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Marine Big 5 Tour: Discover Dyer Island Wildlife
4.4
155 Ratings
Overstrand
Embark on a thrilling Marine Big 5 Safari from Cape Town to Dyer Island. Witness Southern Right Whales, sharks, seals, penguins, and dolphins in their natural habitat.
Embark on a thrilling Marine Big 5 Safari from Cape Town to Dyer Island. Witness Southern Right Whales, sharks, seals, penguins, and dolphins in their natural habitat.
Duration:
10 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Dyer Island Cruises - Dyer Island Cruises operates around the world-famous Dyer Island where you might be fortunate enough to see the Marine Big 5: Southern Right / Humpback / Bryde’s Whales, Great White Sharks around the renowned Shark Alley, Cape Fur Seals, the endangered African Penguin and various visiting dolphin species. The are is also home…
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Dyer Island Cruises - Dyer Island Cruises operates around the world-famous Dyer Island where you might be fortunate enough to see the Marine Big 5: Southern Right / Humpback / Bryde’s Whales, Great White Sharks around the renowned Shark Alley, Cape Fur Seals, the endangered African Penguin and various visiting dolphin species. The are is also home to a variety of seabirds. Our Southern Right Whale Season is normally from June – December, but for the rest of the year we occasionally see Humpback and Bryde’s whales in the area. We have an on-board Marine biologist and experienced crew who promise and educational, life-changing experience.
Upon arrival at the Great White House, coffee/tea and muffins are served while listening to a dedicated safety and conservation briefing. We provide safety jackets and wet weather gear. After a short walk to the harbour we board custom deigned vessel, Dream Catcher and the adventure will commence. After the trip on sea, guests return to the Great White House for soup and bread followed by a debriefing. Quality trip footage can be bought, and you will receive a downloadable link.
A free visit to the African Penguin and Seabirds Sanctuary is also included. Dyer Island Cruises supports The Dyer Island Conservation Trust under which we have a number of conservation and community projects. Please be assured that Your choice makes a difference by booking with us and help to fulfil our dream to Discover & Protect.
If you make use of our dedicated shuttle, we will stop in the beautiful Hermanus. Here you can explore the walkway and curio craft market or have a snack to eat, before heading back to Cape Town.
What's Included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Professional guide
- Bottled water
- Coffee/tea and muffins on arrival
- Inflatable life-jackets and wet weather gear
- Warm soup and bread/lasagne after the trip
- Free visit to our African Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary (APSS)
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Professional guide
- Bottled water
- Coffee/tea and muffins on arrival
- Inflatable life-jackets and wet weather gear
- Warm soup and bread/lasagne after the trip
- Free visit to our African Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary (APSS)
What's Not Included
- Trip footage available for purchase after the trip
- Trip footage available for purchase after the trip
Additional Information
Our operations are based out of Gansbaai, near the globally acclaimed Dyer Island. Here your luck may allow you to witness the Marine Big 5 – including Southern Right Whales, Humpback and Bryde’s Whales, assorted sharks, the Cape fur seal (with a population of about 60,000 on Geyser Rock), the at-risk African Penguin, and various transient dolphin…
Our operations are based out of Gansbaai, near the globally acclaimed Dyer Island. Here your luck may allow you to witness the Marine Big 5 – including Southern Right Whales, Humpback and Bryde’s Whales, assorted sharks, the Cape fur seal (with a population of about 60,000 on Geyser Rock), the at-risk African Penguin, and various transient dolphin species. The region also serves as a habitat to a broad spectrum of seabirds.
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Wheelchair accessible, we can accommodate 2 wheelchairs per trip. Please advise at time of booking if wheelchair assistance is required.
- Excellent crew - one crew member to look after 6-7 guests.
- Please note that the Conservation Fee is compulsory.
- This tour is 2 to 2.5 hours, excluding your travel and briefing time.
Location
Dyer Island Cruises
5 Geelbek Street,
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.4
(155 Ratings)
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Prinz360
Jan 9, 2025
Amazing Adventure - Great team with emphasis on Safety. My most memorable part will be the encounter with the seals and the penguins. # LOVED IT
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Scotw2025
Jan 7, 2025
Great Help with Wildlife Photography - These guys are real pros! They picked me up at Hout Bay when they said they would, had life jackets and rain coats and explained everything real well, including their conservation efforts helping hurt or sick birds. When I told them I'm learning to photograph wildlife, they picked me a good spot on the top deck and two guys helped me spot birds and marine life so I could snap quickly and learn the names of everything. They even had warm soup and bread afterwards to warm us up! It was early, but well worth it. Such a wonderful day!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Benjamin_z
Dec 21, 2024
Amazing marine tour - The pick up from our hotel was on time and smooth. The drive along the coast was beautiful. The staff at the harbor explained everything and made sure everyone was safe before leaving. The boat ride was amazing. The water was beautiful. We saw 2 species of dolphin, including a huge pack that swam alongside the boat. We saw some small sharks, many, many seals, and a couple penguins. The staff were very knowledgeable and helpful and friendly and made sure everyone knew where to look and why the boat was going in certain directions, slowing down, stopping, etc. Conservation is the priority, which makes for the best tour. When back at the harbor we had delicious soup and bread, then went to the penguin sanctuary nearby before heading back.
Review provided by Viator
Jannette_i
Nov 24, 2024
The marine big 5 - What an incredible trip, well worth the 4.30am pick up from the hotel. Very professional team with conservation their priority, we even stopped to pick up plastic from the ocean. We got to see the big 5 even a southern right whale and her baby. Nature at its very best.
Oh and the food before and after the boat trip was great too.
Review provided by Viator
Mastachiw
Oct 31, 2024
Well worth the money - The trip was as advertised. Nicely the booking said that they did not pick up at my hotel — so we booked a local restaurant as the pick up. They contacted us and agreed to pick us up at our hotel saving a lot of effort. The tour was great and the driver Adam was over the top. He went over the top to tell us about the driver and to schedule time for about stop. The actual boat tour was exceptional. It was clear that safety and conservation were key elements of the business. We got to see three whales very close to the boat, a raft of African penguins, the seal colony and some sharks. It is well worth the money.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Anita
Oct 28, 2024
Special experience with Marine Dynamics - Family of 6 from Ireland on hols in Cape Town - booked whale watching (big marine 5) with Marine Dynamics not fully realising it was 2.5 hrs from Cape Town (transfers to & from provided as part of package) … we were collected from our accommodation at 11.45 .. dreaded the journey but as it turned out it was a lovely way to see some of the country side .. Marine Dynamics were a very professional company to deal with .. tea/coffee & muffins on arrival … followed by safety demo .. then kitted out with life vests & rain jackets we headed to our boat … we weren’t long on the boat when we had the first of about 5 whale encounters .. 2x mother & calf .. simply amazing .. we saw all of the Marine big 5 so it was a really successful trip … about 2.5 hrs in total… Alina and the crew were lovely to deal with and very informative - very special experience for the whole family - soup & scones served on return (included in package) & other food available from restaurant if you would like something more substantial - I would highly recommend this trip, so please do not let the 5 hour round trip put u off it was so worth it and I would do it again in the morning.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
389marcusk
Oct 23, 2024
Whale safari - Amazing experience with whale safari. Just keep in mind the distance is nearly 3h away from cape town. But it is all worth the trip. Food provided is not so much so have some extra bars with you so you are not too hungry when back in cape town.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Katherine_n
Nov 7, 2024
Nice boat ride but do note the long drive - The boat ride out to the ocean was great but the actual tour lasted approx 2-2.5 hours? Most of the trip were spent in the van travelling to and fro from cape town to habour. In our case, we were picked up around 7.45am, reached the harbour and started the boat ride around 10.15am. We returned back to the harbour at close to 12.30pm and started making our way back to the hotel at 1pm+. Reached back to Cape Town close to 4.30pm. Would recommend the tour if you do not mind spending most part of the tour in the van. For us we don't mind the long drive as the road journey had a lovely view.
Review provided by Viator
Sj_s
Feb 16, 2025
Choose your time of year wisely - The first thing anyone thinking of taking this trip should know is that the depart time is the time of the boat, not the pickup time. We booked this thinking we’d have a 10am pick up from Cape Town, not the 5.30am pick up we did have. I think if we’d known this we probably wouldn’t have done this tour.
To be fair the the company, we knew when booking this trip that January wasn’t really the best time to see whales. They were upfront about the probability and what we might see. The crew were all fantastic, really knowledgeable and keen to share this.
The long mini bus journey goes through some nice countryside and I liked what I saw of Hermanus. As we were a smaller group, they used a smaller boat which did bang down on the big waves. I don’t think it is an experience for those of a nervous predisposition!
All in, no whales seen, just seals and some small sharks being fed by another vessel. We knew we were taking our chances re seeing whales so I can’t say it was a waste of money. I wouldn’t do it again as I hate small boats but I imagine at a different time of year ..or you get lucky.. this would be a really magical experience. And again, a big thank you to the excellent company who delivered this.
Review provided by Viator
Maureen_b
Dec 17, 2024
Tour was cancelled 10 min... - Tour was cancelled 10 min to collection time due to bad weather. Now I understand yes if the weather is bad its for my own safety but the way the communication was handled and how this was done last minute when i was just waiting to be picked up for the trip. If weather was bad their is forecast reports this could have been communicated earlier to allow a person to make other plans. Honestly, I was very dissappointed.
Review provided by Viator
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