Sardine Run Tours

The sardine run is a movement of fish and predators along coast of South Africa that is driven by a seasonal currents and weather systems. It is a totally wild, unpredictable event so if you are looking for a real African experience with adventure diving at it’s best, you’re unlikely to be disappointed! When everything comes together the sardine run is the most spectacular natural spectacle, offering incredible diving opportunities and wildlife encounters.

If you’re serious about experiencing the sardine run you have to put in the time and effort to maximise your chances of finding good sardine action. This is why most sardine run dive packages include at least 4 days on the water, where you’ll spend between 6 and 8 hrs at sea. Think of each day as a safari at sea where you never know what to expect. Some days can be slow while other days can only be described as mind-blowing. There is also always the chance to lose a day or two to bad weather so give yourself as much time as you can afford.

If you’d like to join us on a sardine run package in 2023, call us for to discuss options or send us an e-mail with your preferred dates and/or areas and we will find the right package for you. The links below give more detailed information on sardine run packages offered in Cinsta, East London, Coffee Bay, Port St Johns and Mbotyi.

The action during your sardine run tour can be so varied as to take in almost the entire scope of what you have seen on Blue Planet and Discovery. However you need time, you need, patience and you need luck. You may or may not get the whole bait-ball experience but you should still have some amazing dives.

Your dives during run are totally dependent on the nature of activity on the day. The sharks, birds and dolphins associated with the run should all be there waiting for the shoals to arrive, so encounters with them are almost a given! Some days you may be in and out the water 20 times on scuba or snorkel. Other days you may find stable activity or do longer dives on the local reef or wrecks.

For those of you travelling down from Durban for your sardine run tours we can also arrange some extra days diving on the south coast at Aliwal Shaol. Each week during the run there will also be daily charters from Shelly Beach to Protea Banks – so great shark and whale action almost a guarantee if you don’t manage to get to the sardine run itself!