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Marine Big 5 Tour: See Whales, Sharks, Seals, Penguins
4.9
61 Ratings
Overstrand
Embark on a thrilling Marine Big 5 Safari from Hermanus. Witness Southern Right Whales, sharks, Cape fur seals, African Penguins, and dolphins in their natural habitat.
Embark on a thrilling Marine Big 5 Safari from Hermanus. Witness Southern Right Whales, sharks, Cape fur seals, African Penguins, and dolphins in their natural habitat.
Duration:
5 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
- Free visit to our African Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary (APSS)
- Warm soup and bread after the trip
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Professional guide
- Bottled water
- Coffee/tea and muffins on arrival
- Inflatable life-jackets and wet weather gear
- Free visit to our African Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary (APSS)
- Warm soup and bread after the trip
What's Not Included
- Trip footage available for purchase after the trip
- Trip footage available for purchase after the trip
Additional Information
We operate from Gansbaai around the world-famous Dyer Island where you might be so fortunate to see the Marine Big 5
- the Southern Right Whale/Humpback/Bryde’s Whales,
- various shark species,
- the Cape fur seal (around 60,000 on Geyser Rock),
- the endangered African Penguin and
-
various visiting dolphin species.
The area is also home to a…
We operate from Gansbaai around the world-famous Dyer Island where you might be so fortunate to see the Marine Big 5
- the Southern Right Whale/Humpback/Bryde’s Whales,
- various shark species,
- the Cape fur seal (around 60,000 on Geyser Rock),
- the endangered African Penguin and
- various visiting dolphin species.
The area is also home to a wide variety 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
4.9
(61 Ratings)
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Sheilaanddavids
Nov 6, 2024
Exhilarating, once in a life time experience . - It’s a great tour, worth every penny and I highly recommend. Well organized, good safety. Lovely soup at the end. Everything needed provided from slickers for wetness to blankets if cold. We spent an hour or so with several whales and their calves. Also saw seals, penguins couple of sharks ( at their shark cage boat). The crew was great. Friendly and great at pointing out where to spot the whales - until the animals came over to see us and you could not miss them! The skipper also would bring us closer and we would hang with them. It was an exhilarating experience and they are very professional and also do a lot for animal
conservation and education of the public about endangered species. Go for it!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Adventure14099729381
Sep 26, 2024
Big 5 Sea Safari - Fantastic experience that was facilitated very professionally. The preparation was carried out very quickly and accurately via Email correspondence. On site, the implementation including safety briefing was very welcoming and expertly executed.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
C8566qephils
Sep 3, 2024
Does exactly what it says on the tin! - Excellent trip from pick up to drop off. Super friendly and knowledgeable staff and managed to respectfully observe some impressive creatures. Highly recommended.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Shropslady
Sep 2, 2024
Fabulous experience - Excellent experience - great pick and drop off. The sea safari is incredibly well organised, from the safety briefing to the crew on board ensuring everything goes well. The boat feels safe as the crew are so knowledgeable. We saw shark, humped back dolphins, southern right whales (mother and calf), seals, sea lions and penguins. It was a wonderful trip.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mandy_w
Aug 22, 2024
Fantastic trip - Fantastic trip, we had a great time. Staff were really good. We managed to see whales, shark and seals. It was a little choppy but that just made it more fun
Review provided by Viator
Terrainsvaguezs
Jun 30, 2024
Humpbacks! - Conservation-minded and professional team with a knack for finding the whales! Seeing humpbacks breach was a bucket list adventure.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
H2odoc781
Jun 28, 2024
Very attentive crew!! - First off, it was a beautiful day for being winter. The water had calmed down substantially and we set off! There were still some swells and one of us got a bit queasy, even after dramamine. The crew was right on it and offered peppermint and ginger and soon were feeling much better! Kudos to the crew for their attentiveness!! Pickup at our hotel was perfect. We headed out in search of ocean critters and found Humpbacks, sharks, seals, penguins, and many birds. It was a great time, supported a good cause, and would recommend to anyone!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Thegeo
Sep 25, 2024
A long way from Cape Town for 30 minutes with whales - Seeing both humpback and southern right whales and their calves was amazing. The skipper, crew and volunteers put us on numerous whales and were respectful of them by keeping a distance. One curious brindle humpback juvenile swam right under our ship. Fantastic!
I was disappointed in seeing another boat chum for sharks. This is not a good thing to disrupt their natural behavior for the benefit of a few people in cages.
Also surprised that there was an upcharge for transportation to Hermanus when I understood that this was included. Plus we were gathered at 7:00 am and drove for three hours including an hour picking up others around Cape Town.
Driver was excellent and stopped at some nice bakeries half way for a comfort break and coffee.
So just be aware that the fee may not include all transportation and the round trip from Cape Town is over 6 hours for 30 minutes with the whales.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Suzi_b
Aug 15, 2024
Good tour, very early start, bit choppy, nice whale sightings. - Due to weather forecast we had a very early start, got picked up about 6.00am then were in bus for about 90 mins gathering other guests and travelling to harbour. Fast and good size boat for number of passengers, crew were excellent, particularly with passengers suffering with the choppy conditions. Got to see southern right whale mother and calf up close, including the mother breaching the water. Visited a huge seal colony, saw lots of sea birds, not any shark sightings, some other whales in distance. Overall a good tour, but what you need a bit of luck to get good close sightings.
Review provided by Viator
Dagmarm639
Nov 1, 2024
Totally overpriced - A completely overpriced tour that doesn't keep what it promises. The tour does not take place in Hermanus, but in Gansbaai. You will be picked up by car in Hermanus and driven one hour each way through the area. The tour itself is nothing different from other trips that cost €60 less. And a coffee and a soup are not worth €60. The visit to the penguin station is a visit to a very small outdoor enclosure with 10 baby penguins and a large shop with souvenirs. You better book a tour for half the money directly from Hermanus.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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