Gansbaai, South Africa

Gansbaai is a small, picturesque fishing village nestling 2 hrs south of Cape Town, and only an hour's drive from Cape Agulhas, the southermost tip of Africa (where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet). In the last few years, Gansbaai has been recognized as the best place in the world to see Great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias), and many documentaries have been filmed in these waters. Some areas of Gansbaai, like De Kelders, are incredible land based whale watching sites (Southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) season June to December). Kleinbaai, Uilenkraal and De Kelders all make up the Gansbaai area.

Across the bay is Hermanus, a beautiful town overlooking Walker Bay. Hermanus is chock full of restaurants and guesthouses, and is said to be the best land based whale watching in the world. Golf courses, markets and an annual whale festival are among the attractions.

Whether you are coming into the area specifically for shark, whale or diving activities, or merely passing through, Gansbaai and Hermanus offer some of the most stunning and high quality accommodation in the fair Cape.

If you are shark diving, we strongly recommend that you stay overnight in the area, launch times can be very early! Alternatively, if you come into the area in the morning, you may be too tired to travel on in the afternoon, as spending the day in the sea air is surprisingly exhausting! Either way, the quality of guesthouses in both the Gansbaai and Hermanus area is extremely high, and well worth taking advantage of.

There is plenty to do aside shark cage diving. In the whale season (June to December), boat based whale watching trips depart from Kleinbaai, Gansbaai and Hermanus. There are also some wonderful walks and caves to explore around Gansbaai. Also available are: hiking, canoeing, paragliding, diving, craft markets and many more…not to forget, relaxing! Gansbaai is also merely an hour's drive from the southermost tip of Africa, Cape Agulhas. This is well worth a visit, as are the stunning villages on the way, like Struisbaai and Arniston.

If you are looking for accommodation, please check out our list on Gansbaai.net. The guesthouses we display are all gorgeous and well-located, with welcoming and professional hosts. These guesthouses come with Shark Diving Unlimited's recommendation.

For more information go to www.gansbaai.net