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Marine Big 5 Tour: Discover Dyer Island Wildlife
4.4
152 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
(152 Ratings)
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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
Jmeyer4719
Oct 15, 2024
Highly Recommend! Great company! - We had an excellent experience on the tour. Our guide picked us up promptly at the scheduled time. Before the tour we were provided tea/coffee snack (muffin). On the tour we immediately encountered several Southern Right Whales. We were lucky to spend a lot of time with a mother and calf who were exhibiting feeding behavior which we were told was uncommon. We were also taken to view a colony of Cape Fur Seals, African Penguins, as well as spending a short time near a shark cage diving tour to view some Copper Sharks. Staff on tour were very knowledgeable and gave several interesting facts about the animals we saw. After the tour we were provided a light lunch of soup and bread as well as free photos of the trip taken by the photographer on board.
The tour also includes a stop at the penguin sanctuary on the way home where you can learn more about the African penguin rehabilitation program and see some penguins currently being housed before rerelease.
Additionally, our driver Adam was fantastic. On the way back he even made an extra stop near Hermanus so that our group could spend some extra time watching whales from the path off shore where we were able to see many whales very close to shore.
Overall this trip is highly recommended!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Joandmarthal
Oct 14, 2024
Amazing day - It was a very exciting experience to see the whales up close all the staff are lovely and want to talk about the animals. Extra bonus is they are attempting to save the African penguin from extinction
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
M6702sgdianeh
Oct 13, 2024
Not what I had hoped for - We had originally planned do this whilst staying nearby in Hermanus but, due to bad weather, had to reschedule and travel from Cape Town, which is just one of those things. However, as other people have said, be prepared for a very long transfer time of 3 + hours each way! During the boat trip, we were lucky enough to see a couple of whales, which was amazing, as well as watch other people cage diving with sharks (not particularly interesting) The biggest disappointment, though, was that there was no consideration for guests like us who were stuck on bottom deck at the back of boat getting very wet and not always able to get good views of the sightings. I appreciate that not everyone can sit on top deck but maybe the crew could offer people the chance to swap seats/share a bit more to make it a fairer experience given that we have all paid the same money.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Emily_p
Oct 10, 2024
Really great whale viewing, but long drive from Cape Town and expensive - We were able to see Copper sharks, a few penguins, seals, and Southern Right Whales. The whales in particular were wonderful, and we were able to watch them from a close distance for a long while. The boat's crew was very professional and ran the trip well. Certainly, wildlife viewing is not a guarantee, but I wanted to flag that based on the marketing I was expecting to have at least a small chance of seeing a great white shark, but the crew let us know that great whites have generally been driven from those waters by orcas several years ago. I wish that had been a bit more clear up front to manage expectations.
My main qualm with this tour was the cost and transportation time. Specifically, we were told the day before that pickup would be at 4:30 am, which is a tough hour to start a tour. The drive from Cape Town is about 3 hours each way, making the majority of the trip transportation with no tour guide (and mostly in the dark on the way there). I think the day would be more enjoyable with a later start, and I'd seriously consider staying closer to Hermanus/Gaansbai rather than taking the tour from Cape Town. At the end of the day, while I enjoyed the two hour boat ride and ~10 minute stop at the bird sanctuary, I didn't leave feeling that the tour was worth the high cost, long drive, or early hour. Keep in mind too that if you do a Cape of Good Hope tour, you will see more penguins at Boulders Beach as well as a smaller colony of seals at Duiker Island.
Review provided by Viator
Jlin117
Oct 13, 2024
Disappointing and overpriced experience!! - Unfortunately my experience echoes the previous review exactly. Around 6 hours in minivan for the shortest whale watching experience I’ve ever had, and I’ve done over 10 whale watching experiences from Maui, New Jersey, Azores, Alaska, and other regions. We spent one hour searching for whales, half an hour at the shark diving cage site to see two sharks (not great white sharks) lured in by chum. Saw a lot of seals and no mention of dolphins even though it is one of the Marine Big 5.
The driver and informational guides were wonderful but this excursion is overhyped up and exaggerated for sure. Yes, nature is unpredictable but the tour company goes out daily and just like weather you can predict to some extend where the whales are. How is it possible to see more on shore just by walking around Hermanus than an overpriced tour with “experts”?
Crazy thing is we saw more whales on shore for free in Hermanus! This tour is way too short and overpriced. Modern day robbery tourist trap. Most disappointed and expensive activity I’ve done in Cape Town.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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