Surrounded by the sea to the west, south, and east, South Africa has a lengthy coastline featuring cooler waters around the western coast and the tropical waters around the eastern coast. You can possibly go for diving all year round at many diving sites, but it’s often not done at many sites because of the poor visibility or rough conditions during certain periods of the year. Yet, the best time for diving in South Africa is June, July, August, March, April and May
Often, you find cooler waters, typically with lower visibility in the areas around Cape Town and the Western Cape, but further up towards the KwaZulu Natal coast, you find waters warmer and visibility more conducive for diving. You also find a variety of different marine life because of the large variation in the water temperatures. The notorious Great White Sharks are commonly found around the Gansbaai and Cape Town areas, but tropical Sodwana Bay is known for dolphins and manta rays.
Cape Town is a wonderful diving destination. Some of the famous diving sites include False Bay – Pyramid, Castle, The Pietermaritzberg, Partridge Point, A-Frame, Smitswinkel, and Bay Wrecks, and Atlantic – Katzamaru and Di's Cracks. Atlantic diving is at its prime in summer. False Bay on the Indian Ocean side is best for diving during the winter months of May to October. You may have possible encounters with seals and dogfish (Shy Sharks), shipwrecks, mussels, colorful soft corals, sponges and larger fish, crayfish and small sharks, and nudibranches on both sides of Cape Point. Southern Right Whales play in False Bay from August to October.
Gansbaai, in the Overberg District Municipality, Western Cape, is a fishing village and popular tourist destination, which is sometimes referred to as Gans Bay or Big2Town. It is known for its dense population of Great White Sharks. It is also a popular location for whale-watching. You can enjoy Shark Cage Diving here.
Tsitsikamma is a famous diving site at Garden Route, South Africa. You can enjoy diving in underwater trail at Storms River Mouth. It’s a year round diving site. You may possibly come across Steenbras & Zebra fish, Rays, Pyjama Sharks, Resident Ragged Tooth Sharks, Curious Red Romans (Rock Cod), and Solorful sea urchins. You can find Southern Right Whales in winter and Humpback Whales in summer.
Port Elizabeth is also a notable diving site. You can enjoy diving in the bay at Bell Buoy and Haarlem Wreck, at Rie Banks further offshore, and at the wild side reefs – Gasmic, Avalanche, and Thunderbolt. It is year round diving site for locals but from September through to mid November, the weather is most unpredictable. You may have possible encounters with Leopard Shy Sharks, Pyjama Shy Sharks, Ragged Tooth Sharks, Red Romans, and Juvenille Hammerhead Sharks in December/January. You can see dolphins, jackass penguins, and southern right whales in winter and humpback whales all summer.
Protea Banks, off Shelly Beach, near Margate - Hibiscus Coast, is one of the popular diving sites in South Africa. April/May are the best months for diving. You may have possible encounters with spotted ragged tooth sharks from July to September, zambezi shark from Oct (little ones) through to May (biggies), scalloped hammerhead sharks in late September/October, potato basse, gamefish from January through to April/May, and large sand sharks and black spotted ribbontail rays in April/May.
Aliwal Shoal, rocky reef approximately 5km off the KwaZulu-Natal coast, is one of the well known diving destinations. Umkomaas is the main diving site. Some of the popular diving sites are – Landers Reef (average depth 21 - 32 meters), Butchers Reef (average depth 18 -25 meters), Cowry Reef (average depth 19 - 25 meters), Outside Landers (average depth 20 - 28 meters), and Umzamai wall (average depth 23 - 39 meters). Raggie Cave, Cathedral City, and The Produce are some other well known diving sites. Aliwal Shoal gets extremely crowded at weekends. August to November is the best time for diving here. You may have encounters with spotted ragged tooth sharks, dolphins, zambezi sharks, hammerhead shark, potato basse, eagle rays, stingrays, moray eels, humpback whales, wrasse species, tropical reef fish, colourful nudibranches, anemones and soft corals.
Sodwana Bay, located on the east coast of South Africa, between St. Lucia and Lake Sibhayi, certainly is one of the legendary diving sites in South Africa. Often dubbed as the Mecca of divers, the Bay offers one of the finest diving facilities. Kwazulu Natal, just south of Mozambique border, also has plenty to offer to the most discerning divers. With warmer waters of the Indian Ocean, it is an ideal area to dive throughout the year. Some of the best diving sites are Antons, Stringer (2 mile reef), Mushroom Rocks, Amphitheatre (7 mile reef), Green Tree (9 mile reef), and quarter mile reef. If you are experienced enough in diving, you can enjoy diving at Deep air dive - Diep Gat, and Adrenalin dive - Breaking waters at 9 mile. South African winter - April to September is the main diving season in this region. May is the best month for diving. You may have possible encounters with turtles, reef sharks, ribbontails, giant stingrays, colourful tropical reef fish, batfish, spadefish, fusiliers, coachmen (bannerfish), gold anthinae, large honeycomb morays, dolphins, and occasionally whale sharks.
