Photographer's Reef
Dive site · South Africa
Advanced divers and up
Is it worth the trip?
32Poor out of 100 for your dates
Best on Wed 4: Sea 1.3 m, Visibility under 5 m, Water 17 °C
Mon 2 · 23 out of 100
- Sea
- 2.4 m
- Wind
- 15 kn
- Gusts
- 19kn
- Air
- 18°C
Tue 3 · 36 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.8 m
- Wind
- 5 kn
- Gusts
- 5kn
- Air
- 20°C
Wed 4 · 52 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.3 m
- Wind
- 4 kn
- Gusts
- 4kn
- Air
- 19°C
Thu 5 · 23 out of 100
- Sea
- 3.0 m
- Wind
- 14 kn
- Gusts
- 20kn
- Air
- 17°C
Fri 6 · 26 out of 100
- Sea
- 2.3 m
- Wind
- 12 kn
- Gusts
- 18kn
- Air
- 17°C
Sat 7 · 27 out of 100
- Sea
- 2.5 m
- Wind
- 10 kn
- Gusts
- 13kn
- Air
- 17°C
Sun 8 · 19 out of 100
- Sea
- 2.8 m
- Wind
- 17 kn
- Gusts
- 23kn
- Air
- 19°C
Tap a day for sea, wind and water. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Sun 127, poor
- Mon 223, poor
- Tue 336, poor
- Wed 452, fair
- Thu 523, poor
- Fri 626, poor
- Sat 727, poor
- Sun 819, poor
- Mon 943, poor
- Tue 1060, good
The site in five facts
- Down to 13 mits deepest
- From a boathow you get in
- Advancedand up
- Water 17 °C7 mm wetsuit and hood
- Faces Wswell 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 Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it. Scored for Advanced divers.
| Day | Score | Sea | Wind | Gusts | Air |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1Nov | 27, poor | 2.6 m | 11 kn | 11kn | 19°C |
| Mon 2Nov | 23, poor | 2.4 m | 15 kn | 19kn | 18°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 36, poor | 1.8 m | 5 kn | 5kn | 20°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 52, fair | 1.3 m | 4 kn | 4kn | 19°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 23, poor | 3.0 m | 14 kn | 20kn | 17°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 26, poor | 2.3 m | 12 kn | 18kn | 17°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 27, poor | 2.5 m | 10 kn | 13kn | 17°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 19, poor | 2.8 m | 17 kn | 23kn | 19°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 43, poor | 1.5 m | 6 kn | 8kn | 18°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 60, good | 1.1 m | 3 kn | 6kn | 17°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 01:18 −0.4 mHigh 07:46 +0.4 mLow 14:14 −0.3 mHigh 20:25 +0.3 m
- Mon 2 NovLow 02:49 −0.3 mHigh 09:16 +0.4 mLow 16:00 −0.4 mHigh 22:06 +0.3 m
- Tue 3 NovLow 04:26 −0.4 mHigh 10:44 +0.5 mLow 17:24 −0.5 mHigh 23:29 +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.
Best time to go
No month stands out
Good diving days in a typical week, each month, for Advanced divers, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).
- Jan1of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb1of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar1of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May1of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun0of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul0of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug0of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep1of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct1of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov1of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
- Dec1of 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
Photographer's Reef on Google Maps · Directions
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 Photographer's Reef
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Photographer's Reef
A reef dive. It goes down to 13 m. You get in from a boat. It suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces W: swell from the W reaches it, and wind from the E blows out to sea. 1 dive centre or shop within 10 km, the nearest 6.2 km away. The sea is about 15°C in August, its coldest month (7 mm semi-dry or a drysuit), and 18°C in January, its warmest (7 mm wetsuit and hood). The town to stay in is Hout Bay. Within 5 km we also list 11 surf spots and 1 climbing area.
- What it is Reef.
- How deep Down to 13 m.
- Getting in From a boat.
- Who it suits Suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it.
- Dive centres 1 dive centre or shop within 10 km, the nearest 6.2 km away.
Water about 17°C: 7 mm wetsuit and hood. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.
Visibility under 5 m. Typical for the time of year, estimated from ten years of NASA satellite water clarity, not a forecast. Clearest in Jan, Feb, Jun and Jul (about 7 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
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return MDW to CPT, estimated from distance and season, changing at ATL, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$858–US$1,780 |
| 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$1,230–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: Hout Bay
7 min by car · 49 places to stay
about US$60/nightcountry average
About Hout 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 26h 35m
About 26h 35m door to door from Chicago
Fly MDW → CPT, changing at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), then 45 min by road
Flights MDW → CPT on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.
In the water
Dives and courses in Hout Bay · GetYourGuideDive gear hire in Hout Bay · GetYourGuide
Dive centres nearby
Scuba Shack 6.2 km
Cape Town Dive Centre 12 km
Pisces Divers 14 km
Ollava 15 km
Into the Blue Scuba 19 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 under 5 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.