Diving in South Africa
Aliwal Shoal and Protea Banks: sharks close to shore all year and the sardine run in June and July
1 resort at this destination
South Africa — diving Aliwal Shoal at Umkomaas: tiger and bull sharks, the Cathedral, Protea Banks, the sardine run in June and July. Dive resorts, prices and seasons.
Why divers come here
- Aliwal Shoal — a fossilised dune five kilometres offshore and one of the most reliable shark reefs on earth
- Tiger sharks from January to June and bull sharks almost all year
- The Cathedral — the reef's signature site, where sharks gather in the gullies
- The sardine run in June and July: billions of sardines head north, followed by sharks, dolphins, gannets and whales
- Protea Banks to the south — a deeper reef with hammerheads and copper sharks
- The Produce and Nebo wrecks right on Aliwal Shoal
What you'll meet underwater
Tiger sharks (January to June)
Bull (Zambezi) sharks almost year-round
Oceanic blacktips and copper sharks
Hammerheads at Protea Banks
Humpback whales from June to November
Bottlenose and common dolphins
Turtles, rays, moray eels
The sardine run with its gannets and Bryde's whales
Photos: credits and licences
- Tiger sharks (January to June) — Albert kok, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Bull (Zambezi) sharks almost year-round — João D'Andretta, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Oceanic blacktips and copper sharks — Albert kok, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Hammerheads at Protea Banks — Kris-Mikael Krister, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Humpback whales from June to November — Juan Cruzado Cortés, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Bottlenose and common dolphins — NASA, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Turtles, rays, moray eels — Brocken Inaglory, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- The sardine run with its gannets and Bryde's whales — Iampjanz, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Practical information
- Best season
Diving all year. Tiger sharks from January to June, bull sharks almost year-round, clearest water from April to September.
The sardine run moves up the KwaZulu-Natal coast in June and July, with different dates every year
- Water temperature
- 19–26 °C
- Visibility
- 8–30 m
- Wetsuit
5 mm year-round, 7 mm or a semi-dry in winter, from June to September
- Experience level
Advanced and confident experience: surf launches in an inflatable, open-water dives, depths of 18–30 metres, current and swell.
A beginner will struggle here
- Getting there
There are no direct flights from Russia: you fly to Johannesburg (JNB) via Istanbul, Dubai, Doha or Addis Ababa, then a domestic flight to Durban (DUR) of about an hour.
Umkomaas is roughly an hour by road from Durban airport.
Many people hire a car: the KwaZulu-Natal coast is easy to drive yourself.
- Airports
Durban, King Shaka (DUR) — closest to Aliwal Shoal, Johannesburg (JNB) — the main connection, Cape Town (CPT)
- Visa
Russian citizens need no visa: entry on a passport for up to 90 days.
The passport must be valid for 30 days beyond departure and have two blank pages.
A return ticket is required.
- Climate
Subtropical on the east coast, air 18–30 °C, summer from December to February, rain in summer
- Currency
- South African rand (ZAR)
- Language
Twelve official languages
English, Zulu and Afrikaans are used along the KwaZulu-Natal coast
- Time zone
- UTC+2
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