Staying Home Sucks, home
Backplate – Tucker Wreck (Greg Zaal and Rico Cilliers via Poly Haven) IMG 0395 (edited)
Near Nolloth, 1 km away. Photo: Greg Zaal (Panorama) Rico Cilliers (Backplates), CC0, Wikimedia Commons

Nolloth

Dive site · South Africa

Advanced divers and up

Is it worth the trip?

24Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Wed 4: too rough to dive, Sea 1.4 m, Visibility about 5 m

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 23 out of 100

Sea
2.4 m
Wind
15 kn
Gusts
26knboats in
Air
20°C

Tue 3 · 27 out of 100

Sea
1.8 m
Wind
9 kn
Gusts
20kn
Air
22°C

Wed 4 · 29 out of 100

Sea
1.4 m
Wind
4 kn
Gusts
10kn
Air
26°C

Thu 5 · 12 out of 100

Sea
2.1 m
Wind
17 kn
Gusts
28knboats in
Air
21°C

Fri 6 · 23 out of 100

Sea
2.5 m
Wind
14 kn
Gusts
26knboats in
Air
20°C

Sat 7 · 27 out of 100

Sea
2.5 m
Wind
11 kn
Gusts
19kn
Air
18°C

Sun 8 · 4 out of 100

Sea
2.9 m
Wind
22 kn
Gusts
38knboats in
Air
19°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 132, poor
  2. Mon 223, poor
  3. Tue 327, poor
  4. Wed 429, poor
  5. Thu 512, poor
  6. Fri 623, poor
  7. Sat 727, poor
  8. Sun 84, poor
  9. Mon 929, poor
  10. Tue 1033, poor

The site in five facts

  • Down to 5 mits deepest
  • From the shorehow you get in
  • Advancedand up
  • Water 17 °C7 mm wetsuit and hood
  • Faces SWswell from there reaches it

Full forecast

every day, every number

Suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it. Scored for Advanced divers.

Sea and wind forecast and score for each day at Nolloth
DayScoreSeaWindGustsAir
Sun 1Nov32, poor2.6 m11 kn18kn21°C
Mon 2Nov23, poor2.4 m15 kn26knboats in20°C
Tue 3Nov27, poor1.8 m9 kn20kn22°C
Wed 4Nov29, poor1.4 m4 kn10kn26°C
Thu 5Nov12, poor2.1 m17 kn28knboats in21°C
Fri 6Nov23, poor2.5 m14 kn26knboats in20°C
Sat 7Nov27, poor2.5 m11 kn19kn18°C
Sun 8Nov4, poor2.9 m22 kn38knboats in19°C
Mon 9Nov29, poor2.0 m3 kn22knboats in25°C
Tue 10Nov33, poor1.1 m10 kn20kn22°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 01:16 −0.4 mHigh 07:45 +0.4 mLow 14:12 −0.3 mHigh 20:24 +0.3 m
  • Mon 2 NovLow 02:48 −0.3 mHigh 09:15 +0.4 mLow 15:59 −0.4 mHigh 22:04 +0.3 m
  • Tue 3 NovLow 04:26 −0.3 mHigh 10:42 +0.5 mLow 17:23 −0.5 mHigh 23:28 +0.4 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, its town, photos

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.

Photos of Nolloth

Backplate – Tucker Wreck (Greg Zaal and Rico Cilliers via Poly Haven) IMG 0395
Near Nolloth, 1 km away. Photo: Greg Zaal (Panorama) Rico Cilliers (Backplates), CC0, Wikimedia Commons

More diving near here

3 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Nolloth

A wreck dive. It goes down to 5 m. You get in from the shore. It suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces SW: swell from the SW reaches it, and wind from the NE blows out to sea. No dive centre within 10 km, the nearest 11 km away. The sea is about 15°C in August, its coldest month (7 mm semi-dry or a drysuit), and 19°C in January, its warmest (7 mm wetsuit and hood). The town to stay in is Scarborough Western Cape. Within 5 km we also list 2 surf spots and 2 dive sites.

  • What it is Wreck.
  • How deep Down to 5 m.
  • Getting in From the shore.
  • Who it suits Suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it.
  • Dive centres No dive centre within 10 km, the nearest 11 km away.

Water about 17°C: 7 mm wetsuit and hood. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

Visibility about 5 m. Typical for the time of year, estimated from ten years of NASA satellite water clarity, not a forecast. Clearest in Jan, Feb and Jun (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$1,230–US$2,430 each

about US$1,230–US$2,430 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 MDW to CPT, estimated from distance and season, changing at ATL, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$858–US$1,780
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$67–US$114
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$161–US$275
Food7 days eating outabout US$147–US$268
Totalabout US$1,230–US$2,430

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: Scarborough Western Cape

Closest

Scarborough Western Cape

17 min by car · 19 places to stay

about US$60/nightcountry average

See 19 places to stay in Scarborough Western Cape · Booking.com

About Scarborough Western Cape 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 26h 50m

About 26h 50m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → CPT, changing at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), then 1h by road

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

In the water

Dive centres nearby

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 10 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.