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SCUBA Diving Destinations: Africa
Recommend a dive site or dive operator... We regularly add new areas to the SCUBA Travel site. If you want to be notified of updates to the site, along with other SCUBA diving news and discussion, please subscribe to our newsletter: SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011). Other SCUBA Diving DestinationsAsia • Australia • Caribbean • Central America • Europe • The Gulfs • Mediterranean • North America • Pacific • Red Sea • South America Diving MozambiqueMozambique Dive Sites | Mozambique Dive Operators | Further Reading Although Mozambique has had economic turmoil it is an odd mix of first world and third world. If you have the money and the will you can find almost anything in the country. (Money, of course being relative to the fact that most of the population is considered very poor by first world standards. A lot of money in Mozambique is small change in respect to a first world currency). Most dive operations in Mozambique are run by South Africans. I have dived most of the coast of Mozambique it is fantastic, from Whales and Mantas to leaf fish and harlequin shrimps.
Barra Reef
2 Mile Reef, Bazaruto
Set out beyond the islands this amazing reef has swim throughs walls and pinnacles.swam with a turtle and listene into the whales Washing Machine, Bazaruto
Tougher dive than 2 mile reef but dolphins surfed above our heads! Bay diving, Nacala
A shallow dive straight off the beach, easy and gentle. Nacala Bay Bat fish here are incredible, whales enter the bay, sunfish - also shallower areas for fantastic corals and smaller fish. Not touristy! Office A pinnacle at 18 to 28 m. There are always Manta rays on reef: they have a cleaning station there. Plenty of sharks and good viz. The reef is 10 km off Praia de Barra. Andres reef, Nacala
Batfish galore they swim above you the entire dive. Paradise, Nacala
Beautiful site, potato bass and reef reef reef. Manta Ray reef, Inhambane Loads of mantas, spanish dancers, morey eel, crayfish, shrimps, paper fish, whale sharks, colourful fish... This is the "cleaning station" for giant manta rays. It felt like you were diving in a National Geographic documentary on Manta Rays. They were everywhere - and stayed there for the whole duration of the dive. Huge turtles, and clouds of brightly coloured tropical fish accompanied us on our journey. Creche, Malongane
Beautiful tropical fish everywhere, including some beautiful juvenile fish! Schools of fish follow you around while you explore the beautiful reefs. Dolphins swam with the boat going to this site. Paradise, Malongane
Tons of tropical fish, honeycomb eels, parot fish, turtles, and beautiful coral. I also saw two Humback Whales up close at this site. There is a great swim through here too. Doodles, Malongane
Excellent site! I saw giant manta rays, a sea turtle, a prodigal son, a big sea bass (named Nuisance), tons of tropical fish and magnificant coral. The fish here are magnificant and some are absolutely giant in size! What a great dive! I saw more at this dive site than I have at any other! Portuguese Island, off Inhaca Island Water was green and not very clear and there was hardly any fishlife. The locals were using gillnets which has decimated all large fish populations in this area. Pinnacles, Ponto d Ouro Pinnacle at 35 m with Shark on every dive; Bull, Tiger, silver tip, Hammerheads, Manta, devil rays. Doodles, Ponto d Ouro Prolific fish life covering the most diversed species in the Indian Ocean. Anchor, Ponto d Ouro At 22 m, teeming with just about all the species found in the Indian Ocean plus an abundance of various corals (hard and soft).
Barra Lodge Charters Tel: +9258 23-20561, Fax: +9258 23-20561
Gone Diving Mozambique
Mozambique (Bradt Travel Guides) Diving South Africa
Sodwana Bay Sodwana Bay lies on the East coast of Africa, nestled between St Lucia and Mozambique. I learned to dive here with Coral Divers and many of the people I dived with were very experienced and worldly divers and they all agreed that it was an amazing dive experience, being only slightly lower on the continent than Mozambique it offers similar conditions. With awesome boat launches through towering surf and weather that is absolutely great year round. Super coral reef abound with aquatic life including rays, eels, turtle, whales and sharks. The coral is spectacular and varied with many arches and tunnels and caves for those who like to play. It is probably one of the most reasonable diving holidays and if that wasn't enough it is a hop, skip and a jump from the Kruger National Park which teams with wild life. Happy holidaying. 9 Mile Reef, Sodwana Bay On a reef called 9 Mile the species seen ranged from Whale shark and Bottlenose dolphin on the way out to the site, and a Blue marlin as we entered the water, to the most coral species I have seen on any of my dives around the world. It was just yummy. Quarter Mile Reef, Sodwana Bay Very small, but interesting reef, very near to the launch site. Is best in January and February when the raggies abound. The closest you will get to a raggie! Restricted site - so limited amount of divers per day. 2 Mile Reef, Sodwana Bay Very nice dive, lots of fish Very colourful reef. Lots of reef fish and coral. Saw several large turtles. Easy site to dive. Ribbon Reef, Sodwana Bay Nice dive on 2 big rocks. Saw lots of Lionfish and some massive stingrays. Dyer's Island Kelp forest with Cape Fur Seal's. We even spotted a Great White passing in the distance, no threat to anyone as they swim in open water mainly and not in the kelp forest. These creatures are a great attraction, and their behaviour is very inquisitive. December is normally calving season, we stop all diving activities there except for marine research. Gansbaai: Fred's Reef We found a new reef in Gansbaai area which I took the liberty of naming after myself "Fred's Reef". This dive is a boat dive, as the reef is about 900 meters off shore. The depth is between 9 and 18 meters, and there is a vast variety of marine life there, as well as South African Rock Lobster. This is excellent to catch and eat, although you must have a permit to dive or catch them. The visibility ranges now from 2 meters to 10 meters, which is good for this country! Bazaruto Island Water vis was not good - very green - and not a lot of fish life seen. Aliwal Shoal The vis was about 20 meters on all three days: we were spoilt. It normaly 10 - 15 m. We saw a wide variety of sea life including a Humpback whale and her calf being led by a School of dolphins, mind-blowing stuff. Manta rays and morey eels were some of the good things we also saw. When you get back there is a restaurant that does an awesome feed for a good price. The beers tasted pretty good as well! Three types of sharks, turtles, dolphins, breaching whales and lots more. Good sightings of raggies, currents tough at times. Dived Cathedral. Vis was 20m, water temp 23 deg. Lots of ragged tooth sharks, rays etc. Visibility 20m, water was warm, sea conditions flat. The group was all Aquabud and the fun started from the time we arrived at the charter until we left that afternoon. The Divemaster was tops. He showed up exactly where we would go and what we would see having the main dude (Miguel) on the dives, just makes a dream come true with his ways. Protea Banks On a lucky day you can virtually see any shark. Both from tropical or temperate aters. On an average day, depending on the season you will see at least 3 to 4 different species. Always see the bigstuff - sharks (many types), mantas, dolphns, turtles and the viz is fantastic. Cooper's Light, Durban Old whaler... no penetration but awesome fish around... one of my favourites I did with Calypso Dive. Our wreck dive was a great one. Once we backward rolled into the water, we could see the wreck at 30m. Once again Miguel of Aquabud Scuba was on the dive and he showed us so much on that wreck that you can only dream about. Just fish everywhere. Shark Dives So great getting up close and personal with the ocean boss. Calypso Dive prices were reasonable, less than half than what others down coast are charging.
Indigo Escapes PO Box 159, Coulby Newham, Middlesbrough, TS8 0WR, United Kingdom. Tel: +44 (0) 7917 773 153, info@indigoescapes.com, Web: http://www.indigoescapes.com/
Aliwal Dive Charters. Rating:
Dive Dimension, 14 Vickers Place, Glenashley, adventuredives@telkomsa.net. Twelve pounds (GB) a dive. Would definitely dive with them again.
Scuba Club.
Rating: I did my open water one with Scuba Club In Durban, The instructor is very experienced and an excellent dive master. He takes time to show people what is hiding in the nooks and crannies, Which is good 'cos if you are new to the area you aren't sure what to look for. On top of that he is a nutter!! I would definitely be going back. The course cost SAR 1820 Fully inclusive, Even the day after qualifying i never had to pay to hire any equipment from Scuba Club. Definitely a worth while experience!!! . Oceans Alive Diving Lala Manzi Inn, cnr of Moodie and Reynolds Road, Umkomaas. E-mail: info@oad.co.za These guys are truely professional. All the rental gear is brand new Scubapro equipment, two great boats and the staff is amazing. They made me feel like one of the familily, yet being very professional. Better than the previous operator I dived with at Aliwal Shoal. I Would definately recommend them to anyone who wants to go diving at the Aliwal Shoal. Accommodation was at Lala Manzi hotel. The dive charter is on the same premises so no driving required. Accom is great, food is amazing and the people are great.
Calypso Dive, Shaka Marine World, Durban. Offer everything... Local dives sites, awesome dive trips, shark diving - no cage - WOW (6 Tiger Sharks)!.. Aquarium diving for my kids... So awesome and they're based inside Durban's uShaka Marine World... I couldn't have asked for more. My kids did a discovery course with them inside the aquarium, which was great as i had no worries, especially with my 10 year old. Calypso does all the PADI courses in the aquarium... I would have loved to not have seen the bottom of the swimming pool on my PADI... I remember dead spiders and the odd hair ball... this is far much better.
Dive South Africa, 658 Carolina Street, Faerie Glen, Pretoria, South Africa. Tel: (+27) 12 991 3134, Fax (+27) 12 991 5523, E-mail: info@divesouthafrica.co.za.
Flow-In & Social Diving Club Cape Town, 215 Bree Street, Cape Town. Tel: (+27) 21 42 44 691, Fax: (+49) 30 450 88 020 wolf@optisem.com. Bottom's up Scuba South Africa. Tel: (+27) 82 493 0102, Fax: (+27) 11 827 7282, info@bottomsupscuba.co.za.
2KO International Tours info@2ko-international.com Oceans Africa Diving Adventures cc No 1 Libra Close, Plettenberg Bay, 6600, South Africa. Tel: +27 (0)73 178 5462, Fax: +27 (0)44 533 2379, E-mail: info@oceansafrica.com
Aquabud Scuba I did my Advanced course with Miguel Nunes, the owner of Aquabud. A true professional, he just made us all so comfortable during the lectures and on the dives. The course was a real value for money. I would recommend anybody to Aquabud, not only the teaching and the coaching in diving, but the friendly manner of their divers. Thank you, Miguel for an awesome time in South Africa. We will be back. Diving in Durban cost as R180 per dive + equipment hire. Aliwal Shoal dive cost R220 + equipment hire. The diving experience was unthinkable, a dream come true. Thank you all the Aquabud buddies you have changed my life.
Amoray Diving, Mseni Lodge, Sodwana Bay National Park, Sodwana Bay, Zululand, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Tel: +27 (0)35-5710284, Fax: +27 (0)35-5710251. E-mail: info@amoraydiving.com Amoray Diving, run by Colin. Great setup on the beach - one of two 'permanent' structures. More personal than the big 'sausage factory' outfits. Good crew, friendly staff and Colin's incredible knowledge, make this a must for divers who want to feel part of a family. Cost of dives vary - depending on which reef you are going to. Normally in the R200 to R280 range.
Coral Divers, Sodwana Bay, Zululand, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Coral Divers is a resort and dive charter in Sodwana Bay. The staff have no clue about customer service but the diving was good. Very professional and safety focused dive operator. May well trained DMs from their PADI CDC program. Their boat captains are incredibly good at what they do - important for getting out past the break. I do not want one person's bad experience (obviously something of value lost) to give a false impression of this fantastic place. I have dived in several places in Africa and Asia, and Coral Divers are among the most professional operators I have used. The monkeys come with living in a national park. Don't feed them and they won't bother you.
Coral Divers, Sodwana Bay, Zululand, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Accomodation at Coral Divers. The theft is out of control, if it's not the locals it's the monkeys. When approched management the answer was that they know about it. Please for your own good stay elsewhere in Sodwana. I'll never stay there if I go back on holiday. I would advise other to to the same, until they are prepared to erradicate the theft. The worse place that I've stayed, but the diving was good. I do not want one person's bad experience (obviously something of value lost) to give a false impression of this fantastic place. I have dived and stayed with Coral Divers on several occasions, including my PADI Open Water course. Each time I have been we have been treated very well. Booking and payments have been arranged promptly and without hassle. We have at times used the self-catering option, and the resort will prepare a fire for you to cook on, as well as washing up and cleaning. Very luxurious for self-catering. Will continue to keep coming back. Nice wooden deck with swimming pool. Food good but not the cheapest, Accommodation is good value for money. Set in a beautiful forest. I have dived in several places in Africa and Asia, and Coral Divers are among the most professional operators I have used. The monkeys come with living in a national park. Don't feed them and they won't bother you.
South Africa (Footprint Travel Guide) Diving TanzaniaThe best time to dive East Africa, including Tanzania, is from September to March. February is the best time for whale sharks.
Zanzibar in general I think that we have been lucky with the vis, because we had every dive at least 30 m. Was like being in the Red Sea, with the big difference that we have always been the only divers on each one of the dives in the water. We went in November and aparently November, February, March and April are the months with the best vis. Mnemba Island, Zanzibar Zanzibar, Tanzania is truly the paradise. Waters were so clear. We went down to 18 m and saw green turtles, potato groupers (large ones), piped fish, trumpet fish, lion fish and so much more. Beautiful tropical setting, many different levels of diving, miriad of colours of coral and fish. Also turtles, dolphins, manta rays. Crystal waters, general good coverage of species, shoals and shoals of darting fish. Learnt to dive in Zanzibar and this was my first ever open water dive, so I didn't really appreciate just how beautiful this site is at the time. Four years later I've failed to find anywhere that comes close! Turtles, trumpefish, lionfish, crocodile fish, and the coral displays stunning colours. Recommended! We were diving in Mnemba Island, Zanzibar one month ago. Fantastic place, but be aware of dishonest boatmen. I lost my money and shorts when diving with One Ocean company. Wattabomi, Zanzibar We saw many, many more smaller and much more colourful fishes. Truly a wonderful site. Beautiful green waters changing slowly to swimming pool blue. Unbelievable! Hunga Reef, North Zanzibar Apparently they have a lot of nice hard and soft coral on this dive, but it was so full of fish that most of the time we couldn't see anything else. Schools of baracuda, massive schools of snappers and bat fish. Some cobias and schools of trevallies... Reef in the open sea where we saw loads of crocodile fish, groupers, lobsters, trevelis, schools of barracuda and squid. Mwana wa Mwana, North Zanzibar Viz was not as great as other Zanzibar sites, but the quality of the reef was the best we have ever seen! Amazing diversity of hard and soft corals. Mbwangawa, North Zanzibar Special dive for huge sections of rigid plate corals and we saw three turtles! Nankivelle, Zanzibar Great dive with all a diver and photographer could ask for. Shane's Reef, Zanzibar Here we saw all this stuff that you usually never see, sea horses, ghost pipe fish, 10 different kinds of nudi's, 8 different kinds of scorpion fish inclding crocodile fish, mauritius scorpion fish, weedy scorpio fish, leaf fish, frog fish and all in one dive! Mafia Island The most incredible coral banks I have ever seen with as many fish as the Yongala.
Scuba Do Kendwa Beach, Northern Zanzibar. Tel: +255 (0)784 415 179. E-mail: do-scuba@scuba-do-zanzibar.com. We were very impressed with Scuba Do's professional operation, friendly staff, new equipment and diving off their fast RIBs.
Spanish Dancer Divers Spanish Dancer Dive Centre, P.O. Box: 3486, Stone Town, Zanzíbar, Tanzania. Tel: +255 777 417 717. E-mail: contact@spanishdancerdivers.com Diving was great, one in a million dive guide and good equipment. Thanks again for a great time.
Sunset Bungalows Kendwa Beach, Northern Zanzibar. We stayed in Sunset Bungalows for $55 per double. Rooms were clean and comfortable and good value for money.
Kendwa Rocks Bungalows Kendwa Beach, Northern Zanzibar. Stayed in the Kendwa Rocks Bungalows, situated on a GREAT beach with clean rooms. All rooms with sea view. We paid $60 in off season, and compared to what other hotels were offering it was the best deal on the beach.
Zanzibar, Pemba & Mafia (Bradt Travel Guides S.) . Diving Eritrea
Massawa Lots of fish but also lots of plankton in the water. The main trouble is that you must be accompanied by a Dept. of Marine Affairs (or something like that) guide. They only have a limited number of boats and people make reservations far in advance. We just showed up and were only able to get a guide with a small boat to take us for a couple of 1/2 day trips. The good news is that the equipment they provide is in excellent condition and hassle-free. Plus the locals are super nice, and the local fish fare is terrific. Dahlak Islands I finally made it to the Dahlak Islands in the Red Sea off the coast of Eritrea. Outstanding visibility, crowded with fish and bold coral formqtions, and NO PEOPLE! Plus, unlike those in the Caribbean, you can eat the barracuda and they are delicious! This time, I did have some mechanical difficulties with the equipment (faulty regulator) but fortunately the guide had brought along an extra one - no harm, no foul, just a little seawater down the gullet.
Lonely Planet: Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti Diving Sudan
Sha'ab Rumi South, Sudan A narrow plateau starting at 20 Metres stretches out for 50-75 m then drops off at 40 m. It drops to 600 m on all sides. Lots of grey reef sharks, hammerheads are usually there, silvertips and sometimes silky sharks. I have had several manta encounters and the coral as well as the fish life is extraordinary with schools of barracuda and trevally. Best place for hammerheads in the red sea. During one dive I had almost 50 in front of me. There are also lots of grey and whitetip reef sharks and thousand of barracudas at very close range. Best season for hammerheads is from November till April. The best dive place on the planet. Great visibility (20-30 m), great corals, scalloped hammerheads (once even more than 60! in a group), grey reef sharks, white tip reef sharks, napoleon fish, groups of bumphead parrot fish, etc. on the plateau also sits Jacques Cousteau's shark observation cage. Amazing dive site!!! Fantastic preserved coral reef drops onto a flat outcrop around 23 m - there is a Grey Reef Shark cleaning Station - you can lie in the sand and watch them. The reef then slopes to the depths - 700m+. Schooling Hammerheads. If you want to be surrounded with at least 3 species of shark this is the place - the coral itself is world class on its own - great dive. Wreck of the Umbria, Sudan On the first dive this huge shipwreck swept away the memories of Thistlegorm and the other Red Sea wrecks. It's a spooky castle covered by corals loaded with 36000 aircraft bombs, cars, wine bottles and so on. The site is visited by mata rays, whale sharks and, at night, tiger sharks. You'll probably be alone on the wreck due to the small numbers of divers visiting the country. My absolutely favourite wreck. In my opinion it's much better than Thistlegorm. It's because there are just 10-12 liveaboards in Sudan and if you are diving here you can be sure that you'll be alone. As there are not so many divers the ship wreck is in much better condition See also: Umbria Photo Gallery.
Don Questo live-aboard, Via Borodin, 19, 56122 Pisa. Tel: 333 64 33 254. E-mail: info@sudandiving.it
Rating:  Don questo is a live-aboard which is the only way to discover the Sudan red sea. All dive sites were actually amazing! The boat is a bit old but has a recompression chamber on board. Staff are very nice and helpful. Food excellent. Sudan is the best diving, and I have been in Australia - Osprey reef, Belize - blue hole, New Zealand - Poor Knights Islands, etc.) Don't go there as mass diving tourism will spoil one of the last remaining paradises on earth!
MSY Elegante, Rating:
Diving EgyptSee also Dahab, Elphinstone, The Brothers, Northern Wrecks, Sharm El-Sheikh and the rest of our Red Sea section.
Mangrove Bay 300 km south of Hurghada. Shore diving and day boats. The rare Dugong live here and in calm weather you can go to Elphinstone on a day trip. It's run by Ducks Diving Centre in Hurghada. Taba I recently did a boat dive from Taba on the Red Sea. I had done a lot of snorkelling there in the past but scuba was reserved for the better reefs of Dahab and Sharm el Sheikh. It was a pleasant surprise to find some great diving so close to Taba and in quite pristine conditions. There are some newly opened sites which are accessible only by boat and offer some beautiful and untouched coral. The fish life is not as rich as further south but we saw morays, lots of lionfish, wrasse, and octopus, etc. Samadai The Dolphine House National Park, where a school of spinner dolphins set up home. Nice drift dive and cave dive. Marsa Abu Dabab A Bay with Northern and Southern Reef covered with nice coral gardens. The middle is a grass bottom where a DUGONG often comes to eat. El Fanus Lot of dolphins and turtles Abu Ramada Plentitute of different fishes and corals Susanna You can dive inside and see a lot of things Soma Bay Our 10 days in Soma Bay was just wonderful. It's just north of Safaga, about 45 km south of Hurghada. It's on a little peninsular, and at the moment there's hardly anything else there. Given the usual Egyptian approach to these things however, I guess it will be looking like Sharm el Sheikh 10 years from now. There are so few divers and the hard corals are still in great condition. Deepest dive I did was 38 m
Alex Dive El Almein ALEXANDRA DIVE CENTRE See also Red Sea Section.
See our Red Sea Section. Diving TunisiaMahdia Mahdia is a touristic town which was the capital of the Fatimide society from the year 905 to 956. About 10 minutes away by boat there are many wrecks from the second world war in 38 and 45 meters. To dive these wrecks contact the Subway Diving School in Mahdia.
Subway Diving School, Cap d'Afrique, Mahdia, Tunisia. Tel: (+216) 8 556 542. Look out for Port El Kantaoui. I've found it to be up and coming. Ask for dive master Hechem. He's one of the better ones. I have dived with this centre 3 times and have booked for 2008. It has its quirks but its getting better. It's due for a PADI assessment in 2008 for centre qualification. I would recommend you take your own regs with you but that's about all. The price for a dive is 25 dinar (£14.00). Well worth it for 1 dive. It has some good dive locations for beginners and some for the more experienced. Remember to ask for Hechem when you book your dive.
S.A.A.M. Diving Center, Thalassa Hotel, Monastir, Tunisia. Tel: (+216) 73 521 544, Fax: (+216) 73 212 510, E-mail: saam@diving-monastir.com The best diving is at SAAM dive centre. I have dived in Tunisia many times and this is by far the most professional Diving MalawiLake Malawi Lake Malawi in East Africa, is excellent for both experienced and novice divers with NAUI open water courses for about $120 US with Aqua Africa in Nkata Bay, combine this with 75% of the worlds tropical fish, amazing swim throughs, crocs and hippos and you've got one hell of a dive site. Diving MauritiusMauritius is an island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar. We have some very nice dive sites over here: caves, wrecks, and island dives, as well as shark dives.
Ocean Spirit Royal Road, Pereybere, Mauritius Island. Tel: 230 766 31 68, Fax: 230 282 08 99, E-mail: cedric.f@oceanspirit.ontheweb.mu
Mauritius (Globetrotter Travel Guides) ; Cape VerdeBurakona, Sal Island Volcanic place full of caves. Nice sea life.
Orca Dive Club, Hotel Sab Sab, Cabo Verde, info@orca-diveclub-caboverde.com. Your CommentsWe endeavour to keep this site as informative and current as possible. If you would like to recommend, or warn about, a particular dive or diving location we'd love to hear from you. Want to ask a question? Why not do so at our Diving Board. Books of the World's Best SCUBA Diving
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