Sardine Run Tours

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

What is the sardine run ? The sardine run is an annual movement of fish and predators along the south and east coast of South Africa. The movement is driven by a seasonal counter-current that brings the sardines with it. When everything comes together the sardine run is the most spectacular natural spectacle, offering incredible diving opportunities to the adventurous diver.

The action during your sardine run 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.

The sardine run 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!

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!