Seal Snorkeling Cape Town

When and Where?

Please arrive on time, The time you booked online is the time to arrive. We meet at the Seal Snorkeling Center – 8 Albert road, HOUT BAY, Cape Town. We are NOT in Albert Road, Salt River, Cape Town. See directions below.

Trip Duration

2.5 hours, with about 50 mins in the water.

Do seals bite?

Not normally, but Fur seals have bitten snorkelers. These are wild animal’s and should be treated with respect. Almost all of the interactions are curious and friendly but there are 5000 Fur seals at Duiker Island and occasionally we see aggressive behaviour. The Adult Bull Fur seals, during mating season (Nov/Dec), are normally the culprits. But we have seen others being aggressive, on these occasions we exit the water, move location or cancel the trip.  You may be wondering that is the risk and 98,6% of the trip this year have been wonderful, but on 1,4% (or 6 in 445 trips as of 29/11/22) we experienced aggression and canceled the trip. It’s important you know there is an element of risk entering the natural environment with any wild creature, this is the same with our Cape Fur seals.

Snorkeling conditions

The seal snorkeling site is very shallow (1 – 5m deep) and you will see the bottom clearly most days. This is the ocean so there can be small waves and a choppy surface. The water temperature varies from 8C – 13C. This means that the water is COLD! The boat is always nearby and you can return to warm up if needed.

Snorkeling Center

The Seal Snorkeling Centre is a converted home near Hout Bay Harbour. We have always invested in the client experience and our facilities show this, we have changing rooms, hot showers, and free Wifi are enjoyed by our guests and a lounge to relax in while you wait or warm up after the dive. It’s a great place to be and we hope to share it with you.

Experience needed ?

You need to be able to swim confidently – please note that this is a SWIMMING ACTIVITY. For your own safety, the skipper reserves the right to assess your swimming ability and to ask you to remain on the boat should they deem you unfit for this activity. Motion sickness is a problem for some – if you suffer from motion sickness this experience may not be for you. We recommend one motion sickness pill the evening before and one on the morning of your trip if you are prone to seasickness and want to join us.

What is the best time to snorkel with the seals?

The best time is whenever you can and time allows! Summer is generally best – September to May. But we run trip from August to June, weather dependant.

Age limits?

Children who intend to snorkel need to be 13 years or older. It is important that you let us know if children are joining as part of your group, as we need to make sure that the conditions are not too rough. Boat viewers can be from 6 years old and upward.

What equipment do you provide?

We have fleece lined 5mm one-piece wetsuits with hoods. We also provide 3mm vests, 3mm gloves, booties, fins, silicone masks, and snorkels. Our equipment comes in a range of sizes to suit everyone. *Please note – no full face masks are permitted for this activity.

Are there any sharks?

No, the island is situated on the cold Atlantic side of Cape Town where temperatures range between 8C -15 C. Great White Sharks prefer seal colonies on the east coast of South Africa. The shallow reefs and thick kelp forests prevent large sharks from coming close to Duiker Island. The well-established and long-running seal-watching ships have not seen a shark on the island in over 20 years of operation.

I am pregnant – can I join?

If you are less than 6 months pregnant and would like to join us, please indicate this on your booking and provide us with a doctor’s note certifying that you are fit for physical activity.

Transport?

No. UBER is the cheapest and most reliable but any taxi company will happily transport you to Hout Bay harbor. There are also the City Sightseeing hop-on hop-off busses that operate a route from Cape Town to Hout Bay and around the peninsular.

Booking policy?

Bookings are confirmed only when payment has been received. Our online booking system only takes payment in full by credit card. Irregular bookings may be refused at any time. Please be careful not to double book yourself onto multiple time slots, if this occurs there will be a 10% admin fee on the refund unless it is within 48 hours, then no refund is given.

Refund policy?

We will only cancel when conditions are unsafe to go out. We try cancel trips 24 hours before arrival but will cancel at short notice if the ocean is unexpectedly rough. A full refund will be given if we cancel due to poor weather conditions. We only refund via the same method that we received the payment from.

Cancellation policy?

Cancellation within 48 hours of departure and no-shows will not be given a refund. All cancellations prior to 48hrs incur a 10% administration fee.

Limitations

Please be aware that this is a swimming activity – for your own safety, the skipper reserves the right to assess your swimming ability and to ask you to remain on the boat should they deem you unfit for this activity. This is also a physically demanding activity. We cater up to size 3 XL wetsuits (130kg) – if you are unsure ask us.

Sea Sickness

Please take medication if you are prone to motion sickness. Once we are with the seals we cannot return until after the snorkel has finished, 1 and a half hours at sea.