Deep Sea Diving

Deep Sea Diving in South Africa

With almost 3000km of Coastline, it's hardly surprising that South Africa has some incredible deep sea diving locations. From exciting shipwreck dives, to intricate coral reefs, your appetite for memorable deep sea diving experiences will be more than satisfied in South Africa.

Of the popular deep sea dive sites in Southern Africa, Mozambique is at the top of most people's lists. With beautifully intricate coral reefs that are teeming with sea life, to exciting shark encounters, diving in Mozambique offers the complete experience for any deep sea diving enthusiast. Deep sea diving sites like Mavericks, Pinnacles, Bass City and Kev's Ledge are stunning advanced dives that will leave you in awe of the phenomenal sea life and natural beauty of the drop-offs, out-crops and crevices.

Did you know? For the experienced diver one of the essential dive experiences is the annual 'Sardine Run' when shoals of thousands of sardines migrate down South Africa's east coat. Occuring between May and July, the Sardine Run provides a truly spectular viewing and photographic opportunity and shouldn't be missed.

Near to Durban is the Aliwal Shoal. Regular dive trips are made to this spectacular location where you're bound to see Ragged Tooth sharks on just about every dive and during the summer months, you'll be treated to Hammerhead and Tiger shark encounters too. If swimming with a sea predator isn't your idea of a relaxing dive, then why not try exploring a ship wreck? In the crystal clear conditions of the Aliwal Shoal dive sites, you'll be dazzled by schools of pelagic fish, manta's, rays and much more. With 7 dive sites around the Aliwal Shoal, it's easy to see why its one of the top 10 deep sea dive sites in the world.

The Protea Banks deep sea diving site near Port Shepstone will provide seasoned divers with the experience to be in close proximity to an incredibly diverse array of sea life. From sharks like the Mako, Tiger, Hammerhead, Bull, Dusky and Ragged Tooth to schools of reef and pelagic fish, you'll be almost constantly surrounded by swarming fish, manta's and rays. During the summer months, this deep sea diving site is home to hordes of enormous manta's and schools of fish like Yellowtail and Pike - truly a memorable dive for accomplished deep sea divers.

One of South Africa's best diving spots, Rocky Bay, has 6 dive sites about 4 kilometers offshore and reaches depths of up to 40m. A beautiful combination of technical maneuvering through crevices and gulleys and sightings of some incredible tropical fish like Trumpetfish and the Geometric Moray Eel, make this secret dive spot an incredible destination for advanced divers.

Whilst the icy waters of Cape Town will require most people to use a dry suit, the spectacular deep sea diving locations on offer will make bearing the unique conditions worthwhile. Deep sea diving sites vary from wrecks to kelp dives and offer difficulty levels suitable for divers of all stages.

With so many diverse deep sea diving sites in South Africa, your options for diving are plentiful - regardless of your diving experience or skill level. Dive locations and waters teeming with life are all perfectly combined to make any deep sea dive in South Africa an unforgettable experience.