Your Guide to Diving Africa
including Cape Verde Islands, Kenya, South Africa and Mozambique

Diving Africa Overview

This is a vast continent bordered by both the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic. The diving off the coast of Kenya and Tanzania can be hit-and-miss. Pemba and Mafia Islands both form channels with reasonable diving and whale shark aggregations when plankton levels are high. Farther south, divers on the coast of Mozambique enjoy whale shark and manta encounters. The Indian Ocean coast of South Africa is known for tropical shark diving and the sardine run (which attracts hordes of predators) at the right time of year. Timing your trip so that it coincides with animal migrations as well as the best diving season is a complicated affair; check with a specialist . . . Diving on the Indian Ocean coast is mainly done from fast rigid inflatables with dramatic surf launches and recoveries . . . Cage diving with great white sharks is the major attraction around Capetown, where water temperatures range from 46°F (8°C) in August to 68°F (20°C) from November through January. The Atlantic coast is not known for good diving.

Africa Seasonal Dive Planner

Kenya: The right time for land packages with game viewing is a complicated affair; animal migrations are scheduled by rain, not calendars. The diving is simpler: September through March is when the winds should be favorable. Whale sharks often cruise the coast about February.

South Africa & Mozambique: The Western Cape province (Cape Town), though it is running out of fresh water, enjoys a Mediterranean-like climate with equable winters and warm summers, but the water is exceptionally cold at around 57°F (14°C). Remember, this is in the southern hemisphere so seasons are reversed to what you might be used to. The country has a 1700-mile (2735km) coastline. As you move north up the Indian Ocean coast, it becomes more tropical. The cold waters of the south Atlantic give way to the warmer Indian Ocean, which is why South African divers head for Sodwana Bay and Aliwal Shoal or continue on to Mozambique and eventually to Inhambane (Tofo). There, the diving is good all year round and water temperature peak at 82°F (28°C) and never go below 72°F (22°C). The Indian Ocean has some huge swells, and surf launches of the boat can be more than exciting.

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Diving Africa Reader Reports and Feature Articles

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Latest Reader Reports from Africa from the serious divers who read Undercurrent All Reader Reports from Africa	All 10,000+ Reports
Extra Divers Worldwide/Three Corners Fayruz Plaza Beach Re Report in Africa/Egypt "Disappointing Hotel and Very Average Diving." filed Oct 24, 2025 by Stanislaw Zuk (Experience: Over 1000 dives, 12 reports, Contributor )
First of all, I should have known better not to go for diving in Egypt during Summer months, however, my vacation time only allowed it ... ... Read more
Nosy Komba Plongee/Villa Ilo Komba (private villa) Report in Africa/Nosy Be, Madagascar "Worth diving if you happen to be in Madagascar" filed Oct 18, 2025 by Lisa Jabusch and Steve Nieters (Experience: 501-1000 dives, 26 reports, Sr. Contributor )
N.B. we only had one 2-tank dive, albeit to the Parc National Marin de Nosy Tanikely, which is highly touted for its diving. (We had a ... ... Read more
Afro Divers Report in Africa/Pemba "African diving with a seasoned, professional and congenial operator" filed Oct 1, 2025 by Rick Morgan (Experience: Over 1000 dives, 10 reports, Sr. Reviewer )
Between wildlife safaris in Tanzania and South Africa, we spent a week on Pemba Island, which lies in the Indian Ocean and is part of T... ... Read more
Liquid Dive Report in Africa/Tofu, Mozambique "I traveled to Mozambique to see the big 5, but saw none of them" filed Sep 28, 2025 by Robert Jackson (Experience: Over 1000 dives, 7 reports, Sr. Reviewer )
I traveled to Mozambique to see the big 5, Whale Sharks, Manta Rays, Dolphins, Humpback Whales, and Pelagic Sharks, but unfortunately I... ... Read more
Caymn Brac Resort Report in Africa/Cayman Brac "good diving" filed Aug 16, 2025 by David Demming (Experience: Over 1000 dives, 47 reports, Top Contributor )
dove with simply a shirt due to 86 degree water. All sites good vibrant sealife ... ... Read more

Editor's Book Picks for Scuba Diving Africa
including Cape Verde Islands, Kenya, South Africa and Mozambique

The books below are my favorites about diving in this part of the world All books are available at a significant discount from Amazon.com; just follow the links. -- BD

Reef Fish of the East Indies
by Gerald R. Allen and Mark V. Erdman

It's got a list price of $250 and a weight of 14 pounds, but the price and the poundage will be worth it to add this three-volume set to your library. Renowned marine biologists Gerald R. Allen and Mark V. Erdman have combined 60 years of surveys, fieldwork and research to create the most definitive guide of the Coral Triangle to date, perhaps forever. The 1,292 pages of text and 3,600 photographs (40 percent of which are of fish not seen before in print) gives comprehensive information on every known reef fish species from a region known as the global epicenter of marine biodiversity. An essential reference for any scuba diver.

Click here to buy it at Amazon.

Reef Creature Identification: Tropical Pacific
by Paul Humann and Ned Deloach

Paul Humann and Ned Deloach have done it again, releasing a definitive identification guide to 1600 extraordinary reef creatures of the Tropical Pacific. with this 500+ page softbound guide, you get upwards of 2000 exceptional photos of shrimp and crabs and stars and worms and lobsters and nudibranchs and slugs and squid and bivalves . . . well, all those invertebrates that move along the reefs of this region without fining, so it seems. There are several photos of some creatures to help you identify them during different life stages, and about ten percent of the book is descriptive copy so you can tie down your identification. Even if you have no plans to go to the tropical Pacific, just to thumb through the pages, gawk at the complexity and uniqueness of these animals, and read a thumbnail sketch will give any serious diver vicarious thrills for endless hours.

Click here to buy it at Amazon.

Diving Indonesia's Bird's Head Seascape
by Burt Jones and Maurine Shimlock

This dynamic duo's book describes 130 dive sites of Raja Ampat, Triton Bay and Cenderawasih Bay, while offering practical information about the area. The detailed descriptions of the sites, complete with GPS coordinates, explains the terrain, how to dive the site, and the kinds of animals, coral and critters you can expect. Excellent photographs will help you identify many of the critters you will encounter.

If you have been to Raja Ampat, or dream about going, this thoughtful and well-illustrated book is for you.

The book is not available at the moment.

Diving Southeast Asia
by Beth & Shaun Tierney

This just-published, 302-page, soft-bound guide by Beth and Shaun Tierney, is a must for anyone contemplating diving in Indonesia, Malaysia or Thailand. Where is Sipadan? Raja Ampat? Komodo? Richeliu Rock? Maps make it easy to pinpoint dive destinations and travel routes. Destination and 250 dive site descriptions (with tables on depth, visibility and currents) help you determine whether you’ll see big fish in the blue or pygmy seahorses in the muck. There’s a lot of supplemental information such as travel tips, health tips, and resorts and liveaboard descriptions.

Click here to order through Undercurrent and you’ll get Amazon’s best price -- and our profits will go to save coral reefs.

Indo-Pacific Coral Reef Field Guide
by Gerald R. Allen, Roger Steene.

I was trying to pack light for a change. Surely the Solomon Sea would have good identification books aboard. Not so; the only book on the boat belonged to a fellow passenger. It was one that I had not seen before, the Indo-Pacific Coral Reef Field Guide, by two of the best fish guys around, Gerry Allen and Roger Steene. The problem was this fellow passenger kept it in a plastic baggie most of the trip and I had to beg to see it. Great book, good traveling size, and it covers everything from fish, shells, marine plants, mammals, corals, and invertebrates to sea birds and more. Now I've got my own, and it won't do you any good to beg me to borrow it. This is one of two books that I will not travel to the Pacific without. Good for travel to the Red Sea, East Africa, Seychelles, Mauritius, Maldives, Andaman Sea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Australia, Micronesia, Polynesia, and Hawaii, it has 1,800 color illustrations in a 6x8 1/2 paperback format with 378 pages. $39.95.

A Diver's Guide to Underwater Malaysia Macrolife
by Andrea and Antonet La Ferrari

We just discovered the ultimate guide to Indo-Pacific macro life. It was published late last year by marine photographers and writers Andrea and Antonet La Ferrari, who have several other winning books in their portfolio. They picture and describe in full detail 600 different species, focusing on those found in the South China, Sulu, and Sulawesi seas. From colorful nudibranchs to cleaner shrimps and pipe fish, to larger species like cuttlefish and clown fish. Each description offers an insight on distribution, habitat, size, life habits, and U/W photo tips. Illustrated with more than 800 extraordinary color photographs and written in a clear, concise, informative style, this book is both a macro and fish field guide for all serious divers from the Maldives to Australia. A must for traveling divers.

Click here to buy it at Amazon.

Reef Fish Identification: Tropical Pacific
by Gerald Allen, Rodger Steene, Paul Humann, & Ned Deloach

At last, here's a comprehensive fish ID guide covering the reefs of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The generous 500-page text, displaying 2,500 underwater photographs of 2,000 species, identifies the myriad fishes that inhabit the warm tropical seas between Thailand and Tahiti. The concise text accompanying each species portrait includes the fish's common, scientific and family names, size, description, visually distinctive features, preferred habitat, typical behavior, depth range, and geographical distribution. This is an essential book for every diver traveling westward. 6x9 inches.

Click here to buy it at Amazon.

There's a Cockroach in My Regulator
by Undercurrent

The Best of Undercurrent: Bizarre and Brilliant True Diving Tales from Thirty Years of Undercurrent.

Shipping now is our brand new, 240-page book filled with the best of the unusual, the entertaining, and the jaw dropping stories Undercurrent has published. They’re true, often unbelievable, and always fascinating. We’re offering it to you now for the special price of just $14.95.

Click here to order.

You might find some other books of interest in our Editor's Book Picks section.