Sodwana Bay

[MacroFan]

We are going to Durban in mid June. We have about 8 days that are free and would like to dive Sodwana Bay. How many days should we dive there?

 

[scubaozy]

We are going to Durban in mid June. We have about 8 days that are free and would like to dive Sodwana Bay. How many days should we dive there?

Do you want to dive all 8 days? I would do 3days Sodwana diving, 3days hluhluwe park and 2 days Umkomaas shark diving (water is a bit colder there at that time of the year ). You will need a car.

 

[umhlangan]

We are going to Durban in mid June. We have about 8 days that are free and would like to dive Sodwana Bay. How many days should we dive there?

The last time I was back I did four days Sodwana and three days Aliwal Shoal. It was a perfect mix.

 

[uwgreg]

For anyone looking at this question later. You can easily dive 3-4 days at Sodwana. There are plenty of dive sites & the diving is generally excellent.

I would do fewer days at Aliwal Shoal or Protea Banks for shark diving.

If you want, you can also cross over into Mozambique to Ponta Do Ouro (like 1h-1h30 from Sodwana) for a different vibe & arguably even better diving.

If you have 2 weeks & plan to dive half of those, here's a good plan:
- Arrive in Durban. Maybe stay 1 or 2 night(s) in umshlanga or ballito
- Drive to Aliwal Shoal/Protea Banks (Umkomaas or Margate)
- Dive & stay ~1-2 nights. Weather can be an issue, dive days can be cancelled day off once in a while due to very rough sea) There isn't much to do in this area beside diving, fishing, beach. The towns are not very developed
- Drive to Hluhluwe-iMfolozi (~3-4h) Public reserve OR St Lucia public reserve to do some Safari drive(s). Can easily spend 2 nights each.
- For a fancier experience, you can skip the public reserve & go directly to the nearby Private Reserves (Manyoni, Phinda are both excellent) (or do the public reserve first then go to either of these after)
- After 2-4 nights of safari, drive to Sodwana Bay (~1.5h)
- Dive in Sodwana 3-4 nights. Excellent diving. The local town & the dive area is not developed.
- or drive a further to Ponta Do Ouro, Mozambique (just over the border) which is another ~2h further than Sodwana. The border crossing is usually easy & takes ~15m-1h.
- The diving in Ponta is arguably even better than Sodwana. They both have different & similar components. They are both excellent & it is worthwhile to dive both. Ponta Do Ouro has a much more fun & secure feeling town around the dive area & the beach.
- Fly home from Maputo (MOZ) or Durban -> JNB or Richards bay -> JNB

With an extra week, you can easily add a week around Cape Town + winelands or Kruger.

You can also do JNB Kruger for a week & drive to Ponta Do Ouro to dive/surf/beach/fish for a week.

Cheers

 

[Saffadiver]

We are going to Durban in mid June. We have about 8 days that are free and would like to dive Sodwana Bay. How many days should we dive there?

howd you find it?