South Africa

Diving in Simon's Townhonestly, without the pretty pictures

Water at 15 degrees, a rocking Zodiac, a surge that tosses you between the kelp and a pyjama shark in a pipe. How Cape Town diving differs from Asian diving.

Trip: February 2026Updated: 2 November 20262 min read

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Anemones on a rock underwater near Simon's Town

I dived in Simon’s Town, on the shore of False Bay: two days with two dives each, on 14 and 21 February. In short: it’s very challenging. Especially if, like me, most of your experience is in Southeast Asia.

In short

Cold

The water was 15–16 degrees. I had a 7 mm wetsuit and a hooded vest under it, and it wasn’t enough. There were no gloves, but it wasn’t just my hands that froze: my whole body did.

If I’d had a drysuit, I’d have worn it, honestly.

Rocking

We got to the dive sites on something like a Zodiac, and it rocked a lot. Many people felt a bit sick, not really badly, but there was seasickness all round. And then you still have to dive.

Visibility and surge

Visibility was poor, in exactly this period. The pretty photos where you can see everything and huge kelp towers all around are usually from another season.

And there was constant surge, a swell that tosses you back and forth, very strongly. It’s not a calm stroll past the kelp: you hold on to it and literally make your way through.

At one point I lost my buddy. We had to swim around the corner of the reef, and the surge was so strong that you had to wait for it to go the other way, otherwise it would simply have slammed me into the reef. I waited literally 10–15 seconds, and then couldn’t find anyone: visibility was very bad. We looked around and surfaced, as you’re supposed to.

But it was beautiful too

  • Corals: bright red and very varied.
  • Fish: lots of big, bright ones.
  • Kelp: the very kelp you struggle through is still really fun.
  • A pyjama shark: it was hiding in a pipe.
Red and yellow anemones on rocks
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Stills from the video

Who it suits

The team at the dive centre is good: all professionals, everything very good. But the conditions are genuinely hard. I love diving when I’m enjoying myself, and here I personally wasn’t enjoying it much. Four dives were enough for me.

If your experience is mostly in warm Asia, be ready for things to be completely different here, at least in February. It’s a niche experience. But an interesting one.

Cost: for two days of two dives each I paid about $331. The price included rental of all the equipment: the only things I had of my own were a dive computer and a camera.