Caves Sodwana
Dive site · South Africa
Is it worth the trip?
66Good out of 100 for your dates
Best on Sat 7: Sea 1 m, Visibility about 20 m, Water 25 °C
Tue 3 · 70 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.2 m
- Wind
- 7 kn
- Gusts
- 15kn
- Air
- 26°C
Wed 4 · 67 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.3 m
- Wind
- 12 kn
- Gusts
- 25kn
- Air
- 27°C
Thu 5 · 68 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.2 m
- Wind
- 10 kn
- Gusts
- 20knboats in
- Air
- 28°C
Fri 6 · 71 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.2 m
- Wind
- 9 kn
- Gusts
- 19kn
- Air
- 27°C
Sat 7 · 78 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.0 m
- Wind
- 8 kn
- Gusts
- 22kn
- Air
- 29°C
Sun 8 · 22 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.6 m
- Wind
- 17 kn
- Gusts
- 31knboats in
- Air
- 22°C
Mon 9 · 49 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.9 m
- Wind
- 6 kn
- Gusts
- 22kn
- Air
- 24°C
Tap a day for sea, wind and water. Full forecast
Forecast: next 9 days
Full forecast- Mon 273, good
- Tue 370, good
- Wed 467, good
- Thu 568, good
- Fri 671, good
- Sat 778, good
- Sun 822, poor
- Mon 949, fair
- Tue 1030, poor
The site in six facts
- Down to 15 mits deepest
- From a boathow you get in
- Open Waterand up
- Water 25 °C3 mm wetsuit
- Faces Eswell from there reaches it
- Best in Jan4 good days in 7
Full forecast
every day, every number
The score doesn't know currents, the visibility on the day or your certification.
Suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it. Scored for Advanced divers.
| Day | Score | Sea | Wind | Gusts | Air |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 2Nov | 73, good | 1.2 m | 4 kn | 12kn | 27°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 70, good | 1.2 m | 7 kn | 15kn | 26°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 67, good | 1.3 m | 12 kn | 25kn | 27°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 68, good | 1.2 m | 10 kn | 20knboats in | 28°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 71, good | 1.2 m | 9 kn | 19kn | 27°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 78, good | 1.0 m | 8 kn | 22kn | 29°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 22, poor | 1.6 m | 17 kn | 31knboats in | 22°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 49, fair | 1.9 m | 6 kn | 22kn | 24°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 30, poor | 2.0 m | 11 kn | 22knboats in | 26°C |
Sea is the waves near the site, in metres; wind and gusts in knots. "Boats in": gusts that keep dive boats in. More
Tide
- Mon 2 NovLow 02:28 −0.4 mHigh 09:06 +0.4 mLow 15:40 −0.3 mHigh 21:55 +0.3 m
- Tue 3 NovLow 04:23 −0.4 mHigh 11:15 +0.4 mLow 17:41 −0.4 mHigh 23:53 +0.3 m
- Wed 4 NovLow 06:00 −0.5 mHigh 12:36 +0.6 mLow 18:52 −0.5 m
Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Slack water, the safest time to dive where there is current, is about half an hour either side of each high and low. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.
Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.
Best time to go
best in Jan
Good diving days in a typical week, each month, for Advanced divers, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).
- Jan4of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb3of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar3of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr2of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May3of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun3of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul3of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug2of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep2of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct2of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov3of 7: a trip from Tue 3 Nov
- Dec3of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec
Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.
Typical, not a forecast: the sea and the mean wind of each day, with no gusts or rain in the history.
Map
the site, its town, photos
Caves Sodwana on Google Maps · Directions
Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.
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One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Photos of Caves Sodwana
More diving near here
5 places
- Amoray 1.1 km away
- Coral Divers 1.1 km away
- Pisces Diving 1.1 km away
- Cathedral Sodwana 1.9 km away
- Pinnacles Sodwana 2.9 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Caves Sodwana
A reef dive. It goes down to 15 m. You get in from a boat. It suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces E: swell from the E reaches it, and wind from the W blows out to sea. 1 dive centre or shop within 10 km, the nearest 4.8 km away. The sea is about 23°C in July, its coldest month (5 mm wetsuit), and 28°C in February, its warmest (3 mm wetsuit). For Advanced divers the best month is usually January, with about 4 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Sodwana Bay. Within 5 km we also list 1 wind sports spot and 6 dive sites.
- What it is Reef.
- How deep Down to 15 m.
- Getting in From a boat.
- Who it suits Suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it.
- Dive centres 1 dive centre or shop within 10 km, the nearest 4.8 km away.
Water about 25°C: 3 mm wetsuit. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.
Visibility about 20 m. Typical for the time of year, estimated from ten years of NASA satellite water clarity, not a forecast. Clearest in Jan, Feb, Mar and May (about 30 m).
The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).
Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,270–US$2,510 each
about US$1,270–US$2,510 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food.
Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.
How we worked it out
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return ORD to MPM, estimated from distance and season, changing at LIS, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$891–US$1,860 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$67–US$114 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$161–US$275 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$147–US$268 |
| Total | about US$1,270–US$2,510 |
Guided dives are not priced yet: we have no sourced price, so it is not in it. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.
Where to stay: Sodwana Bay
about 5 min by car · 5 places to stay
about US$60/nightcountry average
About Sodwana Bay its beds, food and every spot near it
About US$60 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.
Getting there: about 30h 30m
About 30h 30m door to door from Chicago
Fly ORD → MPM, changing at Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS), then 3h 25m by road
Flights ORD → MPM on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.
In the water
Dives and courses in Sodwana Bay · GetYourGuideDive gear hire in Sodwana Bay · GetYourGuide
Dive centres nearby
Scuba center 4.8 km
The nearest named dive centres and shops within 25 km, in a straight line; training agencies where the map states them. Listings, not a recommendation. Dive centres: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits
What you might see
Animals divers and surveys have recorded within 2 km of this site in the last 15 years. A record says someone saw it here, not that you will.
Bull shark Carcharhinus leucasShark
Seen in 2584 records, mostly Jan to May.
Records: OBIS (Ocean Biodiversity Information System, IOC-UNESCO), from the datasets named here, CC0 and CC BY records only. Names: WoRMS, through OBIS; common names from Wikidata. Largest datasets here: Ponta do Ouro zambezi shark tracking; e02a51c2-2f8e-42ca-a851-3a8f96c961d5; Shark Spotters shark tracking. Credits
This week's visibility and the current no free forecast gives. Ask a dive centre before you book.