The 15 Most Exciting Water Sports in South Africa

The Top 15 Exciting Water Sports In South Africa

Whether you are vacationing in one of the South African provinces or exploring your local area as a South African, here are the most exciting water sports in South Africa. 

1. Shark Cage Diving

One of the most exciting water sports activities for someone who loves extreme sports is shark cage diving. If you want to face one of the world’s largest and most intimidating predators, the white shark, face-to-face, this is the best water sports activity for you!

You get into a steel cage for this activity while wearing a diving suit with oxygen. The cage is then lowered into the ocean. You can get up close and personal from here with great white sharks. You may gaze into the shark’s eyes and study its body in detail while underwater. This is one of the perfect water activities for adrenaline junkies. If this sounds like your activity, try these shark-cage diving tours:

• Shark Cage Diving and Viewing with transport from Cape Town
• African Shark Eco-Charters Shark Cage Diving Cape Town
• Shark Cage Diving and Viewing from Hermanus

2. Surfing, One of The Popular Water Sports in South Africa

Surfing is a popular water activity in the coastal areas of South Africa. One of the best places in South Africa for surfing is Jeffrey’s Bay in the Eastern Cape Province, but you can also surf in many areas near Cape Town in the Western Cape. Muizenberg is a popular spot with surfers. 

If you don’t know how to surf, don’t worry! You can take surfing lessons. There are lessons for beginners to more advanced surfers. Here are some lesson options:

• Jeffreys Bay: Private Surfing Lesson for Beginners
• Jeffreys Bay: Learn to Surf Group Lesson
• Learn to Surf this Summer!
• 6 Hours Big Wave Surfing Experience South Africa in Hout Bay
• Group Surf Lesson in Cape Town
• Private Surf Lesson

Another form of surfing to try is windsurfing. The strong winds in some parts of South Africa are perfect for windsurfing, including Jeffrey’s Bay, Cape Town and Durban.

Read more about uShaka Marine World in Durban and the other attractions in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal Province.

3. Snorkelling

​One of the best water experiences you can have is to snorkel in the oceans in the coastal areas of South Africa. A unique experience is to go snorkelling with the seals! When you book a snorkelling experience, they will provide you with all the gear you may need. Swimming near these velvety puppy-looking animals is something you will never forget. 

Tours you can choose from for snorkelling include:

• Kelp Forest Snorkeling in Cape Town
• Cape Vidal Snorkeling Adventure
• Hout Bay: Seal Snorkeling Experience
• Cape Town: Seal Snorkeling at Duiker Island, Hout Bay
• Cape Town: Great African Sea Forest Guided Snorkel

4. Whale Watching

A popular activity with locals and foreigners is whale watching. There are several spots along South Africa’s coast where you may watch whales from the shore, such as Gans Bay and Hermanus. You may spot a whale giving birth during a visit to Hermanus.

You can see southern right whales in the Cape waters near Cape Town. Other types of whales you may encounter in South Africa include Bryde’s and humpback whales. Whale watching is best done from July to December annually. Your best chances to spot southern right whales are from August to November.

For an even better experience, do one of the whale-watching tours to get closer to these massive mammals. For tours, your options are:

• Plettenberg Bay: Whale Watching Boat Cruise
• Gansbaai: Marine Big 5 Boat tour
• Whale Watching Knysna – Close Encounter Experience Ocean Odyssey
• Whale, Dolphin & Penguin Island Cruise
• Hermanus Whale Watching Shared Boat Trip and Private Wine Tour from Cape Town

5. Kite Surfing or Kiteboarding

Kiteboarding is popular in Cape Town, but you can do it in many places along South Africa’s extensive coastline. You need the right weather, windy conditions, and waves for kite surfing! 

Kite surfing is an expensive hobby, but to give kite surfing a try, book one of these tours:

• Kite Surfing Blouberg, Cape Town, South Africa

6. Kayaking or Canoeing: Another of The Popular Water Sports in South Africa

Kayaking and canoeing are excellent forms of exercise. You can find many excellent spots for kayaking and canoeing throughout South Africa’s many dams, rivers and oceans. 

Kayaking or canoeing in the ocean may bring you up close to whales if you are lucky. Kayaking and canoeing are popular near Mouillé Point, Sea Point and Clifton in Cape Town, especially to view the setting sun in the evening. 

You can also canoe or kayak past Boulder’s Beach to see the penguin colony in their natural habitat.

Read more about the other penguin colony at Stony Point.

For a unique experience in beautiful scenery, do a kayaking tour in the Storms River Mouth in the Garden Route.

Some tour options for kayaking include:

• Atlantic Outlook Kayak Tour Cape Town
• Cape Town: Marine Life Kayak Tour From the V&A Waterfront
• Plettenberg Bay: Guided Sea Kayak Tour
• South Africa: Extreme Guided Kayak with Food and Drinks
• Kosi Bay Kayaking Adventure
• Kosi Bay Mouth Experience – Kayaking, Snorkeling, Fish Trap Tour and Fish braai

7. Fishing

Fishing is a favourite sport in South Africa. You can try a few different types of fishing, such as Snoek fishing. Snoek is a type of Mackerel you can find in the oceans in the Southern Hemisphere. Having a braai (barbecue) with a fresh snoek is one of the best dinners you can have!

If you love fishing, you should also try fly fishing, popular in Dullstroom in South Africa’s Mpumalanga Province. Tours you can try for fishing are:

• Private Half Day & Full Day Fishing Charters in Cape Town
• 100 % Catch Rate Cape Town Carp and Catfish Fishing Tours
• Knysna Fishing
• knysna lagoon fishing charter

8. Scuba Diving: One of The Popular Water Sports in South Africa

One of the unique features of Cape Town is Cape Point, where the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet. This spot is perfect for scuba diving as you can see a fantastic underwater exhibition here with abundant marine life. Another popular spot for scuba diving in South Africa is Sodwana Bay, with its tropical coral reefs.

You can learn to scuba dive if this is the first time you have tried it. Here are some options:

• Scuba Diving Experience in Simonstown with an Expert
• SCUBA Diving Tour Sodwana

9. Stand-Up Paddle Boarding 

Stand-up paddle boarding (SUP) is a new water sport, but in recent years, it has grown tremendously in popularity in South Africa. It is a sport, but many people love doing it as exercise. 

SUP is easier to learn than surfing, and you should be able to learn the basics quickly. You can rent a SUP in Cape Town and explore the beautiful canals near the V&A Waterfront. The Garden Route also features many places where you can rent a SUP.

Tour options for SUP include:

• Learn to Stand Up Paddleboard
• Guided 2-3hour stand up paddling and river trips on the keurbooms river

10. Cruising the Ocean

If you don’t like active water sports, an option for you may be a cruise on the ocean. One of my favourite places for a short cruise is the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town. They have themed cruises like the Jolly Roger Pirate Ship and sunset cruises. You can also charter a private boat for a custom cruise here.

I recommend doing a cruise in Knysna in the Garden Route. The Knysna Lagoon is beautiful, and sailing through the Knysna Heads is a worthy experience. The East Coast of South Africa is also an area where you should consider cruising. Doing a hippo and Croc Cruise in St Lucia is a bucket list item! It is a unique experience to take a cruise in a UNESCO-registered landmark.

Cruise options in South Africa are:

• Hartebeespoort: Boat Cruise with Food
• St Lucia: Hippo and Crocodile Cruise on a 15-Seat Vessel
• Durban: 1-Hour Boat Cruise from Wilson’s Wharf
• Hop-On Hop-Off Cape Town Canal Cruise
• Picnic Gondola Boat Ride at Durban Point Waterfront Canal
• 1- Hour Catamaran Cruise Cape Town
• Knysna Sunset Sailing Cruise, Light Dinner & Bubbly

11. Tubing

When you do tubing, you sit or lie on a unique one-person inflatable river tube while going downstream. One of the best places in South Africa for black water tubing is in the Tstitsikamma National Park. Your tour options for tubing include:

• Blackwater Tubing Green Route Forest Adventure
• Half-Day Tubing on the Palmiet River in Kogelberg Nature Reserve
• Tsitsikamma National Park: Blackwater Tubing

Read about the activities you can do in Storms River.

12. One of The Exciting Water Sports in South AfricaWhite Water Rafting 

South Africa has many options for white water rafting. This sport is becoming more popular with families, adventure seekers and couples. 

Some of the best places for this sport include:

• The Vaal River, between the Gauteng and the Free State Provinces
• The Sabi River in Mpumalanga
• The Tugela River in the Drakensberg

Read about our stay at the Gooderson Monks Cowl Resort in the Drakensberg.

13. Wakeboarding or Water-Skiing

Wakeboarding and water skiing are water sports you can do with someone or alone. You can try these great sports on any of the dams or rivers in South Africa.

14. Jet Skiing

Another great sport you can do on any of the dams or rivers in South Africa is jet skiing. If you are an adrenaline junkie who prefers large, open spaces, the ocean may be an option for you to try. You can book a jet ski experience here:

• 30 Minute Jet Ski Rental

15. Swimming

South Africans love swimming. This whole family activity is done whenever the weather is warm enough! 

With all the rivers, dams and the ocean available, we have many places to swim. Many South Africans have a pool at home or in their complex.