Home › Best Dive Sites in the World › Africa
Africa diving spots, including six sovereign islands, offer some of the most exciting and challenging adventures for scuba divers of all certification levels.
The information in this section contains all the essential details that divers need to know about Africa's top diving sites, including the sea life in the oceans that surround the African continent.
It's fair to say that the 54 African countries rank as some of the less frequented by traveling scuba divers.
Even so, a continent that straddles the South Atlantic and the Indian Ocean provides access to some of the best diving spots in the world.
Here's the thing:
The most popular locations tend to be the northern dive sites, such as those in Egypt (The Red Sea), Dahab, and Hurghada.
Regions that are world famous for coral reefs and marine biodiversity.
Yet, travel further south and a new world full of exciting scuba adventures is there for the taking. For example, did you ever think of scuba diving in Madagascar, Mozambique, the Seychelles, Tanzania, or the Cape Peninsula?
In a nutshell, divers who enjoy macro photography or would relish the opportunity to explore sunken shipwrecks, try cave diving or even shark cage diving, should seriously consider adding an African dive trip to their bucket list.
Some of these African countries provide amazing encounters with some of the most diverse and unique ocean life, such as requiem sharks, sea turtles, and manta rays.
Pro Tip: We have a section dedicated to sea wildlife with detailed information about the characteristics, habitats, and behavioural traits of marine vertebrates and aquatic invertebrates.
The large continent of Africa has the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea in the north, with the Red Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean meeting the eastern and southern coastlines.
As a result, there are more than two hundred (200) dive sites in Africa and many of them rank among the world's best diving destinations.
In fact, the African continent is the second largest in the world and it measures around 8,000 kilometres (5,000 miles) from the northernmost point to the southernmost point at Cape Agulhas.
As a consequence of that, the best time to go scuba diving in Africa is going to depend on which country you will be visiting. So for example:
Note: Another section contains information about the famous places to scuba dive in Australia with some popular tropical locations for beginners and experienced divers to explore.
Note: Would you like to help us develop this section? Can you share interesting and practical details about how, when, and why you went scuba diving in Africa?
If so, we would like to feature personalised dive descriptions and comments. Articles written by divers who regularly dive the site, or local experts on the topography and marine life, will have preference for inclusions in this section.
Please use the contact form to send us any useful comments or information and "Scuba Steve" will reply personally by email.