Diving and Snorkelling Advice
How reef time fits into a safari and what to check before you book it.
Diving and Snorkelling travel advice
For health questions, a travel clinic has the final word. For visas, check the embassy of each country on the route.
1.Season and visibility
Mozambique and Zanzibar dive best from roughly September to March, with whale sharks off the Mozambique coast in the southern summer. The Seychelles are clearest from March to May and October to November. Mauritius dives year-round with the calmest water from October to April.
Travel by month2.Certification
Bring your certification card and logbook if you plan to dive. Discover-scuba sessions and open-water courses are available at most island lodges and are added to the quote. Snorkelling needs nothing but a reef.
3.Fly after you dive
Leave at least 18 hours between your last dive and a flight, including light-aircraft hops. Plan the beach half of the trip so the final day is on the surface.
4.What is included
Some lodges include a house reef and gear; others charge per dive or per boat. The stay says which, and the quote adds packages. Weather can cancel a boat day and the lodge makes that call.
5.Insurance
Check that your travel insurance covers diving to the depth you plan. Many standard policies cap it at 18 or 30 metres.
Quick facts
Diving and snorkelling routes are the island and coast stays: Zanzibar, Mozambique, Seychelles, and Mauritius. A reef day is included only when the stay says so. Extra boat days are optional.
The reef follows the stay
Read whether that lodge includes a boat, a house reef, or only the room. The words on the stay are the sample.
Gear and certificates
Bring your own certification if you want scuba rather than a snorkel. The quote can add a dive pack. It is not assumed.
Often after a safari
Many of these outlines start in a park and finish on the island. Both halves are priced in the published range.
Weather moves the boats
Wind can cancel a boat day. The lodge, not this page, makes that call on the day.
What every trip on this site includes
- Published rates are per person sharing, in US dollars, shown in the currency you choose while browsing.
- Nights, meals and the activities named on each stay are inside the rate. International flights, visas, insurance, tips and unlisted drinks are not.
- No single-room supplement is charged, and children pay the same per-person rate as adults.
- Wildlife sightings are never promised. Guides, parks and seasons are chosen to give the best chance; the animals decide the rest.
- Gorilla itineraries include one permit per person per trek unless the page says two.
- A written quote comes first. Nothing is booked and nothing is paid until you accept it.