🇿🇦 Cape Town
Cape Town / Diving
🇿🇦Cape Town · Diving

Scuba and Freediving in Cape Town: 5 Top Schools (2026)

Updated October 2026 · No paid placements

5 places · No paid placementsHow we rankNothing here is for sale: no business can buy a position, and partners are labelled and never move up the list. Every price comes from the place's own website or says n/a. Read how we rank
01Cape Town Freediving, Cape Towncapetownfreediving.com
Glencairn (False Bay)Cape Town FreedivingAdventure Freediver I, 2 days 4,800 ZAR
★ 4.9 (206)From 4,800 ZAR
01

Cape Town Freediving

Editor's pick
⭐ 4.9 (206 Google reviews)Glencairn (False Bay)Adventure Freediver I, 2 days 4,800 ZARMaps checked 19 Oct 2026

A freediving school, not a scuba centre, based at Summer Place on Glen Road in Glencairn on the False Bay side of the peninsula, teaching since 2012. It runs Pure Apnea courses from Adventure Freediver I and II to sport freediving and instructor training, plus snorkelling trips and a surf apnea workshop for surfers.

4.9 on Google from 206 reviews, the biggest record of the freediving schools here Courses include freedive gear and international certification, and the site says its instructors hold a combined 13 national records Freediving only, with no scuba option Far down the peninsula in Glencairn, well south of the city centre
Visit Cape Town FreedivingMap
Details
02Illustration
Sea PointInto the Blue Scuba Dive Centre Cape TownDiscover Scuba 2,800 ZAR
★ 4.8 (303)From 2,800 ZAR
02

Into the Blue Scuba Dive Centre Cape Town

⭐ 4.8 (303 Google reviews)Sea PointDiscover Scuba 2,800 ZARMaps checked 19 Oct 2026

A PADI dive centre and shop on Sea Point's Main Road with an on-site pool for one-to-one training. Its dives range from kelp and wreck dives to snorkelling with Cape fur seals, cow shark dives, blue and mako shark trips and great white cage diving, and it collects divers within Cape Town.

4.8 on Google from 303 reviews, the deepest record in this list Discover Scuba includes gear, tuition and hotel pick-up, with pool or ocean options Fun dive and shark trip prices are not shown on the pages we checked Larger groups train at off-site facilities rather than the Sea Point pool, according to its site
Visit Into the Blue Scuba Dive Centre Cape TownMap
Details
03Illustration
Cape Town (no street address listed)Scuba Shack Diving Cape TownDiscover Scuba half day 3,200 ZAR
★ 5 (48)From 3,200 ZAR
03

Scuba Shack Diving Cape Town

⭐ 5 (48 Google reviews)Cape Town (no street address listed)Discover Scuba half day 3,200 ZARMaps checked 19 Oct 2026

A scuba operator with more than 15 years of PADI courses and guided dives, running small groups on False Bay and the Atlantic side. It lists daily aquarium and kelp forest dives and wreck dives including the Boss 400, which it calls South Africa's largest wreck.

5.0 on Google from 48 reviews Its Discover Scuba half day includes photos and video No street address on Google or its site, so meeting points must be arranged Only one price published; for anything else the site says to call
Visit Scuba Shack Diving Cape TownMap
Details
04Freediving Africa, Cape Townfreedivingafrica.co.za
Salt RiverFreediving AfricaPrice n/a
★ 5 (47)
04

Freediving Africa

⭐ 5 (47 Google reviews)Salt RiverPrice n/aMaps checked 19 Oct 2026

A freediving and spearfishing school, not a scuba centre, run by Master AIDA instructors Matt Stow and Tamsyn Signe from Queens Park Avenue in Salt River. It teaches AIDA 1 to AIDA 4 and NAUI freediver courses, a depth safety course and a Spear to Sear spearfishing day, and sells freediving wetsuits.

5.0 on Google from 47 reviews Internationally recognised AIDA courses from beginner to master level Course prices are not published on its home page No scuba: it is not the right pick if you want tanks
Visit Freediving AfricaMap
Details
05Illustration
GardensCrucible FreedivingPrice n/a
★ 5 (46)
05

Crucible Freediving

⭐ 5 (46 Google reviews)GardensPrice n/aMaps checked 19 Oct 2026

A freediving school, listed on Google as a diving center at the Welgemeend Conference Centre in Gardens, opening at 8:30am on weekdays. It has no website on its listing, so course details come from Google only.

5.0 on Google from 46 reviews Central location in Gardens, in the City Bowl No website, so courses, levels and prices cannot be checked online Freediving only, with no scuba option
Map
Details

Last verified: ratings, review counts and open status were read from Google Maps on 19 Oct 2026. Ranking rule: rating 4.4 or higher with at least 40 reviews, one branch per brand, ordered by a weighted score that pulls small review counts toward the average, so a 5.0 from 15 reviews cannot beat a 4.8 from 900. Method and author on How we rank.

How we rank

Nothing is for sale

The rule behind this list

Last verified: ratings, review counts and open status were read from Google Maps on 19 Oct 2026. Ranking rule: rating 4.4 or higher with at least 40 reviews, one branch per brand, ordered by a weighted score that pulls small review counts toward the average, so a 5.0 from 15 reviews cannot beat a 4.8 from 900. Method and author on How we rank.

Own a place on the list?

Nothing here is for sale and no business can buy a position. If your place is missing or a price or detail is out of date, tell us and we will check it against your own website and fix it.

For businesses

Frequently asked

How much does diving cost in Cape Town?

Published prices in this list: Discover Scuba is 2,800 ZAR at Into the Blue in Sea Point and 3,200 ZAR for a half day at Scuba Shack. For freediving, Cape Town Freediving lists Adventure Freediver I at 4,800 ZAR for two days and Adventure Freediver II at 7,000 ZAR for three days. The other two freediving schools do not publish prices.

Where can I learn freediving in Cape Town?

Three schools in this list are freediving schools: Cape Town Freediving in Glencairn, teaching Pure Apnea courses since 2012; Freediving Africa in Salt River, run by Master AIDA instructors and teaching AIDA 1 to 4; and Crucible Freediving in Gardens, which has no website on its listing.

Can I dive with seals or sharks in Cape Town?

Into the Blue in Sea Point lists snorkelling and diving with Cape fur seals, cow shark dives, blue and mako shark trips and great white cage diving. Some of these do not require a scuba certification, according to its site.

Do I need my own gear to dive in Cape Town?

No. Into the Blue includes gear in Discover Scuba, and Cape Town Freediving says freedive gear is provided on its Adventure Freediver courses. Scuba Shack's site says to call for details.

Is this list sponsored?

No. The ranking is editorial and unpaid: dive schools rated 4.4 or higher with at least 40 Google reviews are ranked by a review-weighted score, one branch per brand, and no school can pay for a position.

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