Shark Alley (False Bay)
Dive site · South Africa
Advanced divers and up
Is it worth the trip?
52Fair out of 100 for your dates
Best on Wed 4: Sea 0.7 m, Visibility about 5 m, Water 17 °C
Mon 2 · 52 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.1 m
- Wind
- 15 kn
- Gusts
- 20kn
- Air
- 17°C
Tue 3 · 61 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.0 m
- Wind
- 9 kn
- Gusts
- 11kn
- Air
- 18°C
Wed 4 · 64 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.7 m
- Wind
- 0 kn
- Gusts
- 7kn
- Air
- 21°C
Thu 5 · 47 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.0 m
- Wind
- 18 kn
- Gusts
- 22kn
- Air
- 19°C
Fri 6 · 50 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.2 m
- Wind
- 14 kn
- Gusts
- 19kn
- Air
- 18°C
Sat 7 · 51 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.2 m
- Wind
- 13 kn
- Gusts
- 17kn
- Air
- 16°C
Sun 8 · 4 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.5 m
- Wind
- 23 kn
- Gusts
- 35knboats in
- Air
- 18°C
Tap a day for sea, wind and water. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Sun 158, fair
- Mon 252, fair
- Tue 361, good
- Wed 464, good
- Thu 547, fair
- Fri 650, fair
- Sat 751, fair
- Sun 84, poor
- Mon 961, good
- Tue 1062, good
The site in five facts
- Down to 10 mits deepest
- From a boathow you get in
- Advancedand up
- Water 17 °C7 mm wetsuit and hood
- Faces Eswell 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 | 58, fair | 1.3 m | 8 kn | 10kn | 18°C |
| Mon 2Nov | 52, fair | 1.1 m | 15 kn | 20kn | 17°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 61, good | 1.0 m | 9 kn | 11kn | 18°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 64, good | 0.7 m | 0 kn | 7kn | 21°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 47, fair | 1.0 m | 18 kn | 22kn | 19°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 50, fair | 1.2 m | 14 kn | 19kn | 18°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 51, fair | 1.2 m | 13 kn | 17kn | 16°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 4, poor | 1.5 m | 23 kn | 35knboats in | 18°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 61, good | 0.9 m | 9 kn | 17kn | 19°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 62, good | 0.6 m | 10 kn | 21kn | 18°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 −0.4 mHigh 07:44 +0.4 mLow 14:12 −0.3 mHigh 20:23 +0.3 m
- Mon 2 NovLow 02:48 −0.3 mHigh 09:15 +0.4 mLow 16:01 −0.4 mHigh 22:04 +0.3 m
- Tue 3 NovLow 04:27 −0.4 mHigh 10:43 +0.5 mLow 17:25 −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.
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).
- Jan6of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb6of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar6of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr6of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May5of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun4of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul5of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug4of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep5of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct5of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov6of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
- Dec6of 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
Shark Alley (False Bay) 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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Photos of Shark Alley (False Bay)
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More diving near here
5 places
- Buffels Bay 4.2 km away
- Phyllisia Shipwreck 9.4 km away
- Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/Josh's Reef 9.7 km away
- Nolloth 11.9 km away
- Thomas T. Tucker 13.1 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Shark Alley (False Bay)
A reef dive. It goes down to 10 m. You get in from a boat. It suits Advanced 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. No dive centre within 10 km, the nearest 18 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 5 surf spots and 2 dive sites.
- What it is Reef.
- How deep Down to 10 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 10 km, the nearest 18 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 Jun and Jul (about 9 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: Scarborough Western Cape
35 min by car · 19 places to stay
about US$60/nightcountry average
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 55m
About 26h 55m door to door from Chicago
Fly MDW → CPT, changing at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), then 1h 05m 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 Scarborough Western Cape · GetYourGuideDive gear hire in Scarborough Western Cape · GetYourGuide
Dive centres nearby
Ollava 18 km
Pisces Divers 19 km
Cape Town Dive Centre 21 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.
Saved: this link opens the same trip
The link holds the trip itself: nothing about you is kept. Check the forecast again before you book.