Raggie Cave Aliwal
Dive site · South Africa
Advanced divers and up
Is it worth the trip?
49Fair out of 100 for your dates
Best on Sat 7: Sea 1.1 m, Visibility about 10 m, Water 23 °C
Mon 2 · 55 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.4 m
- Wind
- 11 kn
- Gusts
- 15kn
- Air
- 23°C
Tue 3 · 33 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.8 m
- Wind
- 15 kn
- Gusts
- 19kn
- Air
- 24°C
Wed 4 · 50 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.4 m
- Wind
- 6 kn
- Gusts
- 10kn
- Air
- 24°C
Thu 5 · 32 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.9 m
- Wind
- 13 kn
- Gusts
- 28knboats in
- Air
- 26°C
Fri 6 · 54 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.4 m
- Wind
- 7 kn
- Gusts
- 9kn
- Air
- 24°C
Sat 7 · 65 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.1 m
- Wind
- 7 kn
- Gusts
- 11kn
- Air
- 23°C
Sun 8 · 7 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.2 m
- Wind
- 30 kn
- Gusts
- 52knboats in
- Air
- 21°C
Tap a day for sea, wind and water. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Sun 153, fair
- Mon 255, fair
- Tue 333, poor
- Wed 450, fair
- Thu 532, poor
- Fri 654, fair
- Sat 765, good
- Sun 87, poor
- Mon 929, poor
- Tue 1030, poor
The site in five facts
- Down to 18 mits deepest
- From a boathow you get in
- Advancedand up
- Water 23 °C5 mm wetsuit
- Faces SEswell 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 | 53, fair | 1.5 m | 8 kn | 11kn | 24°C |
| Mon 2Nov | 55, fair | 1.4 m | 11 kn | 15kn | 23°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 33, poor | 1.8 m | 15 kn | 19kn | 24°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 50, fair | 1.4 m | 6 kn | 10kn | 24°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 32, poor | 1.9 m | 13 kn | 28knboats in | 26°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 54, fair | 1.4 m | 7 kn | 9kn | 24°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 65, good | 1.1 m | 7 kn | 11kn | 23°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 7, poor | 1.2 m | 30 kn | 52knboats in | 21°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 29, poor | 2.5 m | 8 kn | 13knboats in | 22°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 30, poor | 2.0 m | 9 kn | 30knboats in | 23°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 01:15 −0.5 mHigh 07:48 +0.4 mLow 13:58 −0.3 mHigh 20:16 +0.3 m
- Mon 2 NovLow 02:35 −0.4 mHigh 09:35 +0.4 mLow 16:03 −0.2 mHigh 22:19 +0.2 m
- Tue 3 NovLow 04:34 −0.3 mHigh 11:26 +0.4 mLow 18:02 −0.3 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).
- Jan2of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb2of 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
- Jun2of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug1of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep1of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct1of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov2of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
- Dec2of 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 and its town
Raggie Cave Aliwal 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.
More diving near here
2 places
- Aliwal Shoal 1.2 km away
- MV Produce Wreck 2.5 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Raggie Cave Aliwal
A cave dive. It goes down to 18 m. You get in from a boat. It suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces SE: swell from the SE reaches it, and wind from the NW blows out to sea. No dive centre within 50 km on the map: book a liveaboard or a boat from further off. The sea is about 21°C in August, its coldest month (5 mm wetsuit), and 27°C in February, its warmest (3 mm wetsuit). The town to stay in is Umkomaas. Within 5 km we also list 2 dive sites.
- What it is Cave.
- How deep Down to 18 m.
- Getting in From a boat.
- Who it suits Suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it.
- Dive centres No dive centre within 50 km on the map: book a liveaboard or a boat from further off.
Water about 23°C: 5 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 and Feb (about 15 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$2,530 each
about US$1,270–US$2,530 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 DUR, estimated from distance and season, changing at IST, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$898–US$1,870 |
| 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$2,530 |
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: Umkomaas
15 min by car · 20 places to stay
about US$60/nightcountry average
About Umkomaas 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 31h 05m
About 31h 05m door to door from Chicago
Fly ORD → DUR, changing at İstanbul Airport (IST), then 1h 40m by road
Flights ORD → DUR on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.
In the water
Dives and courses in Umkomaas · GetYourGuideDive gear hire in Umkomaas · GetYourGuide
Dive centres nearby
No dive centre mapped within 50 km.
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.