Scuba diving in South Africa
If it's variety you're after, you've come to the right place. South Africa has an enormously long coastline ranging from about 35°S to 27°S, which isn't quite within the usual range for tropical diving.
But the Mozambique Current flows down our east coast, bringing warm tropical water with it, and at Sodwana Bay we have the most southerly coral reefs in the world.
Here you'll find the full complement of pretty colourful fish and some great nudibranchs, including the outrageous Spanish dancer. Whale sharks, turtles, dolphins and ragged tooth sharks are often seen in specific areas.
As you head down the coast the underwater environment changes gradually until, once you reach Cape Town, you're diving in chilly but beautiful kelp forests. There are three major types of kelp, and a short portion of the Western Cape coast is the only place in the world that they all grow together.
- Click down to: Scuba diving quick links
If you've always shunned cold water diving, consider it. Sure, you have to don a thick wetsuit with constraining hoodie and gloves, but it's worth it. Diving in kelp is like walking in a forest - you float beneath the canopy and admire the surprisingly colourful reef life.
Off Cape Town, divers regularly see anemones in colours ranging from electric blue or deep red to pale pink, nudibranchs of almost every colour you can imagine, and a range of small creatures in and around the bright orange and sulphur yellow sponges.
There are dive schools in almost every centre, with a surprising number in landlocked Johannesburg, where people do their training before heading down to Sodwana Bay for their qualifying dives.
There is even an inland dive resort near Johannesburg, where students can do their first dive or two in a disused quarry. Komati Springs is a much deeper disused quarry in Mpumalanga province, where rebreather, mixed gas and deep diving courses are run.
Take careful note of your no-fly limits, however. A flight from sea level to Johannesburg can take only an hour, but you gain about 2 000 metres (7 000 feet) in altitude - that's without even considering the flight.
This represents a major risk, so adjust your itinerary to include a day of sightseeing, shopping or beach lounging between diving and travelling to Johannesburg.
Scuba diving quick links
Dive 4 Scuba offers scuba courses, gear, and equipment. It also offers diving trips to Sodwana Bay, Aliwal Shoal, and Protea Banks, as well as beyond the borders of South Africa to Mozambique, Zanzibar, and the Red Sea.
4 Ways Scuba is located in the Fourways Mall in Johannesburg. If offers a multitude of scuba diving courses and equipment, as well as diving in Aliwal Shoal, Sodwana, Madagascar, the Comores, Zanzibar, the Maldives, the Red Sea, and Thailand.
Adventure Bookings offers shark diving in Simonstown, at the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town, at Protea Banks, Mossel Bay, and Gansbaai, famous for its Great White Sharks. Adventure Bookings is an online adventure travel office, which offers a fast and easy service for booking adventure experiences throughout South Africa.
Adventure Diving Safaris offers scuba diving at the reefs and wrecks of Aliwal Shoal, Protea Banks, Rocky Bay, Gansbaai, Mossel Bay, and in Mozambique. The diving includes Great White Shark cage diving, and diving for the gentle giant of the deep, the Whale Shark.
Africa Dive Adventures offers diving at Protea Banks, in Mozambique, and also during the famed Sardine run. It also focuses on diving with sharks, including the Ragged-Tooth Shark and the Zambezi Shark.
Africa Dive Expeditions operates out of Umkomaas on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast. They are a dive operation, with a big focus and emphasis on ocean/shark reseach and conservation. Different trip packages are available to locations such as the nearby Aliwal Shoal, Sodwana Bay, Rocktail Bay, and southern Mozambique, and diving is done with Great White Sharks, Hammerhead Sharks, Tiger Sharks, and Ragged-Tooth Sharks..
African Watersports is concerned with the exploration and preservation of the Aliwal Shoal. It also offers combination tours - on land and in the water. It is located in Umkomaas, close to the Shoal itself, where most of the diving is concentrated.
African Odyssea is the founder dive operator on Protea Banks, which pioneered safe cageless diving with Bull Sharks (Zambezis), Tigers and Great Whites. Trevor Krull offers a unique dive safari through southern Africa. Casual day divers are also welcome.
Africa Dive Safaris features Great White Shark cage diving, White Shark breaching, whale watching and scuba diving tours in South Africa and Mozambique, as well as Cape Town and Garden Route tours, aerial tours and wildlife safaris.
AHA Dive Centre is located in Centurion Crescent in Centurion. It offers scuba diving courses, with 11 instructors attached to the centre, doing training from open water diver to instructor trainer. In addition, it retails dive equipment, and offers diving at a number of locations in Mozambique.
Aliwal Dive Centre, on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast offers diving with Ragged Tooth Sharks, Tiger Sharks, Manta Rays, Dolphins and Whale Sharks. The world famous Sardine Run is another possibility. Diving courses are also on offer, as well as gear for hire, and accomodation is available on site at the Aliwal Dive Lodge.
Aliwal Shoal provides a guide to dive operators and accomodation at the famous diving site located off of Umkomaas on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast.
All About Scuba has shops in Klerksdorp and Rustenburg. Dives are offered in Sodwana Bay, Mozambique, Egypt, and Indonesia, and an extensive list of equipment is available.
The Alpha Dive Centre is in Main Road, Strand, Cape Town. It offers diving courses, equipment, sales, services, airfills, and dive trips in Gordons Bay and False Bay, as well as Rooi Els and Simonstown. There is wreck diving too, and seals and sharks abound.
The Aquaplanet Dive Centre is located in Shelly Beach on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast. Their offerings include baited shark diving and the Sardine Run. The sites they visit include Protea Banks, Aliwal Shoal, the Aquarium at Ushaka Marine World and, for advanced divers, a couple of wrecks. They present a large number of courses and have a well-stocked shop.
Aquazoo Scuba is located in Roodepoort in Gauteng. For those undecided on whether or not scuba diving is for them, they offer free Scuba Experiences on most Saturday mornings. Other diving courses are also offered, while diving is also done in Sodwana Bay, the Mozambique, and the Red Sea.
Buddy Scuba Diving Adventures offers recreational and technical scuba diving courses. Among their offerings is personalised underwater video photography, Spear fishing, and charters to Sodwana Bay, as well as other local destinations.
Calypso Scuba Dive and Adventure Centre in Northcliff, Johannesburg, does on-site training in a heated pool/aquarium. Classrooms and shopping are also on-site, as well as servicing on all diving equipment. Trips are taken to as far afield as the Red Sea.
Coral Divers operates a dive camp at Sodwana Bay in KwaZulu-Natal, offering dive packages, equipment hire and accommodation, as well as various PADI dive courses.
Dive Action Cape Town is a one-stop shop for PADI, NAUI and IANTD training, scuba gear purchasing and servicing and recreational scuba diving. Wreck and reef dives are available in both the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, with a total of 32 sites on offer.
Dive Den Scuba is located in Newcastle, northern KwaZulu-Natal. It's a dive shop that sells and rents out equipment, as well as a club. They also present diving courses, with club members receiving discounted prices. Diving trips are undertaken to among other sites, Sodwana, Mozambique, and Aliwal Shoal.
Dive Locker can be found in Randpark Ridge, Johannesburg. It offers padi diver training, equipment sales, equipment servicing, gear rental, second hand gear sales, and air fills, as well as local and foreign dive travel, including to Aliwal Shoal, Rocktail Bay, Mozambique, Zanzibar and the Red Sea.
Duck 'n Dive is a dive shop that retails diving equipment and accessories. It is also a dive school, offering a number of different courses, including rescue diver and master diver courses, as well as an organiser of tours, including to Hermanus and Mozambique.
The Dive Shop is located in Roodepoort. It stocks a wide variety of scuba diving gear and diving accessories. It offers PADI diving courses, from the basic open water level, right up to Dive Master and Specialities. Diving trips are undertaken to Sodwana Bay and locations in Mozambique.
Dive South Africa is a a family-owned business specialising in scuba diving safaris and holidays to Southern Africa and Mozambique. As a recognized BSAC dive safari operator they make use of local BSAC, PADI, NAUI, CMAS and SSI recognized dive charters and resorts in South Africa and Mozambique. Packages include diving for Bull Sharks, Great White Sharks, Hammerhead Sharks, Manta Rays, Whale Sharks, Tiger Sharks, and the Sardine Run. They're based in Faerie Glen, Pretoria.
Dive the Big Five specialises in scuba diving and wildlife safaris. The dive sites include the Cape Peninsula, Gansbaai, Sodwana, Protea Banks, and Aliwal Shoal, as well as a number of locations in Mozambique. The diving expeditions can also be combined with wildlife expeditions.
Dive Travel Centre is to be found in Craighall, Johannesburg. It offers diving courses, as well as diving tours to locations all along South Africa's coast line, including diving with sharks, whales, and cage diving with Great White Sharks. In addition, diving tours are also undertaken to Zanzibar, Mozambique, and the Red Sea.
Diving with Sharks is an eco-tourism company specialising in shark conservation and research diving, shark conservation courses and shark diving, ocean awareness courses for divers and non-divers, PADI dive courses, dive expeditions, casual diving, and diving at the Aliwal Shoal and during the Sardine Run.
East Rand Scuba specialises in offering training at affordable prices. They have an indoor pool in which they conduct training, as well as a lecture/conference room. Sharklife courses, including ocean conservation, the Ragged-Tooth Shark, the Bull Shark, the Tiger Shark, Black-Tip Shark, Great White Shark, Manta Ray, and Whale Shark are available. Excursions are taken to various sites, including to Mozambique.
Electrodive is located in Mossel Bay. It offers diving courses; first aid courses; boat charters and rides; scuba and spearfishing; equipment sales, rental, and servicing; air fills and cyclinder testing; and the playing and coaching of underwater hockey. Dives are undertaken to a number of sites, including Santos Reef, the Santos Wreck, Mitch's Reefs, Sponge Reef, Phluffy Reef, Butterfly Wall, Windvogel, and "Dolosse".
Executive Adventures boast many great offerings, among them scuba diving. They have qualified NAUI instructors to put people through courses or dive masters to take the adventurous to the most spectacular dive sites throughout South Africa and its neighbouring countries. The dive sites include Vilanculos and Ponta Do Ouro in Mozambique, as well as Kosi Bay, Sodwana Bay, Aliwal Shoal, and Protea Banks. Shark cage diving in Gansbaai is also available.
Expert Tours specialises in dive tours and dive adventures within South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia, and Botswana. Land-based expeditions are also on offer. The company has been involved in numerous film productions, including of the Sardine Run, diving with elephants and crocodiles, and free diving with whales and sharks.
Flippers to Fins Scuba Academy organizes regular excursions to Sodwana, Aliwal Shoal, Protea Banks and Mozambique. They present a wide range of courses, with a focus on dive safety and environmental conservation. They also sell top quality gear.
Geko Divers is a PADI dive centre situated in Protea. They present diving courses, offer online shopping, and travel to many different dive sites. These include Mozambique, Sodwana Bay, Aliwal Shoal, Wondergat, Badgat, Miracle Waters, Bass Lake, Cape Town, and even such far away destinations as Cuba, Phuket in Thailand, and wreck diving in Denmark and Greenland!
H20 Scuba is a scuba dive resort situated very close to the Uvongo Beach and lagoon on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast. It offers a wide variety of courses and has a saltwater pool on the premises. Dives are done at Protea Banks where one can encounter the Zambezi Shark, Hammerhead Shark, Tiger Shark, Black Tip Shark, Guitar Shark, and Ragged Tooth Shark, as well as the Humpback Whale, Whale Shark and Dolphin.
Hartley's Oceans and Islands specialises in Island holidays with particular specialist knowledge on scuba diving. It offers holidays to remote island and beach wilderness destinations all over the world. In South Africa, shark and wreck diving is undertaken along the coasts of the Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, as well as a little further north in Mozambique.
Hippo Dive Campus is located at the Knysna Heads in Knysna, the heart of the garden route. It offers shore entry dives to the wreck of the Paquita and Tapas Jetty, where the famous Knysna Seahorse may be found. Boat dives in and out of the Knysna Heads go to some of the most awesome dive sites along the garden route. Hippo Dive Centre is a PADI dive centre, with courses ranging from Discover Scuba Diving up to Instructor level and Emergency First Response. It features a shop that carries a full range of diving equipment and accessories. Air fills and gear servicing are also available.
Honu Divers is located in Bel Air Mall in Northriding, near the Coca-Cola Dome, Johannesburg. It is PADI Dive Centre and specialises in scuba diving training. It stocks a wide range of top-quality dive gear and accessories. On site gear servicing is provided. Regular trips are undertaken, including to Sodwana Bay, Mozambique, and the Red Sea.
Keryn's Dive School presents courses from those for young children up to dive master and assistant instructor. Other courses include the SAMSA skippers' license and the VHF REstricted Radio Operators License (Marine).
KwaMnandi Lodge is located in Umkomaas, perfectly position to access many of South Africa's prime diving sites. It offers accomodation, as well as daily dives to Aliwal Shoal, Rocky Bay, Protea Banks and Gansbaai. There are also regular dive excursions to Sodwana Bay and Southern Mozambique. The Lodge offers many services, including diving equipment storage facilities, a hair-dressing and beauty salon on site, laundry service, a gold course just across the road, and easy access to game reserves.
Liquid Edge Technical Diving offers technical courses from NAUI, TDI/SDI or IANTD in both English and Afrikaans. It has a school in Northcliff, Johannesburg, and a shop at Calypso on Beyers Naude Drive. Liquid Edge also sells technical equipment. At the sites it visits you can search for the famous Coelocanth, go Great White Shark spotting, take in the sardine Run, and visit Bosmansgat, the third largest water-filled cave in the world.
Mako Diving offers practical diving and skipper training at Sodwana Bay, in addition to accommodation at Rod's Lodge and ocean charters. The courses are not aimed to provide certification, but to introduce non-divers to diving.
Meridian Dive Centre is located on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast. It offers RAID and PADI courses. In addition, dive safaris include the Sardine Run, coral reef diving at Sodwana, and Tiger Shark diving. Great White Shark cage diving is included, and other destinations include Aliwal Shoal, Mozambique, Protea Banks, and Rocky Bay.
Oceans Alive Diving is situated opposite the Umkomaas Golf Club. It offers accomodation and diving experiences. This includes scuba courses and experiences such as Tiger Shark diving and the Sardine Run. Aliwal Shoal, just five kilometres offshore is one fo the top dive sites in the world and features an impressive and extensive range of diving possibilities.
Ocean Divers International Port Elizabeth has been in business for over 25 years and boasts a flawless safety record. The retail shop is to be found at the Ocean Divers International Training Centre at 10 Albert Road, Walmer. It is a one-stop dive shop, offering equipment, rentals, and the "We drive You dive" concept in which customers are taken to different launch sites. There are plenty of options located inside and outside of the Port Elizabeth Bay, including reefs, wrecks, and shark diving.
Ocean Dreamers offer NAUI and PADI courses. They also offer dives at Miracle Waters, Sodwana Bay, Bass Lake, and Mozambique, among other destinations.
Ocean Logic International offers IANTD and NAUI free diving courses. Trevor Hutton is the man behind the business and his list of achievements includes a free immersion world record, established in Namibia in 2001.
Ocean Vision Ocean Vision is primarily a provider of under water learning, focusing on underwater naturalist, ship wreck diving and ocean knowledge development that includes shark diving courses. In addition to guided tours of shipwrecks and marine environments that include coral reefs off the South African coastline, Ocean Vision also offers a variety of diver instruction for the beginner through to master scuba diver and dive master professionals.
Pendragon Diving Based near the Aliwal Shoal, near Umkomaas, Pendragon Diving offers extensive dive instruction. It also offers diving at Aliwal Shoal, with reef dives at Cathedral, Shark Alley, Raggies Cave, Chunnel, Pinnacles, the Inside and Outside Edge, Southern Ledges, Eelskins, and Manta Point. There are also wreck dives to The Produce and The Nebo, and superb Tiger Shark dives. Pendragon Diving also boasts extensive experience of underwater filming.
Pisces Divers, South Africa is a PADI dive centre located just a few metres from the False Bay coast in Glencairn. offer all levels of PADI dive training from beginner to professional level, as well as diving equipment rental and sales, a servicing workshop for all major brands, and an airfill and nitrox service. It also hosts wreck and reef dives. Wreck dives include the SAS Gelderland, the Ark Rock Barge, the Brunswick, the Glencairn Barge and Reef, the SAS Good Hope, the SAS Fleur, and the Lusitania.
Pro Dive Port Elizabeth is a PADI five-Star Dive Centre offering diving courses and charters in Port Elizabeth and Plettenberg Bay. Also on offer is equipment rental, snorkelling, shark tank dives, equipment sales, and dives at sites in South Africa, the Maldives, the Red Sea, Zanzibar, and Indonesia.
Pro Seafaris is based in Cape Town and offers drive and dive packages to, among others, Mozambique and the Sardine Run. They offer a choice of 15 different wrecks and South African sites include Cape Town, Plettenberg Bay, Protea Banks, Aliwal Shoal, and Sodwana Bay.
Reef Divers is located in Brooklyn in Pretoria. They offer PADI courses, a dive shop, and travel, including locally and abroad.
Reefteach is located in the diving hotspot of Sodwana Bay. It offers diving courses and environmental courses, and luxurious accomodation is available at Reafteach. Diving takes place at Sodwana Bay at the ¼ Mile Reef, 2 Mile Reef, 5 Mile Reef, 7 Mile Reef, 8 Mile Reef, and 9 Mile Reef. They all offer something different and special.
Scuba Centre is based in Randburg. It has an on site pool and lecture facilities, and welcomes freelance instructors. It also has equipment for rental and offers limited free airfills. In addition, Scuba Centre has another shop in Tyger Valley in the Cape.
ScubaQ is situated in Springs, Gauteng. It teaches scuba diving through numerous courses, and offers wreck diving, diving with sharks, and scuba diving equipment. Excursions are undertaken in South Africa, as well as Mozambique, Mauritius, Zanzibar, the Seychelles, Madagascar, Australia, Hawaii, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Bali, and the Red Sea.
Scuba Scene has three branches, in Menlyn, Greenstone, and Centurion. It provides equipment and training. It is also associated with Oxygene Diving, which has dive centres and liveaboards in Sweden, Finland, England, Malta, Egypt, Philippines, Pemba, Croatia, Estonia, Canada, Thailand, Tenerife, Indonesia, South Africa and Mozambique.
Scuba Shack has two PADI dive centres in Cape Town, one of them a five-star instructor development dive resort. There is a purpose-built training centre in Kommetjie with its own training pool. The retail shop is filled with dive equipment and accessories. Reef diving is offered in False Bay and in the Atlantic Ocean. There are also a number of wrecks that can be dived, including the SAS Pietermaritzburg, which was scuttled in 1994 to form an artificial reef in False Bay.
Scuba World International is based in Linden, Johannesburg. It offers NAUI courses, as well as specialities, including Advanced Swimming, Shark Diver, Night Diver, Underwater Environment, Deep Diver, Underwater Photography, Search and Recovery Diving, Training Assistance, Scuba Rescue Diver, and Advanced Scuba Rescue Diver. Equipment is also for sale. Diving destinations include the Red Sea, Sodwana Bay, Guinjata Bay in Mozambique, and Wondergat.
Scubaversity is a club located in Roodepoort. It hosts courses and has four lecture rooms, a showroom, store and workshop, in addition to a recreation area that includes a bar and pool table. The pool is uniquely adapted for scuba training. Trips are made to various destinations, including Mozambique, Lesotho, Wondergat, and Sodwana.
Sea Escapes is based in Sodwana Bay. They offer diving at Sodwana at seven different reefs. In addition, they also offer turtle tours. Self-catering accomodation is available at Toad Tree Cabins.
Shark Bookings offers diving in South Africa at Aliwal Shoal, Gansbaai, Cape Town, and Protea Banks. They also dive in Adelaide, the Bahamas, Isle Guadalupe (Mexico), Mozambique, and Dar es Salaam. The sharks include, the Great White, the Blue, the Mako, the Tiger, the Bull or Zambezi, the Ragged-Tooth, and the Hammerhead. The gentle Whale Shark can also be viewed. Combination tours are also available.
Specialised Diving Academy is based in Bloemfontein. It offers a fully-stocked shop and PADI courses, with training taking place in Bloemfontein and at Aliwal Shoal. Accomodation is provided at Umkomaas Lodge.
The Great White House offers African cottage-style accommodation, superb food, whale watching and Great White Shark cage diving tours in Gansbaai.
The Shoal has been operating in Umkomaas for over a decade. It has a dive centre and caters for diving enthusiasts of all capabilities. The Shoal offers training in the PADI and SSI systems, from open water level to instructor. Gear is available for rental, and among the higlights of options available is diving with Tiger Sharks.
Triton Dive Charters and Lodge is located at the diving hotspot of Sodwana Bay. It was founded in 1994 and is a founder member of The Sodwana Bay Dive Industry Association. Triton specialises in "the deeper side of diving"; in 1998 it initiated, organised and hosted the Wright Canyon Expedition, which is where the search for the elusive coelacanth started in Sodwana Bay. It took until October 2001, but the famous fish was finally found. Triton also provides accomodation, courses, and equipment hire.
Twin Palms Dive Emporium is the first National Geographic-accredited dive centre in South Africa. It is located only 10 minutes from the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and offers onside pool facilities, accommodation, restaurant, lecture rooms, and a dive shop. Twin Palms is a five-star PADI Centre which specialises in master scuba dive training. It organises regular tours to among others, Malongane, Ponta do Ouro and Guinjata in Mozambique, and Sodwana and Aliwal Shoal in KwaZulu-Natal.
The Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town offers dives with Ragged-Tooth Sharks, rays, and turles in the I&J Predator Exhibit. Fish may also be fed in the Kelp Forest Exhibit. There are numerous other attractions for visitors to the aquarium and the venue caters for the physically disabled.
Umkomaas Lodge Dive Charters is a PADI Gold Palm scuba diving resort. It is situated on the beach, only a stone's throw from the mouth of the Umkomaas River, and offers accomodation as well as plentiful diving options. These include PADI courses from open water to dive master to instructor. Diving with Ragged-Tooth and Tiger Sharks is available.
Underwater Explorers are situated in Cape Town. Their primary focus is the provision of technical dive courses. They offer a wide variety of dives, including, among many wrecks available, those of the SAS Pietermaritzburg, the SS Lusitania, the SAS Transvaal, the SAS Goodhope, the SAS Fleur, and the SAS Bloemfontein.
Underwater World, in Durban, was established in 1974. It specialises in the retail and maintenance of diving equipment and Scuba Dive training courses that include beginners, up to instructor's courses. The company is affiliated to the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) and the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI). Dives are undertaken to locations all over the world, including in Micronesia, Malaysia, Mozambique, and at local dive sites. Underwater World also stocks and sells many major brands of diving equipment.
White Shark Projects is located in Gansbaai, the world capital of the Great White Shark. Diving is done in a cage, able to hold four to five people and divers get to spend about 20 minutes with the ocean's most feared predator. All diving and safety equipment is provided.
Last updated: April 2009
SAinfo reporter and South African Tourism
