Diving & Travel Guide to Garden Route – Mossel Bay & Knysna

About Garden Route – Mossel Bay & Knysna

The Garden Route region offers diverse diving along one of South Africa's most scenic coastlines, from sevengill shark encounters at The Maze in Mossel Bay to the challenging but rewarding Knysna Heads channel. Mossel Bay features one of South Africa's oldest recreational wrecks, the 1898 SS Paquita, alongside the sevengill shark diving at The Maze where divers encounter these prehistoric predators without cages. The dramatic Pinnacle Point offers underwater caves and walls complementing the famous archaeological fossil sites above water. Knysna's treacherous Heads channel provides adrenaline-charged drift diving for experienced divers, while Brenton on Sea offers isolated deep rocky reefs with minimal diving pressure. The Garden Route's combination of world-class diving, stunning coastal scenery, excellent food and wine, and well-developed tourism infrastructure makes it one of South Africa's most popular road trip destinations.

Highlights

• ✓Sevengill shark diving without cages at The Maze, Mossel Bay
• ✓Historic 1898 SS Paquita wreck – one of SA's oldest recreational wrecks
• ✓Underwater caves and walls at Pinnacle Point fossil site
• ✓Adrenaline-charged drift diving through Knysna Heads channel
• ✓Isolated deep reefs at Brenton on Sea with minimal diving pressure
• ✓Garden Route scenic drive combining diving with world-class tourism

Getting There

Fly to George Airport (GRJ) with connections from Johannesburg and Cape Town, or drive the scenic Garden Route from Cape Town (4-5 hours). Mossel Bay is 30 minutes from George, Knysna is 1 hour.