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Shark Diving South Africa

South Africa is the most popular place in the world to go shark diving, especially cage diving with Great White sharks. South Africa has the highest populations of Great White sharks in the world. South Africa a solid infrastructure for shark diving with lots of quality locations and dive operators.

Location & Map:
As the name suggests, South Africa lies on the southern tip of Africa. South Africa's cold Antartic ocean currents make it ideal Great White shark territory. South Africa shark diving is more popular than anywhere else in the world. See below for a detailed map of South africa.

South Africa shark diving

Currency:
South Africa's currency is the Rand. $100 USD = approx 630 South African Rand (R). Most shark diving tour operators will accept Rand and USD, best to check before you dive.

Popular shark diving spots:
There are areas all over South Africa where you can dive with sharks. Listed below are the main areas for diving with shark, whale sharks and other large marine life.

Aliwal Shoal
Aliwal Shoal was selected as one of the top ten dives sites of the world by the Diver Magazine and is located about a 30 minute boat ride from the river mouth. June - November you can see Ragged Tooth Sharks as they congregate around the Shoal to mate. In the summer month you're likely to see Tiger Sharks and some large Hammerheads. Depths range between 18 and 30 meters so an advanced open water water certificate is required. Water temps can range from 19^oC in winter to 25^oC in summer.
Gansbaai (Dyer Island)
Gansbaai is little holiday and fishing village situated a 160km from Cape Town. Dyer Island has become known as one of only two unique areas in the world where there is an exceptionally good chance to chances see Great White sharks. Cage shark diving is strictly regulated by the government and authorities and is conducted in accordance with international standards. The best time of the year is in April through to September, when the sharks feeding.
Mosselbaai
The Mediterranean style seaside town of Mossel Bay is situated on a sun washed peninsula embraced by the Indian Ocean. Mosselbaai is another good area for diving with Great White sharks. Statistics kept of Great White sightings over the last five years help to pick the best possible time of the year being April to July and September to November.
Protea Banks
Protea Banks is rated as one of the world's best shark diving spots. All dives are drift dives and are lead by local dive masters who know the reef well. Bull, Tiger, Hammerhead, Thresher, Copper, Dusky, Ragged Tooth, Black Tip, and even the odd Mako shark are likely to be encountered in this area. Depending on the season, dolphins and whales may also be in the area. Hammerheads can also bee seen here, sometimes in great numbers but they are shy and often hard to find. March and April are good months for manta rays. Definately a must visit area in South Africa.
Sodwana Bay
One of the most popular diving and shark diving locations in South Africa. A good place to see a wide variety of protected marine life like Whale Sharks, whales (southern wright and humpback), large sea turtles and Manta rays. Visibility are rarely less than 15m and water temps vary between 19-24 degrees. There are plenty of dives available for depths from 12-18 metres and for the more advanced 18-50 metres.

There are many other dive sites in South Africa, but the ones listed are the most likely to have sharks in the area.

Species of sharks:
Shark diving in South Africa you're going to expect to see these species of shark:

South Africa doesn't only have sharks! You may see various species of whales, schools or Sardines, dolphins, manta rays, giant turtles and an array or fish species. The rough and unforgiving coastline also means there's many wrecks to explore.

Type of shark diving:
Both open water and cage shark diving are available in South Africa. All the Great White shark diving in South Africa is in cages (for obvious reasons) and smaller sharks can be seen in open water closer to shore.

Cost:
Shark diving in South Africa starts from around $180 USD per day. The average cost is around $300 USD per day and goes up to $500 USD per day for some tours. Many operators run 1 week shark diving tours which will set you back about $240/day for 7 nights. There are many shark diving operators in South Africa so it pays to shop around. See links at the bottom of this page for South Africa shark diving operators we have listed on this site.

Best time for shark diving:
You can see sharks in South Africa all year round. There are some special dates for seeing extrordinary marine wildlife and shark diving in South Africa. These include; June/July - sardine run, September/October - whale migration, October/November - schools of hammerhead sharks and January/Febuary - whale sharks. So there's plenty to see all year round, which is why South Africa is so popular for Shark Diving.

Find a shark diving operator:
To find local scuba diving center that offers shark diving in South Africa check out our tour operators page or the South Africa section of our directory.

More Information:

Shark diving tour operators
Find and compare South Africa shark diving operators and dive centers

Shark diving FAQ
Got some questions about shark diving? We answer them here.

South Africa Shark Diving Pictures:

Shark Diving South Africa

Shark Diving in South Africa

Shark Diving South Africa Great White Shark Diving