Kelp diving near Cape Town

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
7
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
1
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
8
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
8
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
7
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
7
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
75 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
101st/454
Top 30%
continent
Africa
country
South Africa
Length of time
1 day or less
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$150 ($120-$160 in 2024 prices)
Time of year visited
October
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
Boat trip Castles / Fortresses Scuba diving
All Tags
Forests
Wow Factor
The wow factor reflects just how much you’re likely to say “wow”. As there’s a lot of experiences in the world, and a lot of wows, i’ve gone with a simple ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️ score, and a separate category for the truly "gash"
⭐⭐⭐

Summary

False Bay near Cape Town is known for having some of the best Kelp Diving in the world, and made famous by the Neflix show “My Octopus Teacher”.  Expect rich kelp forests, often accompanied by seals, shy sharks, and, occasionally, the rare sighting of a great white.  If you’re a diver and haven’t done kelp diving before, I’d highly recommend it as its just something a bit different . . . but beware . . . its bloody cold!

 

If diving isn’t your thing, have a look at the more general tips for what to do in A week in Cape Town.

 

Kelp diving near Cape Town with Impact Divers

Highlights of Kelp Diving near Cape Town

Kelp Diving near Cape Town - #1 The moments of semi-tranquility when you're in the kelp forest (not yet freezing) and just enjoying fighting your way through what feels like a different world

#1 The moments of semi-tranquility when you're in the kelp forest (not yet freezing) and just enjoying fighting your way through what feels like a different world

Kelp Diving near Cape Town - #2 Getting thrown around by the surge and having to hold onto the kelp itself to avoid being thrown onto the rocks. Surprisingly fun in a semi-sadistic sort of way

#2 Getting thrown around by the surge and having to hold onto the kelp itself to avoid being thrown onto the rocks. Surprisingly fun in a semi-sadistic sort of way

Kelp Diving in Cape Town - #3 Getting out and warming up in the sun!

#3 Getting out and warming up in the sun!

Kelp Diving in Cape Town - #4 Occasionally seeing some wildlife!

#4 Occasionally seeing some wildlife!

5 Tips for Kelp Diving near Cape Town

 

A few basic tips:

 

1. It really is quite cold.  We dived in early October and the water temperature was 13 degrees Celsius / 55 Fahrenheit, which ,when you’re not used to it, is a bit of a shock, especially on the first dive.  Definitely use the 7mm wetsuit, a hood which makes a massive difference (remember to stretch and put it on before you put your tank and BCD on, otherwise it won’t stretch to fit your head properly) and one of those vest-style wet suits underneath.  Remember – swimming in cold water is one thing, but slowly moving for 40mins on a dive is very different.  Expect the first 5-10mins to be interesting.

Kelp Diving near Cape Town - warming up!

 

2. Structure of the day.  All the dive schools around False Bay have the same format of first dive reef dive, second kelp dive.  First one is basically to get you a bit used to the shock of the water – there are some colourful corals (we went to Ark Royale), but generally a bit meh.  Second dive (we went to Pyramid Rock) is same temperature, but you’re more used to it and you’re keeping yourself warm by fighting the surge and generally clinging on to the kelp.  It’s generally just a far more enjoyable experience.   Extra – don’t do a shore dive as the best kelp forests are a bit further away on a boat.

 

3. Listen to the dive school for best days to dive.  The weather is very changeable at the Western Cape.  For example, we were originally scheduled to do the dives on a Tuesday which would have been terrible visibility, big swell and cloudy.  By the Wednesday it was near perfect conditions.  Considering the coldness of the water, you really want to be warming in the sun and no wind when you’re finished after each dive.

 

 4. Be careful.  Maybe I’m just getting more soft as I get older, but Kelp diving, whilst super fun and from what we saw managed by the dive masters with caution, can be quite hectic and a little dangerous at times.  You really get battered around next to rocks and caves in what can be quite poor visibility (2m / 6ft) and super easy to get split from the group.  All levels are allowed to do it, but I’d be cautious of taking this on with less than 20 dives or so.

 

 

5. Who to go with. We went with Impact Divers (Cape RADD) in Simon’s Town (R2500 / US$140).  Very professional and would recommend.  Simple website as well – https://impactdivers.com/what-we-offer-2/.

 

Experiences Nearby

The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences

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Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences — from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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