back off. Freediving is central to this: being quiet and calm in the water, rather than splashing on the surface, means the dolphins aren't disturbed by our presence. We read their behaviour throughout every session and always let them lead. If they're resting or not interested, we leave them alone.
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Three buffet meals a day, fresh, varied and generous. There's a good spread of options and the boat crew look after you well. Fresh juices and snacks are included throughout the day. Let us know about any dietary requirements when you book and we'll make sure the chef is on it.
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Cabins are twin share. If you're booking solo we'll pair you up. If you want a cabin to yourself, you can pay extra for a private one.
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The Red Sea coast, where we're based, is well-established as a tourist destination and has been for decades. Hurghada and Marsa Alam are busy, well-visited areas. We wouldn't run trips here if we had concerns, and the area is not affected by the war. That said, we always recommend taking out comprehensive travel insurance.
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Our trips are non-refundable, no matter the circumstances. We recommend you purchase comprehensive travel insurance at the time of booking.
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Its normal to feel nervous about new experiences, but don’t let that stop you! If you’d like to chat more about the trip you can book a free call with us, or contact us on IG or email.