SARDINE RUN EXPEDITION, SOUTH AFRICA

July 2 - 7, 2026

Every year,from June onwards, there occurs one of the great migration events in the world:  the migration of the shoal of sardines up the eastern coast of South Africa.

And to be clear, we aren’t talking “a few hundred” or even “a few thousand”.    This shoal can attain sizes that are literally kilometres long and hundreds of meters wide – with millions of sardines.   And this shoal attracts every predator in the vicinity for this “all you can eat” buffet – sharks, dolphins, whales, gamefish and even seabirds all get in on the action, making it possibly the most high-octane underwater experience on this planet.

And in 2026, we have tied up with one of the leading operators with 25 years of experience to experience this spectacle for ourselves.      It’s going to be a very small group – 10 divers max – to ensure that everyone gets a truly unique experience without large crowds. 

 

 As always, your Bangalore Scuba dive pro will be with you throughout the trip. He’ll be there to help out both topside and underwater, so you can just focus on enjoying the experience.

 

Overview

To start with, this is a sardine run expedition – not a standard dive trip.   The goal is to experience being in the baitball, and watching the predator feeding frenzy.

The shoal itself is migrating up the coast, and can be at varying depths – sometimes near the surface, sometimes a little deeper.   It also moves at varying speeds.    All of this means that sometimes, we may be able to get in the water with scuba gear on, and at other times, we will be just snorkelling with the shoal.

So don’t think of this trip as having X number of dives – think of it in terms of expedition days.   And in this 7 night package, we will have 6 expedition days to maximise our chances of having that “once in a lifetime” moment with the shoal.   While there will be one scuba tank per diver in case a static baitball is spotted, the bulk of the time will actually be on snorkelling.

Do note that this is not a zoo and nature cannot be predicted – however, we have chosen a time that, based on the recent few years, offers the best chances of seeing the shoal.   And further, the operator will have their own spotter plane in the air, along with shore based and marine spotters to help tilt the odds in our favor.     With 25 years experience, including with film crews, we feel very confident that our expedition partner provides the best odds of experiencing the sardine run in the best way possible.

The following is the tentative itinerary for the trip.     Do note that specific arrival and departure times will be confirmed in the Whatsapp group. 

  • July 2:   Arrive in Mthatha Airport (recommended time TBD) by early afternoon, and then take a 2 hour transfer to Port St Johns.    
  • July 3:  Sardine Run expedition (all day)
  • July 4:  Sardine Run expedition (all day)
  • July 5:  Sardine Run expedition (all day)
  • July 6:  Sardine Run expedition (all day)
  • July 7:  Sardine Run expedition (all day)
  • July 8:  Sardine Run expedition (all day)
  • July 9:   Check out in the morning and transfer to Mthatha Airport for outbound flight

If you are coming all this way, we do recommend doing an add-on trip to Kruger to experience the wildlife there.     We can help with arranging this part of the trip as well.

To start with, as mentioned earlier, this is not a diving trip per se but a marine expedition – the in-water portion may be on scuba or it may be while snorkelling.     The goal is to see the sharks and dolphins hunting, the seabirds dive-bombing the baitball and, if we are lucky,  having whales, swordfish and other marine hunters also show up.

On the flip side, there will also be extensive periods of cruising around, waiting for the shoal to make itself known – sometimes, they dive fairly deep and cannot be spotted.    

So what you can realistically expect is a decent amount of waiting time (good for recovery) mixed in with exciting, high-octane action.       As such, we recommend participants have a moderate level of physical fitness, be comfortable snorkelling away from the boat without seeing a bottom below them, be ok in moderate chop/swells and also be able to kit up and get in the water quickly.    AOW or OW with enough experience are both sufficient for this trip – more important is the stuff mention earlier.

The expedition will be run of customised RIBs, with ample tank racks and space for camera gear.     Despite being fairly large boats, they will take only a max of 10 divers, to ensure everyone has space to sit comfortable.    And these RIBs do have ladders, to make ingress a lot easier than pulling yourself up the rope!

The water temperature will be 16-21C – we don’t want it to get warmer, as then the sardines go deeper.   A 5mm suit is strongly recommended.   Air temperature will be 14-25C, so carry something warm to wear in the evenings and also on the boat.   Vis is typically 15-30m, but can drop to 2-3m on some days as well.

We will base ourself at the Cremorne Estate, nestled between the dramatic cliffs and lush forest on the banks of the Umzimvubu River.    They are located on the quieter side of the diver and offer a variety of accommodation.   The rooms we have chosen are Wooden Chalets – comfortable, well-appointed, with en-suite bathroom, fan, wall heater and tea/coffee facitlies and a balcony.

The property also has a full restaurant and bar on the premises, where we will be having our meals as well as sundowners.

Visas: South Africa requires a visa in advance, and while the official stated processing time is 4-6 working days, plan to apply 2 months prior, as the processing can often be delayed significantly.    From 2025 onwards, South Africa has switched to eVisa processing, however.

Getting There:

We recommend flying to Johannesburg and then taking an onwards flight to Mthatha Airport.        We will have one group transfer arranged at a time that suits most people in the group – anyone arriving at a significantly different time may need to pay extra for separate transfers (which we will arrange).

Insurance: Dive insurance is mandatory, and we will provide options for both short term and annual insurance from Diveassure and DAN.  Additionally, travel insurance is strongly recommended.

You can buy using the following links:

DiveAssure all plans: https://app.diveassure.com/da2/en/registration/main/process/0/int/0/17014

DAN Annual plan: https://apps.dan.org/join-dan/?do=dw&rc=3209485

DAN Short-tern plan:  contact us

PACKAGE PRICE: USD 3550 per person

Single occupancy surcharge: TBC

Do note:  with the USD experiencing all sorts of crazy price swings, we reserve the right to add a surcharge in case the USD/ZAR exchange rate changes significantly between now and the time the payments are made.      

PAYMENT SCHEDULE

  • 30% payment to confirm the booking
  • Balance due April 5, 2026

Payments are non-refundable.    However, if the trip sells out and we are able to find someone to take your place, we will adjust your payment against theirs, at no extra charge.

Includes:

  • 7 nights accommodation
  • Breakfast and dinner
  • Packed lunch on expedition days
  • 6 sea days – full day Ocean Safari
  • Round trip group transfer between Mthatha Airport and the resort, an back (time to be specified based on group travel schedules
  • Diver Permit for Pondoland Marine Protected Area
  • Tanks and weights
  • Bangalore Scuba dive pro on site
  •  All taxes

Excludes:

  • International and domestic flights
  •  Visa
  • Beer and other alcoholic beverages
  • Local tours and travel
  • Gear rental
  • Tips/ gratuities – $300-350 recommended
  • Private transfers for those who cannot make the group transfer

Gear rental prices (per day):

  • This is a marine expedition and while we have chosen a highly reputable operator with a lot of experience, sightings are not guaranteed.   

 

  • We need a minimum of 6 people to run the trip

 

  • All payments are non-refundable once made.   However, if we can get someone to take your place for you, we will carry over your deposit to them and have them reimburse you.   We will only do this once we get a minimum of 7 participants.  Of course, you are always welcome to get someone to take your spot at any time.

 

  • Please read the requirements for the expedition – you don’t need to be a super fit athlete, but you do need to be comfortable snorkelling for a bit along with the shoal, away from the boat and in deeper water.   Similarly, for diving, you need to have good buoyancy skills and be comfortable jumping in the water quickly and without a very detailed site-specific briefing.

 

  • A Bangalore Scuba pro will be on the trip and will help divers who need assistance and additional supervision, of course.   But we also don’t want one diver to monopolise the attention of a guide or affect the experience of the others.   So we reserve the right to ask participants who do not meet the requirements to sit out specific parts of the day.   To be honest, we don’t really expect this to happen, as this is a very extreme case, but we want to have this out there in the interest of full disclosure.

 

  • Please discuss any special needs or requirements with us in advance, prior to booking.

 

  • As always, we have a Whatsapp group for participants to join to discuss/plan the trip

 

  • Dive insurance is strongly recommended – and travel insurance, even more so.   Links are also provided in the section above.   Please contact us for a link to short-term DAN insurance, if you want.

 

  • Feel free to contact us on +919880334003 or +917044072204 if you have any questions, or email info@bangalorescuba.com

 

 

 

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