Staying Home Sucks, home
German East Africa Dar es Salaam Heliographs Skaraborg
Dar es Salaam, the nearest town, 16 km away. Photo: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

Mbudya Spit

Dive site · United Republic of Tanzania

Open Water divers and up

Scored for Advanced divers

Is it worth the trip?

75Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

6 days tie for best

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 75 out of 100

Sea
0.2 mflat
Wind
6 kn
Gusts
8kn
Air
28°C

Tue 3 · 75 out of 100

Sea
0.3 m
Wind
7 kn
Gusts
10kn
Air
27°C

Wed 4 · 75 out of 100

Sea
0.3 m
Wind
5 kn
Gusts
7kn
Air
27°C

Thu 5 · 75 out of 100

Sea
0.3 m
Wind
4 kn
Gusts
8kn
Air
28°C

Fri 6 · 74 out of 100

Sea
0.4 m
Wind
7 kn
Gusts
10kn
Air
28°C

Sat 7 · 75 out of 100

Sea
0.4 m
Wind
4 kn
Gusts
6kn
Air
28°C

Sun 8 · 75 out of 100

Sea
0.4 m
Wind
4 kn
Gusts
10kn
Air
27°C

Tap a day for sea, wind and water. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 177, good
  2. Mon 275, good
  3. Tue 375, good
  4. Wed 475, good
  5. Thu 575, good
  6. Fri 674, good
  7. Sat 775, good
  8. Sun 875, good
  9. Mon 975, good
  10. Tue 1076, good

The site in five facts

  • Down to 16 mits deepest
  • From a boathow you get in
  • Open Waterand up
  • Water 28 °C3 mm wetsuit
  • Faces NEswell from there reaches it

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.

Sea and wind forecast and score for each day at Mbudya Spit
DayScoreSeaWindGustsAir
Sun 1Nov77, good0.3 m7 kn10kn27°C
Mon 2Nov75, good0.2 mflat6 kn8kn28°C
Tue 3Nov75, good0.3 m7 kn10kn27°C
Wed 4Nov75, good0.3 m5 kn7kn27°C
Thu 5Nov75, good0.3 m4 kn8kn28°C
Fri 6Nov74, good0.4 m7 kn10kn28°C
Sat 7Nov75, good0.4 m4 kn6kn28°C
Sun 8Nov75, good0.4 m4 kn10kn27°C
Mon 9Nov75, good0.3 m5 kn9kn28°C
Tue 10Nov76, good0.3 m4 kn7kn28°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

  • Sun 1 NovLow 01:25 −1.0 mHigh 07:48 +1.2 mLow 14:25 −1.0 mHigh 20:40 +0.7 m
  • Mon 2 NovLow 02:39 −0.7 mHigh 09:06 +0.9 mLow 15:48 −0.8 mHigh 22:22 +0.6 m
  • Tue 3 NovLow 04:28 −0.6 mHigh 10:53 +0.7 mLow 17:25 −0.8 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.

Map

the site and its town

Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

More diving near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Mbudya Spit

A reef dive. It goes down to 16 m. You get in from a boat. It suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces NE: swell from the NE reaches it, and wind from the SW blows out to sea. 2 dive centres or shops within 10 km, the nearest 7.7 km away. The sea is about 26°C in July, its coldest month (3 mm wetsuit), and 29°C in January, its warmest (rash vest or 1 to 2 mm). The town to stay in is Dar es Salaam. Within 5 km we also list 1 surf spot and 1 dive site.

  • What it is Reef.
  • How deep Down to 16 m.
  • Getting in From a boat.
  • Who it suits Suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it.
  • Dive centres 2 dive centres or shops within 10 km, the nearest 7.7 km away.

Water about 28°C: 3 mm wetsuit. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

Visibility about 10 m. Typical for the time of year, estimated from ten years of NASA satellite water clarity, not a forecast. Clearest in Jan, Mar, Apr, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct and Nov (about 10 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$1,050–US$2,120 each

about US$1,050–US$2,120 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 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn ORD to DAR, estimated from distance and season, changing at IST, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$844–US$1,760
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$40–US$67
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$80–US$127
Food7 days eating outabout US$87–US$161
Totalabout US$1,050–US$2,120

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: Dar es Salaam

Closest

Dar es Salaam

27 min by car · 122 places to stay

about US$27/nightcountry average

See 122 places to stay in Dar es Salaam · Booking.com

About Dar es Salaam its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$27 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 26h 45m

About 26h 45m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → DAR, changing at İstanbul Airport (IST), then 45 min by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.

In the water

Dive centres nearby

  • DYC Dive Center 7.7 km

  • Thalassa Dive Center 8.6 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

Too few open records near this site to list its animals. Ask a dive centre what you are likely to see.

This week: visibility about 15 m, clearer than usual (satellite plankton reading, 24 Oct). Estimated from the month's typical visibility and this week's satellite chlorophyll against the site's normal; heavy rain before a dive can still muddy it.

The current and the life no free forecast gives. Ask a dive centre before you book.